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There is nothing one can do about something: 어쩔 수 없다
Vocabulary
Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use. Use these sentences to give yourself a feel for how each word can be used, and maybe even to expose yourself to the grammar that you will be learning shortly.
A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.
Nouns:
검 = sword
Common Usages:
양날의 검 = double edged sword
Examples:
검은 색 검이 그의 옆에 걸려 있었어요
= A black sword hung by his side
고대 사람들이 어쩔 수 없이 검을 들고 다녀야 되었어요
= Ancient people had no choice but to walk around with a knife all the time
겹 = layer
Common Usages:
겹겹이 = layer upon layer
Examples:
크로아상은 여러 겹의 층으로 만들어진 빵이에요
= Croissant is bread with stacked in many layers
날씨가 추워서 밖에 나가려면 어쩔 수 없이 옷을 두 겹 이상 입어야 돼요
= It is so cold outside, when we go out we’ll have no choice but to wear (more than two) layers
밀 = wheat
Common Usages:
밀밭 = wheat field
밀가루 = flour
통밀 = whole wheat flour
호밀 = rye flour
Examples:
케이크 반죽에 밀가루를 넣으세요
= Put some flour into the cake batter, please
밀이 있었으면 좋겠지만 어쩔 수 없어요
= It would be nice if we had some flour, but there is nothing we can do
고대 = ancient
Examples:
고대 사람들이 어쩔 수 없이 검을 들고 다녀야 되었어요
= Ancient people had no choice but to walk around with a knife all the time
고대 문명은 많은 미스테리를 안고 있어요
= Ancient civilizations hold many mysteries
수익 = profit
Common Usages:
수익창출 = creating profit
수익의 극대화 = maximizing profits
Examples:
수익을 높이려고 광고를 붙였어요
= I put up an advertisement to raise profits
많은 회사에서 수익을 감추기 위해 수백 개의 차명계좌로 돈을 보내요
= A lot of companies send money to accounts under the names of other people to cover up their income
재작년에 그 회사의 수익은 십억 원이었어요
= That company’s profit two years ago was one billion won
부장님이 다른 회사에 가서 1분기의 수익이 떨어진 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= Our boss went to another company, there’s nothing we can do about our first quarter’s profits dropping
우리 회사는 2년만에 수익을 배가했어요
= In just two years, our company doubled its profits
분기 = a quarter (of a year)
Common Usages:
분기별 = by quarter
분기별 실적 = results by quarter
Examples:
우리 회사는 분기별로 세금을 내요
= Our company pays tax by the quarter
부장님이 다른 회사에 가서 1분기의 수익이 떨어진 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= Our boss went to another company, there’s nothing we can do about our first quarter’s profits dropping
정의 = definition
Common Usages:
정의를 내리다 = to come up with a definition
Examples:
정의는 사회적인 평등과 관련이 있어요 = Justice is related to social equality
그 단어의 정확한 정의를 몰라서 사전에서 어쩔 수 없이 찾아 봤어요
= I didn’t know the exact meaning of that word, so I had no choice but to look it up in the dictionary
장비 = equipment, apparatus
Common Usages:
장비 발 = one’s performance is dependent on the quality of equipment one has
고가장비 = expensive equipment
Examples:
암벽등반을 할 때 가파른 절벽을 오르기 위해서는 안전 장비를 꼭 준비해야 돼요
= When you go rock climbing, in order to go up the steep cliff, you need to make sure that you bring safety gear
장비를 안 가져와서 어쩔 수 없어요
= We didn’t bring the equipment, there is nothing we can do
저는 운동할 때 필요한 모든 장비를 구비했어요
= I am equipped with all the gear I need for working out
체면 = one’s reputation
Common Usages:
체면을 구기다 = to ruin one’s reputation
체면을 지키다 = to protect one’s reputation
체면을 세우다 = to set up one’s reputation
Examples:
교장선생님이 자신의 체면을 지키려고 노력했어요
= The principal tried to maintain his reputation
체면을 구기지 않기 위해 전날부터 최선을 다해 발표를 준비했어요
