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@@ -1132,11 +1132,11 @@ You might also want to try listening to all of the words on loop with this [Voca
## Introduction
Until now, you have not learned how to say “I am good at something/I do something well” or “I am bad at something/I do something poorly.” In this lesson, you will learn about the words 잘하다 (to do something well) and 못하다 (to do something poorly). 못하다 is very hard to understand perfectly, so I will ease you in by introducing you to 잘하다 first.
Until now, you have not learned how to say “I am good at something/I do something well” or “I am bad at something/I do something poorly.” In this lesson, you will learn about the words 잘하다 (<span class="md spoiler">to do something well</span>) and 못하다 (<span class="md spoiler">to do something poorly</span>). 못하다 is very hard to understand perfectly, so I will ease you in by introducing you to 잘하다 first.
## 잘하다: To do something well
The main meaning of 잘하다 is “to do something well.” To use 잘하다, simply place a noun in a sentence with 잘하다 as the verb.
The main meaning of 잘하다 is “<span class="md spoiler">to do something well</span>.” To use 잘하다, simply place a noun in a sentence with 잘하다 as the verb.
This is easy to do with 하다 verbs (for example, 수영하다 and 공부하다) because to make a noun all you need to do is remove 하다 from those words. I discuss making non-하다 verbs into nouns in [Lesson 26](https://www.howtostudykorean.com/unit-2-lower-intermediate-korean-grammar/unit-2-lessons-26-33/lesson-26/ "Lesson 26: ~는 것 Describing Nouns with Verbs"), but the principal is the same for any noun form of a verb. All you need to do is:
@@ -1147,11 +1147,11 @@ This is easy to do with 하다 verbs (for example, 수영하다 and 공부하다
- 우리 애기는 말을 잘해요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lesson-20-1.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">Our baby speaks well</span>
- 저는 야구를 잘해요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lesson-20-2.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I play baseball well</span>
잘하다 is a verb, but now we need to talk about “잘,” which is an adverb.
잘하다 is a verb, but now we need to talk about “잘,” which is <span class="md spoiler">an adverb</span>.
## 잘: Well
Just like 잘하다, you can use the word 잘 in sentences to indicate that one does something well. Usually, when you remove 하다 from a word, the word without 하다 becomes a noun. In this case, removing 하다 from 잘 does not make 잘 a noun. Instead, it is an adverb. The only reason this is important is so that you know that you can use 잘 in sentences just like other adverbs, in this case to mean “(to do something) well.” It is essentially the same as “잘하다,” but used slightly different. For example:
Just like 잘하다, you can use the word 잘 in sentences to indicate that one does something well. Usually, when you remove 하다 from a word, the word without 하다 becomes a noun. In this case, removing 하다 from 잘 does not make 잘 a noun. Instead, it is an adverb. The only reason this is important is so that you know that you can use 잘 in sentences just like other adverbs, in this case to mean “<span class="md spoiler">(to do something) well</span>.” It is essentially the same as “잘하다,” but used slightly different. For example:
- 그 주인은 고객님들을 잘 대우해요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-5.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">That owner treats the customers well</span>
- 나는 어젯밤에 잘 잤어 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-7.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I slept well last night</span>
@@ -1159,17 +1159,21 @@ Just like 잘하다, you can use the word 잘 in sentences to indicate that one
When I first learned about 잘하다 and 잘, I was trying to understand if these two sentences were the same:
- 나는 공부를 잘해 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lesson-20-3.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I study well</span>
- 나는 잘 공부해 = I study well
- 나는 잘 공부해 = <span class="md spoiler">I study well</span>
The answer: essentially, but not entirely.
The difference is so subtle that you don’t really need to worry about it. However, when I learned this, I worried about it, so I think maybe you should worry about it too. The reason I say “don’t worry about it” is because now when I speak I can’t really distinguish the difference in meaning. The only way I could tell the difference is referring back to my old notes from 5 years ago. Nonetheless, there is a subtle difference:
나는 공부를 잘한다 = I study well, or
“나는 (noun)을 잘한다” means that, in general, your ability to do something is good. However,
- 나는 공부를 잘한다 = <span class="md spoiler">I study well</span>, or
나는 잘 공부한다 = I study well, or
“나는 잘 (verb)다” means that you can study well because of some situation (for example, maybe you have a test coming up and you are studying really hard because of that situation).
“나는 (noun)을 잘한다” means that, in general, <span class="md spoiler">your ability to do something is good</span>. However,
- 나는 잘 공부한다 = <span class="md spoiler">I study well</span>, or
“나는 잘 (verb)다” means that <span class="md spoiler">you can study well because of some situation</span> (for example, maybe you have a test coming up and you are studying really hard because of that situation).
