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Grammar / Level 4 / Lesson 118

하필, 어쩐지, 어차피: adverbs with attitude

By Daniel Buckley · 11 minute read · TOPIK 5

Vocabulary

  1. 소풍 - a picnic, an outing
  2. 다행 - good fortune, a relief
  3. 포기하다 - to give up
  4. 잃어버리다 - to lose
  5. 사과하다 - to apologise
  6. 환불 - a refund
  7. 줄 - a queue, a line
  8. 낯이 익다 - to look familiar
  9. 넘어지다 - to fall over
  10. 버리다 - to throw away

The forecast was clear all week, and it rains on the one day you planned a picnic. Korean has one word for how you feel about that: 하필.

All six adverbs here work that way. Take one out and the sentence is still true: it rained, the medicine didn't help, the money's gone. Only your reaction to it has left the sentence, and that reaction is what dramas and conversations are full of.

하필: of all things

하필 comes from Chinese characters meaning roughly "why must it be". There were plenty of ways this could have gone, and it landed on the worst one. It's usually about bad luck, where 오늘따라 only says today went oddly, and you'll often hear the fuller 하필이면. In a question, it pairs with 왜.

  1. 소풍 가는 날 하필 비가 왔어요.

    It rained on the day of the picnic, of all days.

  2. 왜 하필 오늘이에요?

    Why today, of all days?

  3. 하필이면 사장님 앞에서 넘어졌어요.

    I fell over right in front of the boss, of all people.

  4. 왜 하필 저예요?

    Why me, of all people?

어쩐지: somehow, and no wonder

어쩐지 asks "how did that come about?" and has two uses, depending on whether you've got the answer. Without it, the word means "somehow": you feel something and can't say why. You'll read this use a lot, and it's fine in speech too.

  1. 오늘은 어쩐지 기분이 좋아요.

    I feel good today, for some reason.

  2. 그 사람은 어쩐지 낯이 익어요.

    He looks familiar, somehow.

With the answer, it means "no wonder", and this is the one you'll hear all the time. You noticed something earlier, and you've just learned why. It's usually followed by 더라, 더라고요 or 더니, because what you're doing is looking back at what you saw.

  1. 민수 씨가 여행을 갔어요? 어쩐지 안 보이더라고요.

    Minsu's away? That explains why I haven't seen him.

  2. 이거 어머니가 만드셨어요? 어쩐지 맛있더라고요.

    Your mother made this? No wonder it's so good.

  3. 오늘 공휴일이야? 어쩐지 조용하더라.

    It's a public holiday today? No wonder it's been so quiet.

※ 어쩐지 can stand alone as a reply: A tells you the shop has closed down, and you say 어쩐지! That's "I thought so", or "that explains it".

어차피: either way

어차피 means whichever way it goes, the result is the same. Its Chinese characters are close to "this way or that". It's the word that cancels effort or worry: since the end is fixed, we can stop fussing about the rest.

  1. 어차피 늦었으니까 천천히 가요.

    We're late anyway, so let's take our time.

  2. 어차피 해야 하는 일이니까 지금 할게요.

    It has to be done anyway, so I'll do it now.

  3. 어차피 버릴 거예요. 가져가세요.

    I'm throwing it out anyway. Take it.

  4. 어차피 아무도 안 봐요.

    Nobody's going to look anyway.

English "anyway" has other jobs that 어차피 doesn't do. "I did it anyway", meaning despite that, is 그래도 territory. "Anyway, as I was saying" is 아무튼 or 어쨌든. 어차피 only ever means the outcome won't change.

오히려: the opposite of what you'd expect

오히려 reports that things went against expectation. You'd expect A, and you got the reverse. It works on facts: this is what actually happened.

  1. 약을 먹었는데 오히려 더 아파요.

    I took the medicine, and it actually hurts more.

  2. 도와주려고 했는데 오히려 일이 커졌어요.

    I tried to help, and it only made things worse.

  3. 제가 사과했는데 민수 씨는 오히려 화를 냈어요.

    I apologised, and Minsu got angry instead.

You can also use it to turn a thank-you or an apology around, which is polite and very common. Someone thanks you, and you say that if anything, you're the one who should say it.

  1. 아니에요. 오히려 제가 감사하죠.

    Not at all. If anything, I should be thanking you.

  2. 저는 오히려 좋아요.

    Actually, that suits me fine.

차라리: I'd sooner

차라리 weighs two options you don't like and picks the less bad one. The dictionary says this directly, and it's what keeps the word from being a plain "rather". You'll often see it after 느니 or ㄹ/을 바에야, and with 낫다, to be better.