= In order to not ruin my reputation, I started preparing hard for the presentation the day before
명성 = one’s reputation
Common Usages:
명성을 높이다 = increase one’s fame
명성이 자자하다 = to be reputable
Examples:
연예인은 그 영화로 자기 명성을 많이 높였어요
= That celebrity increased her fame a lot through that movie
명성이 깎이는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= There’s nothing I can do about my fame being tarnished
은어 = slang
Examples:
이 용어는 일상 대화에서 자주 사용되는 은어예요
= This term is a slang often used in everyday conversation
사춘기의 청소년들이 말을 할 때 은어로 말하는 것은 어쩔 수 없는 것이에요
= When kids go through puberty, there’s nothing you can do about them using slang when talking
강철 = steel
Common Usages:
강철체력 = to be strong
Examples:
강철로 만든 건물은 매우 강력하고 내구성이 뛰어나요
= Buildings made of steel are very strong and durable
강철을 사용해야 되는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= There’s nothing we can do, we have to use steel
흔적 = trace, evidence
Common Usages:
흔적을 남기다 = to leave a trace
Examples:
범인의 흔적을 찾기 위해 경찰이 노력했어요
= The police tried to find evidence of the culprit
흔적이 없어서 어쩔 수 없어요
= There is no evidence, so there is nothing we can do
응급 = emergency
Common Usages:
응급실 = emergency room
응급환자 = emergency patient
응급수술 = emergency surgery
Examples:
응급 상황에서 신속한 대처가 필요해요
= Quick response is needed in emergency situations
응급 환자가 있어서 어쩔 수 없이 기다려야 돼요
= There is an emergency patient, so you will have no choice but to wait
응급실 = emergency room
Examples:
응급 환자가 있어서 어쩔 수 없이 기다려야 돼요
= There is an emergency patient, so you will have no choice but to wait
그 뱀에 물리면 독성이 매우 강해서 바로 응급실에 가야 돼요
= If you get bitten by that snake, the toxicity is very high, so you need to go straight to the emergency room
사춘기 = puberty
Common Usages:
사춘기에 접어들다 = to enter puberty
Examples:
십대에는 사춘기를 겪으면서 많은 아이들이 부모님께 말대답을 해요
= Many teenagers talk back to their parents while going through puberty
보통 청소년들은 사춘기 때 부모님께 반항을 해요
= Usually when adolescents go through puberty they rebel against their parents
학생들이 사춘기를 겪고 있기 때문에 학생들을 성별로 나눠서 그 영상을 보여줘야 될 것 같아요
= Because students are going through puberty, we will probably have to divide them by sex and show that video to them
아이들이 중학교에 입학해서 사춘기를 겪는 것은 아주 흔한 현상이에요
= Kids entering middle school and then going through puberty is a very common phenomenon
사춘기인 아들은 부모님이 하는 모든 말에 반대부터 하고 봐요
= Kids going through puberty disagree/oppose everything that their parents say
Verbs:
혼내다 = to be mad at somebody, to yell at somebody
Examples:
부장님이 저를 매일 혼내서 저는 일을 어쩔 수 없이 그만두었어요
= Because the boss would get mad at me every day, I had no choice but to quit
동생이 집을 어지른 건데 엄마가 제가 그런 줄 알고 혼내서 억울했어요
= It was my brother who messed up the house, but my mom got mad at me for it, so I feel that it is unfair
혼나다 = to be scolded, to be yelled at
Examples:
컴퓨터를 고장 내고 아빠한테 혼나는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= After breaking the computer, there is nothing I can do about dad scolding me
제 남동생은 항상 외출 준비를 할 때 미적미적 준비해서 엄마한테 혼나요
= Whenever my younger brother gets ready to go out, he always does so slowly so he gets scolded by my mom
구기다 = to wrinkle, to crumple
Common Usages:
체면을 구기다 = to ruin one’s reputation
Examples:
그 사람이 준 편지를 구겨서 쓰레기통에 버렸어요
= I crumpled the letter from the guy and put it in the garbage
종이를 구겨서 버렸으니까 어쩔 수 없이 다시 그려야 되겠어요
= I crumpled up the paper and threw it out, so I’ll have no choice but to draw it again