---
But really, don’t get too caught up on the difference between the two. Especially since sometimes they look and sound almost exactly the same. If you separated 공부 and 하다 in the second example, you would get:
@@ -1181,13 +1185,13 @@ which sounds (and almost looks) exactly the same as:
Anyways, don’t worry about it too much.
You already know the word 잘생기다 means “handsome.” That word is actually 잘 and 생기다 put together. 생기다 has a lot of meanings, but putting 잘 and 생기다 together, it sort of means “to come out well.” The opposite is true for 못생기다 (to be ugly).
You already know the word 잘생기다 means “<span class="md spoiler">handsome</span>.” That word is actually 잘 and 생기다 put together. 생기다 has a lot of meanings, but putting 잘 and 생기다 together, it sort of means “<span class="md spoiler">to come out well</span>.” The opposite is true for 못생기다 (<span class="md spoiler">to be ugly</span>).
Always remember to not translate directly from English to Korean, as there are so many things that are not 100% the same in both languages. For example, in English, we would never say “I don’t know well,” but in Korean, it is very common to say:
- 저는 잘 모르겠어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lesson-20-4.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I don’t know (well)</span>
_\*Also notice that the future tense_ 모르다 _is used here. Even though it is in the present,_ 모르겠다 _is used very commonly to indicate that you don’t know something – Even though it directly translates to “I will not know.”_
_\*Also notice that the **future tense**_ 모르다 _is used here. Even though it is in the present,_ 모르겠다 _is used very commonly to indicate that you don’t know something – Even though it directly translates to “I will not know.”_
## 못하다: To do something poorly
@@ -1198,7 +1202,7 @@ First of all, 못하다 has the opposite meaning of 잘하다 – so it can be u
- 나는 수영을 못해 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-9.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I am bad at swimming</span>
- 저 학생은 공부를 못해 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-10.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">That student does not study well</span>
The difference between 못하다 and 못 is the same as the difference between 잘하다 and 잘. When you say a sentence like “나는 수영을 못해” it means that in general your ability to swim is bad. Because of this, you need to be careful about the type of verb you are using in this situation. For example, you couldn’t really use the verb “to eat” in this situation, because that would mean that “in general, my ability to eat is bad.” Instead, what you would probably want to say is that “I CAN eat, but because of some situation, I can’t really eat right now.” That is when you need to use 못 instead of 못하다.
The difference between 못하다 and 못 is the same as the difference between 잘하다 and 잘. When you say a sentence like “나는 수영을 못해” it means that <span class="md spoiler">in general your ability to swim is bad</span>. Because of this, you need to be careful about the type of verb you are using in this situation. For example, you couldn’t really use the verb “to eat” in this situation, because that would mean that “in general, my ability to eat is bad.” Instead, what you would probably want to say is that “I CAN eat, but because of some situation, I can’t really eat right now.” That is when you need to _use 못 instead of 못하다_.
## 못: Poorly
@@ -1210,33 +1214,35 @@ Using 못하다 and understanding the meaning it creates is quite simple, especi
This is where it gets unnecessarily confusing. Both of those sentences could have two meanings.
The first example:
저는 어제 못 잤어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Lesson-20-s1.mp3" /> could mean either of the following:
- I didn’t sleep _well_ last night because of some situation, or
- I didn’t sleep last night because something prevented me from sleeping
- <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t sleep _well_ last night</span> because of some situation, or
- <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t sleep last night</span> because something prevented me from sleeping
The second example:
저는 어제 시험을 못 봤어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-12.mp3" /> could mean either of the following:
I did _poorly_ on the exam yesterday because of some situation, or
I didn’t write the exam yesterday because something prevented me from doing so
- <span class="md spoiler">I did _poorly_ on the exam yesterday</span> because of some situation, or
- <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t write the exam yesterday</span> because something prevented me from doing so
_(My translations of “… One didn’t … because something prevented him/her from …” is often simply translated to “One couldn’t” or “One can’t.” These English terms are complex, and might be related to one not doing something because something prevented them or related to one’s ability. Another way to say “one couldn’t” or “one can’t” in Korean is by using_ \~ㄹ/을 수 없다 _, which I discuss in [Lesson 45](https://www.howtostudykorean.com/unit-2-lower-intermediate-korean-grammar/unit-2-lessons-42-50/lesson-45/))._
_(My translations of “… One didn’t … because something prevented him/her from …” is often simply translated to <span class="md spoiler">“One couldn’t” or “One can’t.”</span> These English terms are complex, and might be related to one not doing something because something prevented them or related to one’s ability. Another way to say “one couldn’t” or “one can’t” in Korean is by using_ \~ㄹ/을 수 없다 _, which I discuss in [Lesson 45](https://www.howtostudykorean.com/unit-2-lower-intermediate-korean-grammar/unit-2-lessons-42-50/lesson-45/))._
Confusing? Let me say this again. When you put 못 in a sentence, it can indicate that one does something poorly (or not well) OR that one does not do something because something prevented him/her from doing it. When it has the second meaning (“I didn’t do”) it is the result of some situation preventing you.
