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그지없다: To not be able to express the extent of an adjective
Vocabulary
Nouns:
근원 = root, cause, source
Examples:
그의 분노의 근원은 억울함이니, 안타깝기 그지없다
= The root of his anger is injustice, it is heartbreaking
모든 문제의 근원은 잘못된 정보에서 비롯되었어요
= The root of all the problems came from misinformation
원천 = the source of
Common Usages:
원천징수 = withholding tax
삶의 원천 = source of life
Examples:
그는 자신의 성공 비결을 원천적으로 부정했어요
= He fundamentally denied the supposed source of his success
사랑은 삶의 원천이자, 감사하기 그지없는 선물이다
= Love is the source of life and a gift that’s beyond thankful
길가 = roadside, side of the road
Examples:
길가에 쓰레기가 많아요
= There is a lot of garbage near the road
길가에는 오래된 건물이 덩그렇게 서 있었어요
= Along the road, an old building stood alone
비가 오는 날에는 길가에 웅덩이가 많이 생겨요
= On rainy days, there are often many puddles on the road
길가에 쓰러진 사람에게 인공호흡을 해서 그 사람이 다시 살아났어요
= They administered first aid to the person who had collapsed on the roadside, and the person survived
코웃음 = scoff
Common Usages:
코웃음 치다 = to scoff, to sneer
Examples:
그의 말에 코웃음을 치며 모두가 믿지 않았어요
= Everyone scoffed at his words and refused to believe him
설명을 듣고 코웃음을 치는 태도는 무례하기 그지없다
= Scoffing at someone explaining is incredibly rude
기본적 = to be basic
Examples:
성공의 기본적 조건은 꾸준한 노력이다
= The basic condition for success is consistent effort
그는 기본적인 역사 지식조차 없어 무식하기 그지없다
= He doesn’t even have basic knowledge of history, he’s utterly ignorant
원천적 = to be fundamental
Examples:
이 문제는 원천적 해결이 필요하다
= This issue requires a fundamental solution
개척자 = pioneer, trailblazer
Examples:
그는 개척자로서 새로운 산업의 길을 열었어요
= As a pioneer, he opened a new path for the industry
Verbs:
걷어차다 = to kick
Examples:
화를 참지 못하고 벽을 걷어찼어요
= Unable to control his anger, he kicked the wall
길가에서 고양이를 걷어찬 그의 행동은 야비하기 그지없었다
= His act of kicking a cat on the street was nothing short of despicable
개척하다 = to colonize
Common Usages:
개척자 = pioneer
Examples:
그는 단단한 벽을 뚫고 새로운 길을 개척했어요
= He broke through solid barriers and forged a new path
그는 미개척 시장을 개척하기 위해 해외로 나갔어요
= He went abroad to pioneer an undeveloped market
아무도 가지 않은 길을 개척한 그의 용기는 대단하기 그지없다
= His courage to pioneer a path no one dared take is truly great
착수하다 = to start, to commence
Common Usages:
계획에 착수하다 = to begin a plan, to launch a plan
Examples:
혼자서 대형 프로젝트에 착수했으니 용감하기 그지없다
= Starting a major project alone, how incredibly brave
회사는 신제품 개발에 본격적으로 착수했어요
= The company officially began developing a new product
Adjectives:
겹다 = to be choked with emotion
Common Usages:
복에 겹다 = to be overwhelmed with blessings
행복에 겹다 = to be overwhelmed with happiness
Examples:
친구들은 제가 복에 겹다고 했지만 저는 만족하지 않았어요
= My friends said I was extremely fortunate, but I wasn’t satisfied
그가 졸음에 겨운 듯 나른하기 그지없는 표정으로 앉아 있었다
= He sat there with an expression of utter sluggishness, as if overcome by drowsiness
그지없다 = to not be able to express
Examples:
그 아이는 귀엽기 그지없어요
= That child is unbelievably cute
그는 기본적인 역사 지식조차 없어 무식하기 그지없다
= He doesn’t even have basic knowledge of history, he’s utterly ignorant
그 환자의 얼굴은 피 한 방울 없는 듯 창백하기 그지없었다
= The patient’s face was as pale as if blood had drained from it, extremely pale
한심하다 = to be pathetic
Examples:
그 정도 일도 못 하다니 한심하기 그지없다
= Not being able to handle something that simple, truly pathetic
그의 행동이 한심해서 말이 나오지 않았어요
= His behavior was so pathetic that I was speechless
무식하다 = to be ignorant
Examples:
그는 기본적인 역사 지식조차 없어 무식하기 그지없다
= He doesn’t even have basic knowledge of history, he’s utterly ignorant
그는 공부에 전혀 관심이 없는 무식한 학생이었어요
= He was an ignorant student with no interest in studying
창백하다 = to be pale (usually skin color)
Examples:
