기 짝이 없다, ㄹ/을 지경이다, ㄴ/은 나머지: to the limit

By Daniel Buckley · 14 minute read · TOPIK 5

Vocabulary

부끄럽다 - to be ashamed, to be embarrassed
불쌍하다 - to be pitiful
지치다 - to be worn out
참다 - to hold back, to put up with
견디다 - to endure
놀라다 - to be surprised
긴장하다 - to be nervous
화나다 - to get angry
미치다 - to go mad
낡다 - to be old, worn

When a politician apologises on the news, you might hear 부끄럽기 짝이 없습니다. Word for word it says the shame has no partner: nothing else could stand beside it. You've used 너무 and 정말 for years, and at some point they stop being enough.

Korean has a whole set of ways to say something has reached its limit. Some describe a quality that can't go higher. Some say you're about to break, and others say you've gone past the line and something spilled out.

Beyond comparison: three fixed phrases

All three go on the 기 form, nearly always of an adjective, and all three mean the quality can't be measured. You'll read these, and you'll hear them in speeches, apologies and narration. With friends, you'd usually say 너무. You'll also see 가 after 기, as in 고맙기가 그지없다.

What each one says

기 짝이 없다: it has no match. 짝 is a partner or one of a pair. Usually for what's bad or shameful, though the dictionary also gives 기쁘기 짝이 없다.부끄럽기 짝이 없다
기 그지없다: it has no end. Good or bad, often feelings.기쁘기 그지없다
기 이를 데 없다: there's no way to say it. 이르다 here means to say. Good or bad.아름답기 이를 데 없다

Pick a verb

부끄럽다부끄럽부끄럽기 짝이 없습니다

이런 실수를 하다니 부끄럽기 짝이 없습니다.
To make a mistake like this is deeply shameful.
그런 말을 믿다니 어리석기 짝이 없다.
To believe a thing like that is the height of foolishness.
혼자 남은 아이가 불쌍하기 짝이 없었다.
The child left all alone was pitiful beyond words.
다시 만나게 되어 기쁘기 그지없습니다.
I'm overjoyed to see you again.
고향을 떠나는 마음이 슬프기 그지없었다.
Leaving home, I felt sad beyond measure.
산 위에서 본 경치는 아름답기 이를 데 없었다.
The view from the mountain was indescribably beautiful.
그의 태도는 무례하기 이를 데 없었다.
His manner was unspeakably rude.

※ 이를 데 없이 and 그지없이 work as adverbs too: 그지없이 기쁘다, joyful without end. Those are for the page as well.

ㄹ/을 지경이다: about to break

지경 meant a boundary of land, and it came to mean the state you've arrived at. So ㄹ/을 지경이다 puts you at the edge of something: one more step and it happens. It's a stronger ㄹ/을 정도, usually about something unpleasant.

You can use this one in conversation tomorrow, and it's usually an exaggeration. Nobody who says 죽을 지경이에요 expects to die.

Pick a verb

죽다죽죽을 지경이에요

일이 너무 많아서 죽을 지경이에요.
I've got so much work it's killing me.
배가 고파서 쓰러질 지경이에요.
I'm so hungry I could collapse.
아기가 밤새 울어서 미칠 지경이에요.
The baby cried all night, and it's driving me mad.
너무 많이 먹어서 배가 터질 지경이에요.
I've eaten so much I'm about to burst.
어쩌다가 일이 이 지경이 됐어요?
How did things get to this point?

ㄴ/은 나머지: spilled over

나머지 is what's left over, and in this pattern it's what's left once a feeling has run its course: the result. A feeling or state went so far that something else happened, usually something nobody planned. English says "so X that" or "in my anger".

It's written and narrated more than spoken, though you'd hear it in careful speech. It takes the past modifier on verbs and ㄴ/은 on adjectives, so the feeling comes first in time.

Pick a verb

놀라다놀라놀란 나머지

너무 놀란 나머지 아무 말도 못 했어요.
I was so shocked that I couldn't say a word.
긴장한 나머지 준비한 말을 다 잊어버렸어요.
I was so nervous that I forgot everything I'd prepared.
화가 난 나머지 전화를 끊어 버렸어요.
In my anger I hung up.
기쁜 나머지 눈물을 흘렸다.
Overcome with joy, she wept.
돈을 버는 데만 집중한 나머지 건강을 잃었다.
He focused so hard on making money that he lost his health.

다 못해: couldn't take any more

This is 다가 plus 못하다: you were doing something, and you couldn't keep doing it. It mostly goes on verbs of bearing or waiting, like 참다, 견디다, 보다 and 기다리다. What follows is what you finally did, and people say this all the time.

On adjectives it does something else: the quality goes so far it turns into another one. 파랗다 못해 검다 is so blue it's black. That use is more writerly, and you'll see it in descriptions and headlines.