I want to take a minute to distinguish this from other negative sentences – specifically using 안 or \~지 않다 which you learned in [Lesson 8](https://www.howtostudykorean.com/unit1/unit-1-lessons-1-8/unit-1-lesson-8/). When you use 안 or \~지 않다, there is no deeper meaning that “something prevented you from doing the action.” For example, if I said:
I want to take a minute to distinguish this from other negative sentences – specifically using 안 or \~지 않다 which you learned in [Lesson 8](./08-adverbs.md). When you use 안 or \~지 않다, there is no deeper meaning that “something prevented you from doing the action.” For example, if I said:
저는 어제 시험을 안 봤어요, or
저는 어제 시험을 보지 않았어요
- 저는 어제 시험을 안 봤어요, or
- 저는 어제 시험을 보지 않았어요
I am just saying that I didn’t write the exam yesterday – as if yesterday specifically was _not_ the day that I was supposed to write the exam anyway (or something like that). Why would I write the exam when it is not the exam day? Of course I wouldn’t. Nothing is _preventing_ me from writing the exam. It’s just not the day to write the exam. It’s also possible that I just didn’t do the exam because I didn’t want to. Either way, nothing is preventing me from doing it, I just didn’t do it.
I am just saying that I didn’t write the exam yesterday – as if yesterday specifically was _not_ <span class="md spoiler">the day that I was supposed to write the exam anyway</span> (or something like that). Why would I write the exam when it is not the exam day? Of course I wouldn’t. Nothing is _preventing_ me from writing the exam. It’s just not the day to write the exam. It’s also possible that I just didn’t do the exam because I didn’t want to. Either way, nothing is preventing me from doing it, I just didn’t do it.
However, if I say:
- 저는 어제 시험을 못 봤어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-12.mp3" />
It probably _was_ the day to write the exam, but something prevented me from writing it. The thing that prevented me from writing it could be anything – it could have been that I had to go to a party with my wife, or it could of been that I had explosive diarrhea. Either way, both of those things (especially the latter) would prevent me from writing the exam.
It probably _was_ <span class="md spoiler">the day to write the exam, but something prevented me from writing it</span>. The thing that prevented me from writing it could be anything – it could have been that I had to go to a party with my wife, or it could of been that I had explosive diarrhea. Either way, both of those things (especially the latter) would prevent me from writing the exam.
——————–
@@ -1244,15 +1250,15 @@ In order to explain this further, I can explain a _very_ common mistake that Eng
You don’t know how to ask questions yet (you’ll learn that in the next lesson), but imagine if somebody asks you
“Did you hear what I say?” (내 말을 들었어?)
“<span class="md spoiler">Did you hear what I say?</span>” (<TTS>내 말을 들었어?</TTS>)
English speakers learning Korean often respond with:
- 아니. 안 들었어.
However, if you say that, it’s kind of like you are specifically/purposely trying not to hear what the person said. Instead, you obviously _can_ hear, but something prevented you from hearing the person. Maybe it was the loud TV, maybe it was the motorcycle driving by, or maybe it was your explosive diarrhea. Either way, something prevented you from hearing the person, so you should say:
However, if you say that, it’s kind of like you are specifically/purposely trying not to hear what the person said. Instead, you obviously _can_ hear, but something prevented you from hearing the person. Maybe it was the loud TV, maybe it was the motorcycle driving by, or maybe it was your explosive diarrhea. Either way, <span class="md spoiler">something prevented you from hearing the person</span>, so you should say:
- 아니. 못 들었어. = No, I didn’t (couldn’t) hear (you)
- <TTS>아니. 못 들었어.</TTS> = <span class="md spoiler">No, I didn’t (couldn’t) hear (you)</span>
——————–
@@ -1264,28 +1270,27 @@ If you really want to stress that you do something poorly, you can include 잘 b
- 저는 어제 시험을 잘 못 봤어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-13.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t do good on the exam yesterday</span>
The word being used
Sometimes, the word being used makes it clear which meaning you are trying to express. For example, if I said:
저는 어제 학교에 못 갔어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-14.mp3" />, This could have two meanings:
1. I didn’t go to school yesterday because of some situation
2. I didn’t go to school well yesterday
1. <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t go to school yesterday</span> because of some situation
2. <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t go to school well yesterday</span>
Which one of those two makes sense? In situations like this, it is easy to figure out which meaning is being used. Is it possible to “go somewhere well?” I don’t think so.
