-지 못하다
-ji motada
cannot; unable to
Attaches to a verb stem to express that the subject lacks the ability to do something, or that it didn't happen as intended—'cannot/unable to'; with certain adjectives it means a state cannot be reached (e.g. 'not quite beautiful').
Form
- Attaches to
- Verb, Adjective, Auxiliary
Meanings
- 1
An expression used to indicate that the speaker cannot do the act mentioned in the preceding statement, or that things did not work out as the subject intended.
앞말이 나타내는 행동을 할 능력이 없거나 주어의 의지대로 되지 않음을 나타내는 표현.
※ 동사나 '-으시-' 뒤에 붙여 쓴다.
- 2
An expression used to indicate that the state mentioned in the preceding statement cannot be attained.
앞말이 나타내는 상태에 이를 수 없음을 나타내는 표현.
※ 일부 형용사 뒤에 붙여 쓴다.
Examples
승규는 심한 감기에 걸려 밥도 잘 먹지 못했다.
Seunggyu caught a bad cold and couldn't even eat well.
유민이와 함께 여행을 가지 못해 너무 아쉽다.
I'm so sorry I couldn't go on the trip with Yumin.
우리 팀의 패배는 누구도 예상하지 못한 충격적인 결과였다.
Our team's loss was a shocking result that no one had expected.
지수가 결국 시험에 떨어졌대. 그렇게 노력했는데도 합격하지 못했다니 시험이 정말 어려웠나 봐.
I heard Jisu ended up failing the exam. She tried so hard and still couldn't pass—the exam must have been really tough.
자기보다 약한 동물을 괴롭히다니 사람답지 못하다.
Bullying an animal weaker than yourself is simply inhumane.
어린 시절의 기억은 그에게 그렇게 아름답지 못했다.
His childhood memories were not so beautiful to him.
Examples: 한국어기초사전, CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.
Don’t confuse with
Forms with a close meaning — a favourite source of wrong answers on TOPIK.
Quick check
1. What does ‘-지 못하다’ mean?
2. Which form means “cannot; unable to”?