삐지다 = to sulk
Examples:
우리 애기가 잘 삐져요
= Our baby gets upset easily
학생이 사소한 일로 삐졌어요
= The student sulked over a trivial matter
애기가 삐져서 어쩔 수 없어요
= The baby is upset, there is nothing we can do
깎이다 = to be disgraced
Examples:
명성이 깎이는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= There’s nothing I can do about my fame being tarnished
그의 평판은 끊임없는 비난으로 인해 깎였어요
= His reputation was disgraced by constant criticism
깎이다 = to be peeled, to be sharpened
Examples:
이 사과는 껍질이 잘 깎여요
= This apple is easy to peel
용돈이 깎여서 어쩔 수 없이 이번 주부터 아껴 써야 돼요
= My allowance was cut, so I’ll have no choice but to start saving from this week
벗어나다 = to get out of/break away from
Common Usages:
편견에서 벗어나다 = to break away from prejudice
가난에서 벗어나다 = to break away from poverty
부모님으로부터 벗어나다 = to break away from one’s parents
Examples:
일을 열심히 해 돈을 모아서 5년만에 그곳에서 벗어날 수 있었어요
= I worked really hard and saved for five years, so I was able to leave/escape that place
그 사람이 자신의 고향에서 벗어나 도시로 이사했어요
= That person moved to the city to break away from his hometown
Adjectives:
거칠다 = to be rough/course/uneven
Common Usages:
행동이 거칠다 = to behave roughly
Examples:
그의 행동은 거칠었고 무서웠어요 = His behavior was rough and scary
피부가 너무 거칠어서 어쩔 수 없이 병원에 가야 되겠어요
= My skin is so rough, I’ll have no choice but to go to the hospital
소심하다 = to be timid
Examples:
강아지가 소심해서 어쩔 수 없어요
= The dog is very timid, there is nothing we can do
학생이 소심한 성격 때문에 새로운 도전을 꺼렸어요
= The student hesitated to take on new challenges because of his timid nature
기특하다 = to be admirable, commendable
Examples:
언니가 정말 기특했어요
= It is very admirable/commendable that the older sister looked after her younger sibling and did everything she could
그의 헌신적인 봉사는 모두에게 칭찬받았어요
= His admirable service was praised by everyone
For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn how to use 어쩔 수 없다 and its various forms in sentences. Though not quite a grammatical principle (it’s more of a word combined with ~ㄹ/을 수 없다) its usage is fairly common and quite difficult – enough to warrant me to write a lesson about it. Let’s get started.
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There is nothing one can do about something: 어쩔 수 없다
In Lesson 94 you learned about the word 어쩌다 and how it is used in sentences to indicate that something happened by chance (or, in effect, was not under the control of the acting agent in a sentence). You learned that this word is most commonly found in sentences that end in the grammatical principle ~게 되다. For example:
어쩌다 응급실에 가게 되었어요 = I ended up going to the emergency room
Because “어쩌다” ends in “~다”, people often assume that it is a verb or an adjective. However, if either of these were the case, there would be no way that 어쩌다 could be placed unconjugated at the beginning of a sentence like we see above. Therefore, 어쩌다 when used this way is an adverb.
Korean dictionaries also have an entry for 어쩌다 as a verb. Because of the slight similarities in meaning with the adverb and verb form of 어쩌다, you might think that they are actually the same word, but they technically are not related.
어쩌다 (in its verb form) is most commonly used by combining it with ~ㄹ 수 없다 to create 어쩔 수 없다. The whole construction (which I suggest you treat as one unit) is used when one wants to express that there is nothing that can be done in a situation.