A perfect real-world example of this is something that my co-worker said to me once. The school I work at was in the process of buying my plane ticket back home, and it happened to be really expensive (like, really expensive). My co-worker always wanted to go to Canada, but when she heard how much my plane ticket was, she said to herself “캐나다에 못 가겠다[.](https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/캐나다에못가겠다.m4a)” The meaning of this sentence is not “she will go to Canada poorly” but rather “she can’t/won’t go to Canada because of some situation” (the ticket being too expensive).
A perfect real-world example of this is something that my co-worker said to me once. The school I work at was in the process of buying my plane ticket back home, and it happened to be really expensive (like, really expensive). My co-worker always wanted to go to Canada, but when she heard how much my plane ticket was, she said to herself “<TTS>캐나다에 못 가겠다</TTS>” The meaning of this sentence is not “she will go to Canada poorly” but rather “<span class="md spoiler">she can’t/won’t go to Canada because of some situation</span>” (the ticket being too expensive).
Situation
Sometimes you just need to think about the context of the sentence to understand the meaning completely. For example, if you already knew for sure that a friend wrote the exam, and they later said “시험을 못 봤어요” – the sentence could only have one meaning (because you already knew that he/she wrote the exam).
Let’s look at some examples. If somebody said:
저는 밥을 못 먹어요
<TTS>저는 밥을 못 먹어요</TTS>
This could technically mean two things. It could mean:
1. That the person can’t eat (well)
2. That the person won’t eat because of some situation (most likely because he/she is full/doesn’t like that particular food, etc…)
1. <span class="md spoiler">That the person can’t eat (well)</span>
2. <span class="md spoiler">That the person won’t eat</span> because of some situation (most likely because he/she is full/doesn’t like that particular food, etc…)
In this case, the first possibility does not make sense because everybody (99.9% of the time) has the ability to eat. Therefore, this person is expressing that he/she is not going to eat because of some situation that is causing him/her to not want to eat.
@@ -1293,7 +1298,7 @@ Another example:
- 저는 답을 잘 못 썼어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lesson-20-5.mp3" />
This sentence could really only mean one thing. Because of the use of “잘,” we know that the speaker is expressing that he/she did not do something **well.** Therefore, the sentence above translates to “I didn’t answer well.
This sentence could really only mean one thing. Because of the use of “잘,” we know that the speaker is expressing that he/she did not do something **well.** Therefore, the sentence above translates to "<span class="md spoiler">I didn’t answer well.</span>"
There is still another way that 못/못하다 can be used to have yet another similar meaning to what has been described so far.
@@ -1302,14 +1307,14 @@ There is still another way that 못/못하다 can be used to have yet another si
One more thing about 못하다. Similar in structure to \~지 않다, you can also write \~지 못하다 to have the same meaning as 못. For example:
- 저는 어제 못 잤어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Lesson-20-s1.mp3" /> AND
- 저는 어제 자지 못했어요
- <TTS>저는 어제 자지 못했어요</TTS>
have the same meaning (I didn’t sleep \[well\] last night)
have the same meaning (<span class="md spoiler">I didn’t sleep \[well\] last night</span>)
Remember that 못 and \~지 못하다 have the same meaning, which is subtly different than 를 못하다:
- 저는 어제 못 공부했어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-16.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t study well yesterday/I couldn’t study yesterday</span>
- 저는 어제 공부하지 못했어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-17.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t study well yesterday/I couldn’t study yesterday</span>
- 저는 어제 못 공부했어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-16.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t study well yesterday; I couldn’t study yesterday</span>
- 저는 어제 공부하지 못했어요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-17.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I didn’t study well yesterday; I couldn’t study yesterday</span>
- 저는 공부를 못해요 <AudioButton src="https://www.howtostudykorean.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lesson20-18.mp3" /> = <span class="md spoiler">I am bad at studying</span>
## 잘못
@@ -1320,7 +1325,7 @@ To make all of this even more confusing, the word 잘못 (with no space between
_Normally when you say “my \_\_\_\_\_” you use_ 저의 _or_ 나의. _However, some nouns prefer to have_ 제 _and_ 내 _before them instead of_ 저의/나의. 잘못 _is one of these nouns. Another example is_ 제/내 생각 _(instead of_ 저의/나의 생각) _meaning “my thought/my opinion/what I think.”_
잘 and 못 with Comparatives and Superlatives
## 잘 and 못 with Comparatives and Superlatives
One final thing before I finish. In the previous lesson, you learned about using \~보다 and 가장/제일 to make comparative and superlative sentences. The concepts you learned in this lesson are very commonly used alongside \~보다 or 가장/제일 in sentences to say that somebody can do something better/worse, or do something the best/worst. Some examples: