when you want to be modest such as when you say 안녕 하세요 annyeong haseyo to a Korean and are met with heaps of praise for your wonderful Korean abilities.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
| Past | Present | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 하기는요 hagineunnyo 했기는요 haetgineunnyo | 하기는요 hagineunnyo |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹기는요 meokgineunnyo 먹었기는요 meogeotgineunnyo | 먹기는요 meokgineunnyo |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예쁘기는요 yeppeugineunnyo 예뻤기는요 yeppeotgineunnyo | 예쁘기는요 yeppeugineunnyo |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작기는요 jakgineunnyo 작았기는요 jagatgineunnyo | 작기는요 jakgineunnyo |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 | 남자였기는요 namjayeotgineunnyo | 남자기는요 namjagineunnyo |
| Nouns ending in a consonant | 물 | 물이었기는요 murieotgineunnyo | 물이기는요 murigineunnyo |
TAKE NOTE
As this expression is used to deny something, it’s used only when you’re responding to something someone has already said. It’s normally used in a sentence by itself along with the part that you’re not accepting. Then, if you need to explain, start a new sentence.
Keep in mind that since it’s used to deny something, you need to add it to the opposite of whatever you think is the truth.
기는요 and (으)ㄴ/는/(으)ㄹ걸요 (see page 149) are both used for similar purposes. They’re both gentle ways to contradict what was said. The main difference between them is that when you use 기는요 you have to state the thing you’re contradicting, whereas with 걸요 you say the opposite. So if someone says you speak Korean well and you don’t think you do (or you know you do, but you want to be modest), you can say 잘 하기는요 jal hagineunnyo.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
A: 한국은 10월이면 더워요? Hangukeun shiworinyeon deowoyo? Is Korea hot in October?
B: 덥기는요. 10월에 시원해요. Deopgineunnyo. Shiwore siwonhaeyo. Hot? Not at all. It’s cool in October.
__________
A: 한국어를 아주 잘 하시네요! Hangukeoreul aju jal hasineyo! You speak Korean very well!
B: 잘 하기는요. Jal hagineunnyo. I really don’t.
A: 오늘 늦었어요? Oneul neujeosseoyo? Were you late today?
B: 늦기는커녕 8시에 왔어요. Neutgineunkeonyeong yeodeolsie waseoyo. Not only was I not late, but I was here at eight.
A isn’t actually the case. This is usually followed by B, an explanation of what exactly the case is. The expressions above are used in a sentence about something negative, and B is often something easier to accomplish than A but still impossible to achieve.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
| All tenses | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 하기는커녕 hagineunkeonyeong |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹기는커녕 meokgineunkeonyeong |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예쁘기는 커녕 yeppeugineun keonyeong |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작기는커녕 jakgineunkeonyeong |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 | 남자는커녕 namjaneunkeonyeong |
| Nouns ending in a consonant | 물 | 물은커녕 mureunkeonyeong |
TAKE NOTE
It’s interchangeable with 은/는 말할 것 없다 eun/neun malhal geot eopda.
When speaking, 커녕 is usually dropped. For example, if you want to say 잘 하기는커녕, jal hagineun keonyeong the sentence simply becomes 잘 하기는.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
A: 한국은 10월이면 더워요? Hangukeun shiworimyeon deowoyo? Is Korea hot in October?
B: 덥기는커녕 시원해요. Deopgineunkeonyeong siwonhaeyo. Not at all. In fact, it’s cool.
__________
A: 한국어를 아주 잘 하시네요! Hangukeoreul aju jal hasineyo! You speak Korean very well!
B: 잘 하기는커녕 기본적인 표현 밖에 몰라요. Jal hagineunkeonyeong gibonjeogin pyohyeon bakke mollayo. Not only do I not speak it well, but I don’t know anything except basic expressions.
왜 과속해요? 일찍 가면 뭘 해요? 안전이 제일 중요하지요.
Wae gwasokaeyo? Iljjik gamyeon mwol haeyo? Anjeoni jeil jungyohajiyo.
Why are you speeding? What’s the point of getting there early? Safety is more important.
Ever had someone be amazed by something that really wasn’t a big deal? Ever want to bring them down a notch or two? Here’s how you can do that. This expression means “What’s the point of ~?” or “So what if ~?” and is usually followed by an explanation of what you think is more important. For instance, in the example sentence above, you use the expression 면 뭔 해요 to ask “What’s the point of speeding?” and then follow it with an explanation of what you think is more important—safety.
HOW IT’S FORMED
면 means “if” (see page 283); 뭘 is 무엇 mueot contracted with the object marker 를.
HOW IT’S CONJUGATED
This expression is attached to verbs just like the (으)면 with which it starts.
| Past | Present | Future | ||
| Action verbs ending in a vowel | 하다 | 했으면 뭘 해요? haesseumyeon mwol haeyo? | 하면 뭘 해요? hamyeon mwol haeyo? | 하면 뭘 해요? |
| Action verbs ending in a consonant | 먹다 | 먹었으면 뭘 해요? meogeoseumyeon mwol haeyo? | 먹으면 뭘 해요? meogeumyeon mwol haeyo? | 먹으면 뭘 해요? |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a vowel | 예쁘다 | 예뻤으면 뭘 해요? yeppeoseumyeon mwol haeyo? | 예쁘면 뭘 해요? yeppeumyeon mwol haeyo? | 예쁘면 뭘 해요? |
| Descriptive verbs (adjectives) ending in a consonant | 작다 | 작았으면 뭘 해요? jagaseumyeon mwol haeyo? | 작으면 뭘 해요? jageumyeon mwol haeyo? | 작으면 뭘 해요? |
| Nouns ending in a vowel | 남자 | 남자였으면
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