In its most simple form, it can be used by itself:
어쩔 수 없어요 = There’s nothing I/we/you can do…
You can make a more complex sentence by putting a clause before 어쩔 수 없다 to give more information to the listener/reader as to what you are talking about. For example:
흔적이 없어서 어쩔 수 없어요
= There is no evidence, so there is nothing we can do
애기가 삐져서 어쩔 수 없어요
= The baby is upset, there is nothing we can do
강아지가 소심해서 어쩔 수 없어요
= The dog is very timid, there is nothing we can do
장비를 안 가져와서 어쩔 수 없어요
= We didn’t bring the equipment, there is nothing we can do
밀이 있었으면 좋겠지만 어쩔 수 없어요
= It would be nice if we had some flour, but there is nothing we can do
상황이 조금 안타깝지만 어쩔 수 없어요
= The situation is unfortunate, but there is nothing we can do (about it)
It is also possible to turn the situation into a noun using ~는 것 to allow 어쩔 수 없다 to act on that entire situation. For example:
명성이 깎이는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= There’s nothing I can do about my fame being tarnished
강철을 사용해야 되는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= There’s nothing we can do, we have to use steel
학생들이 저를 싫어하는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= There’s nothing I can do about the students not liking me
컴퓨터를 고장 내고 아빠한테 혼나는 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= After breaking the computer, there is nothing I can do about dad scolding me
부장님이 다른 회사에 가서 1분기의 수익이 떨어진 것은 어쩔 수 없어요
= Our boss went to another company, there’s nothing we can do about our first quarter’s profits dropping
사춘기의 청소년들이 말을 할 때 은어로 말하는 것은 어쩔 수 없는 것이에요
= When kids go through puberty, there’s nothing you can do about them using slang when talking
It’s also possible to apply the ~는 것 principle to 어쩔 수 없다 (어쩔 수 없는) to turn it into a clause that can describe an upcoming noun. The noun that is being described then changes to a noun that one cannot do anything about. For example:
Note that it is often hard to translate these sentences directly into English. What might sound natural in Korean might not sound natural in English if it is translated directly.
부장님을 싫어하는 것은 어쩔 수 없는 일이에요
= Hating your boss is inevitable
우리가 어쩔 수 없는 문제에 도달했어요
= We arrived at the problem that we can’t do anything about
이게 어쩔 수 없는 상황이니 다른 생각을 해봅시다
= Because this is a situation we can’t control (can’t do anything about) let’s think about something else
아이들이 사춘기를 지나가는 것은 어쩔 수 없는 일이다
= Going through puberty is something that all kids go through
Finally, it is also possible to change 어쩔 수 없다 to 어쩔 수 없이 to act as an adverb. 어쩔 수 없이 can then be placed in sentences to indicate that one does an action “unavoidably” or because he/she had no choice in the matter. For example:
부모님께 어쩔 수 없이 진실을 알려줬어요
= I had no choice but to tell my parents the truth
응급 환자가 있어서 어쩔 수 없이 기다려야 돼요
= There is an emergency patient, so you will have no choice but to wait
고대 사람들이 어쩔 수 없이 검을 들고 다녀야 되었어요
= Ancient people had no choice but to walk around with a knife all the time
용돈이 깎여서 어쩔 수 없이 이번 주부터 아껴 써야 돼요
= My allowance was cut, so I’ll have no choice but to start saving from this week
피부가 너무 거칠어서 어쩔 수 없이 병원에 가야 되겠어요
= My skin is so rough, I’ll have no choice but to go to the hospital
종이를 구겨서 버렸으니까 어쩔 수 없이 다시 그려야 되겠어요
= I crumpled up the paper and through it out, so I’ll have no choice but to draw it again
부장님이 저를 매일 혼내서 저는 일을 어쩔 수 없이 그만두었어요
= Because the boss would get mad at me every day, I had no choice but to quit
그 단어의 정확한 정의를 몰라서 사전에서 어쩔 수 없이 찾아 봤어요
= I don’t know the exact meaning of that word, so I’ll have no choice but to look it up in the dictionary
우리가 너무 빨리 가고 있었기 때문에 어쩔 수 없이 발생한 사고였어요
= Because we were going so fast, the accident was unavoidable
날씨가 추워서 밖에 나가려면 어쩔 수 없이 옷을 두 겹 이상 입어야 돼요
= It is so cold outside, when we go out we’ll have no choice but to wear (more than two) layers
가장 친한 친구의 여자 친구에게 키스를 해서 그 친구에게 어쩔 수 없이 거짓말을 했어요
= After kissing my best friend’s girlfriend, I had no choice but to lie to him
That’s it for this Lesson!