참다못해 한마디 했어요.
I couldn't take it any more, so I said something.
친구가 고생하는 걸 보다 못해 제가 도와줬어요.
I couldn't stand watching my friend struggle, so I helped.
아이들이 기다리다 못해 먼저 먹기 시작했어요.
The kids got tired of waiting and started eating.
옆집 소음을 견디다 못해 이사했어요.
Unable to bear the noise next door, we moved.
하늘이 파랗다 못해 검게 보였다.
The sky was so blue it looked black.
그 직원은 친절하다 못해 부담스러웠어요.
That employee was so nice it became uncomfortable.

※ Mind the spacing with 참다. 참다못하다 is a dictionary word, so 참다못해 is written solid. Other verbs keep the space: 보다 못해, 기다리다 못해.

ㄹ/을 대로: as far as it goes

Say a verb twice, with ㄹ/을 대로 between: 지칠 대로 지쳤어요. The dictionary files this under the same 대로 you know, and I think of it as following a change all the way until it has nowhere left to go. It's used in speech and writing, usually for a bad state.

Making ㄹ/을 대로

The same word twice: ㄹ/을 대로, then the past.지치다 → 지칠 대로 지쳤어요오르다 → 오를 대로 올랐어요
Before a noun: ㄹ/을 대로 + past modifier.낡다 → 낡을 대로 낡은 집

요즘 일 때문에 지칠 대로 지쳤어요.
Work has left me completely worn out lately.
두 사람 사이는 나빠질 대로 나빠졌어요.
Things between them couldn't get any worse.
물가가 오를 대로 올랐어요.
Prices have gone as high as they can.
그 사람은 화가 날 대로 났어요.
He's as angry as he can get.
낡을 대로 낡은 집에서 살고 있어요.
We're living in a falling-apart house.

※ 될 대로 되라 is a set phrase: let it become whatever it becomes. It's what you say when you've stopped caring how something turns out.

경치가 아름답기 이를 데 없다.
일이 많아서 죽을 지경이에요.
놀란 나머지 아무 말도 못 했어요.
참다못해 한마디 했어요.
지칠 대로 지쳤어요.
배가 터질 지경이에요.

Listen and type

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consonants · left hand vowels · right hand

In a conversation

얼굴이 왜 그래요? 어디 아파요?

Face why like that? Somewhere hurts?

옆집 개가 밤새 짖어서 미칠 지경이에요.

Next door's dog all night barks, so going mad point is.

말은 해 봤어요?

Speaking tried?

네, 참다못해 어제 찾아갔는데, 화가 난 나머지 말이 안 나오더라고요.

Yes, holding unable yesterday went to see, and anger came, the result words didn't come out, I found.

이제 어떡해요?

Now what do?

모르겠어요. 정말 지칠 대로 지쳤어요.

Don't know. Really as far as tired goes, tired.

Common mistakes

부끄러워 짝이 없습니다.
부끄럽기 짝이 없습니다.
These fixed phrases are all built on the 기 form.
너무 놀라는 나머지 아무 말도 못 했어요.
너무 놀란 나머지 아무 말도 못 했어요.
The feeling came first, so a verb takes the past modifier.
기다려 못해 먼저 먹었어요.
기다리다 못해 먼저 먹었어요.
This is 다가 shortened, not the 아/어 form.

One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.

Check yourself

Quick check

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이런 실수를 하다니 ___ 짝이 없습니다. (부끄럽다) To make a mistake like this is deeply shameful.

consonants · left hand vowels · right hand

The 기 form.

Summary

기 짝이 없다 forms
Dictionary	Stem	기 짝이 없다
부끄럽다	부끄럽	부끄럽기 짝이 없다
불쌍하다	불쌍하	불쌍하기 짝이 없다
어리석다	어리석	어리석기 짝이 없다

ㄹ/을 지경이다 forms
Dictionary	Stem	ㄹ/을 지경이다
죽다	죽	죽을 지경이다
미치다	미치	미칠 지경이다
울다	울	울 지경이다

ㄴ/은 나머지 forms
Dictionary	Stem	ㄴ/은 나머지
놀라다	놀라	놀란 나머지
긴장하다	긴장하	긴장한 나머지
화나다	화나	화난 나머지

다 못해 forms
Dictionary	Stem	다 못해
보다	보	보다 못해
기다리다	기다리	기다리다 못해
견디다	견디	견디다 못해
친절하다	친절하	친절하다 못해

Now you can say

배가 고파서 쓰러질 지경이에요.
I'm so hungry I could collapse.
참다못해 한마디 했어요.
I couldn't take it any more, so I said something.
요즘 일 때문에 지칠 대로 지쳤어요.
Work has left me completely worn out lately.