그 환자의 얼굴은 피 한 방울 없는 듯 창백하기 그지없었다
= The patient’s face was as pale as if blood had drained from it, extremely pale
야비하다 = to be mean, to be despicable
Examples:
그의 얼굴은 피가 다 빠진 듯 창백했어요
= His face was pale, as if all the blood had drained from it
길가에서 고양이를 걷어찬 그의 행동은 야비하기 그지없었다
= His act of kicking a cat on the street was nothing short of despicable
나른하다 = to be sluggish, to be drowsy
Examples:
그가 졸음에 겨운 듯 나른하기 그지없는 표정으로 앉아 있었다
= He sat there with an expression of utter sluggishness, as if overcome by drowsiness
나른한 오후 햇살에 온몸이 노곤해져서 아무 일도 하기 싫었어요
= In the drowsy afternoon sunlight, my whole body felt heavy and I didn’t want to do anything
나약하다 = to be weak, to be soft spirited
Examples:
목소리는 떨리고 말투는 어눌해 나약하기 그지없어 보였다
= With a trembling voice and hesitant speech, he seemed incredibly weak-spirited
그는 마음이 나약해서 작은 일에도 쉽게 상처를 받았어요
= He was so weak-hearted that even small things hurt him deeply
어눌하다 = to speak awkwardly, inarticulately
Common Usages:
말투가 어눌하다 = to have a clumsy way of speaking, to speak awkwardly
Examples:
목소리는 떨리고 말투는 어눌해 나약하기 그지없어 보였다
= With a trembling voice and hesitant speech, he seemed incredibly weak-spirited
그는 말을 어눌하게 했지만, 진심 어린 눈빛만큼은 확실했어요
= He spoke awkwardly, but the sincerity in his eyes was unmistakable
용감하다 = to be brave
Examples:
저는 어렸을 때 아주 용감했지만 지금은 겁이 많아요
= I used to be brave when I was young, but now I am full of fear
혼자서 대형 프로젝트에 착수했으니 용감하기 그지없다
= Starting a major project alone, how incredibly brave
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn how to describe things with adjectives in a more expressive way. This will allow your Korean sentences to carry more emotional weight. Specifically, you’ll learn about the pattern ~기 그지없다. Let’s get started.
그지없다: To not be able to express the extent of an adjective
그지없다 is technically an adjective, but it often functions like a grammatical principle. In a dictionary, it’s defined roughly as “to be beyond expression” or “to defy description.” It is an adjective itself, but it is often combined with other adjectives in a very specific way. By placing an adjective with ~기 attached to it immediately before 그지없다, a speaker can indicate that the adjective is extreme. For example:
그 아이는 귀엽기 그지없어요
= That child is unbelievably cute
Here, instead of just ending the sentence with 귀엽다, the speaker can indicate that the child is “unbelievably” cute with the use of ~기 그지없다. The speaker can use ~기 그지없다 to express an extreme degree of a certain adjective. Let’s look at many examples:
그는 기본적인 역사 지식조차 없어 무식하기 그지없다
= He doesn’t even have basic knowledge of history, he’s utterly ignorant
그 환자의 얼굴은 피 한 방울 없는 듯 창백하기 그지없었다
= The patient’s face was as pale as if blood had drained from it, extremely pale
길가에서 고양이를 걷어찬 그의 행동은 야비하기 그지없었다
= His act of kicking a cat on the street was nothing short of despicable
그가 졸음에 겨운 듯 나른하기 그지없는 표정으로 앉아 있었다
= He sat there with an expression of utter sluggishness, as if overcome by drowsiness
그의 분노의 근원은 억울함이니 안타깝기 그지없다
= The root of his anger is injustice, it is heartbreaking
사랑은 삶의 원천이자, 감사하기 그지없는 선물이다
= Love is the source of life and a gift that’s beyond thankful
목소리는 떨리고 말투는 어눌해 나약하기 그지없어 보였다
= With a trembling voice and hesitant speech, he seemed incredibly weak-spirited
설명을 듣고 코웃음을 치는 태도는 무례하기 그지없다
= Scoffing at someone explaining is incredibly rude
혼자서 대형 프로젝트에 착수했으니 용감하기 그지없다
= Starting a major project alone, how incredibly brave
아무도 가지 않은 길을 개척한 그의 용기는 대단하기 그지없다
= His courage to pioneer a path no one dared take is truly great
그 정도 일도 못 하다니 한심하기 그지없다
= Not being able to handle something that simple, truly pathetic
That’s it for this lesson!