  1. 한 시간이나 줄을 서느니 차라리 안 먹을래요.

    I'd sooner not eat than queue for an hour.

  2. 이렇게 기다릴 거면 차라리 걸어가는 게 낫겠어요.

    If we're going to wait like this, we'd be better off walking.

  3. 이럴 바에야 차라리 포기하겠어요.

    I'd sooner give up than carry on like this.

  4. 차라리 잘됐어요.

    It's actually for the best.

오히려 and 차라리 both get translated "rather", so keep them apart this way. 오히려 reports a result nobody expected. 차라리 makes a choice between two poor options, so it looks ahead to something you could do or would prefer. Dictionaries do give 오히려 a second sense close to 차라리, which you may read, but 차라리 has no sense like the first.

그나마: at least that, even that

그나마 is 그 plus the (이)나마 you met in particles of degree, so it means "that, poor as it is". Most often, it's a small consolation: things are bad, but this much is all right. That's the meaning in 그나마 다행이에요, which you'll hear after every minor disaster.

  1. 지갑은 잃어버렸지만 그나마 여권은 있어요.

    I lost my wallet, but at least I still have my passport.

  2. 그나마 다행이에요.

    At least there's that.

  3. 오늘은 그나마 좀 덜 추워요.

    It's a bit less cold today, at least.

It can also take that small comfort away. Something was already thin, and now even that is gone. You'll often see this one as 그나마도.

  1. 돈이 조금 남아 있었는데 그나마 다 썼어요.

    I had a little money left, and now even that is gone.

  2. 손님이 적었는데 그나마도 일찍 갔어요.

    There weren't many customers, and even they left early.

  1. 소풍 가는 날 ___ 비가 왔어요.

    It rained on the day of the picnic, of all days.

  2. 약을 먹었는데 ___ 더 아파요.

    I took the medicine, and it actually hurts more.

  3. 줄을 서느니 ___ 안 먹을래요.

    I'd sooner not eat than queue.

  4. ___ 늦었으니까 천천히 가요.

    We're late anyway, so let's take our time.

  5. 오늘 공휴일이에요? ___ 조용하더라고요.

    It's a public holiday today? No wonder it's been so quiet.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

오늘 소풍 취소됐어요?

Today picnic got cancelled?

B

네, 하필 오늘 비가 온대요.

Yes, of all things today rain comes, they say.

A

어쩐지 아침부터 하늘이 어둡더라고요.

No wonder from morning sky was dark, I saw.

B

미안해요. 많이 기다렸을 텐데요.

Sorry. A lot must have waited.

A

아니에요. 저는 오히려 좋아요. 요즘 너무 피곤했거든요.

No. I rather am good. These days very tired was, you see.

B

버스표는 환불받았어요. 그나마 다행이죠.

Bus ticket refund got. At least that is fortunate, right.

A

우산 쓰고 밖에서 먹느니 차라리 집에서 먹어요.

Umbrella using outside eat rather than, instead at home eat.

B

좋아요. 어차피 음식도 다 만들었어요.

Good. Either way food also all made.

Common mistakes

  1. 어차피, 어제 뭐 했어요?

    그런데 어제 뭐 했어요?

    English "anyway" can change the subject, but 어차피 can't. It only means the outcome won't change.

  2. 약을 먹었는데 차라리 더 아파요.

    약을 먹었는데 오히려 더 아파요.

    You're reporting what happened, so it's 오히려. 차라리 picks between options.

  3. 저는 커피보다 차라리 차를 좋아해요.

    저는 커피보다 차를 더 좋아해요.

    차라리 implies neither option is good. For a plain preference, use 더.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

왜 ___ 오늘이에요? Why today, of all days?

Of all the days it could have been.

Summary

What each one adds

  • 하필: of all the possibilities, it had to be this bad one.
  • 어쩐지: somehow, for no reason I can give. Or: no wonder, now I know why.
  • 어차피: whichever way it goes, the result is the same.
  • 오히려: what happened is the reverse of what you'd expect.
  • 차라리: both options are bad, and I'll take this one.
  • 그나마: poor as it is, at least there's that. Or: even that little.

Now you can say

  1. 왜 하필 오늘이에요?

    Why today, of all days?

  2. 오늘 공휴일이야? 어쩐지 조용하더라.

    It's a public holiday today? No wonder it's been so quiet.

  3. 그나마 다행이에요.

    At least there's that.

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