Lesson 144: ~지 뭐: One doesn’t care about what the outcome of a situation is

Jump to:

Vocabulary

Nouns:
악취 = stink

Common Usages:
악취증 = a disease of bad body odor

Examples:
그 근처에 폐기물 처리 시설이 있어서 여름에는 심한 악취가 나요
= There is a waste removal facility nearby so in the summer there is a severe stench

집 근처 하수에서 악취가 나서 곧 이사를 해야 되겠지 뭐
= There is a bad smell coming out of some sewage near our house, so I guess we will just have to move soon

모의 = mock

Common Usages:
모의고사 = mock/practice exam
범죄를 모의하다 = to plan/plot/conspire a crime

Examples:
오늘은 수능 전에 모의 고사를 보는 날이에요
= Today is the day we are writing a mock-exam prior to doing the Korean SAT

긴장하면 배탈이 엄청 자주 나는데 중요한 모의고사를 봐야 되니까 약을 먹지 뭐
= When I’m nervous, I have severe stomach pains, but since I have to do an important mock exam, I guess I’ll just have to eat some medicine (to make it better)

환상 = fantasy

Examples:
놀이동산은 환상을 그려놓은 곳이에요
= An amusement park is where fantasies are

완벽한 남자랑 결혼하는 것이 그냥 환상이지 뭐
= I guess I just need to resign to the fact that marrying the perfect man is just a fantasy

침낭 = sleeping bag

Examples:
침대가 없다니 침낭을 가져가지 뭐
= Well, there’s nothing I can do. They say there are no beds, so I guess I’m bringing a sleeping bag.

침낭은 야외에서 잠을 자는 데 도움이 돼요
= A sleeping bag is useful for sleeping outdoors

배탈 = a stomach ache

Common Usages:
배탈약 = medicine to help a stomach ache
배탈이 나다 = to have a stomach ache

Examples:
너무 많이 먹으면 배탈이 날 수 있어요
= Eating too much can cause a stomach ache

긴장하면 배탈이 엄청 자주 나는데 중요한 모의고사를 봐야 되니까 약을 먹지 뭐
= When I’m nervous, I have severe stomach pains, but since I have to do an important mock exam, I guess I’ll just have to eat some medicine

통계 = statistics

Common Usages:
통계청 = statistics office of a government
통계학 = statistics as a field of study
통계를 내다 = to gather and compile statistics

Examples:
통계를 통해 데이터를 분석할 수 있어요
= Data can be analyzed through statistics

관련 통계에 대한 수치를 보면 그 문제에 대한 답을 찾을 수 있겠지 뭐
= If we look at the relevant statistic figures, I guess that we will only be able to find answers related to that problem

수치 = numbers, figures

Examples:
그 숫자들이 의미하는 바를 이해하기 위해서는 수치를 분석해야 해요
= To understand what those numbers mean, we need to analyze the figures

가책 = the qualms of doing something bad

Common Usages:
양심의 가책을 느끼다 = to feel guilty

Examples:
범죄자가 자신의 행동에 대한 가책을 느꼈어요
= The criminal felt guilty about his actions

범죄를 저지른 사람이 양심에 가책을 느낄 거라서 곧 자수하겠지 뭐
= People that commit crimes will feel the guilt on the conscious and will eventually turn themselves in

하수 = sewage

Common Usages:
하수구 = sewage pipe
하수처리시설 = sewage treatment equipment

Examples:
하수구에서는 하수가 배출돼요
= Sewage is discharged through sewage pipes in a house

집 근처 하수에서 악취가 나서 곧 이사를 해야 되겠지 뭐
= There is a bad smell coming out of some sewage near our house, so I guess we will just have to move soon

하수구 = water in pipes in a house

Examples:
하수구에서는 하수가 배출돼요
= Sewage is discharged through sewage pipes in a house

이 건물 화장실 하수구에 문제가 있어서 곧 건물을 철거해야 되겠지 뭐
= This building has a problem with its sewage pipes, so I guess we will soon have to demolish it

나흘간 = four days

Examples:
나흘간의 여행 후에 집에 돌아왔어요
= After four days of travel, I returned home

일주일 동안 갔으면 좋겠는데 호텔이 없어서 나흘간만 가지 뭐
= It would have been nice to have gone for a week, but there are no hotels, so I guess we’ll just have to go for four days

부가세 = additional tax

Common Usages:
부가세 납부 = payment of additional tax

Examples:
한국에서 부가세는 모두 동일하게 제품 가격의 10%예요
= Value-added tax is always 10 % of the price of products in Korea

부가세를 깜빡해서 생각보다 가격이 비싸서 이 컴퓨터 말고 다른 컴퓨터를 사지 뭐
= I forgot about the tax, so the price is more expensive than I thought, which means I guess I won’t be able to buy this computer, and I’ll have to buy another one instead

지하도 = underground road

Examples:
지하도를 지나가면 시간을 단축할 수 있어요
= If you drive through this underground road you can save time

저 지하도로 갔어야 했는데 기회를 놓쳐서 다음 신호등에서 그냥 직진하지 뭐
= We should have taken that underpass, but because we missed the chance to get on it, we will just have to go straight at the next intersection

사직서 = letter of resignation (to resign from a position)

Common Usages:
사직서를 제출하다 = to submit a letter of resignation
사직서를 수리하다 = to accept a letter of resignation

Examples:
동료를 싫어해서 사직서를 냈지 뭐
= I hated all of my coworkers, so I had nothing I could do, I submitted my resignation

저는 이제 사직서를 제출하고 저만의 일을 시작할 거예요
= I am going to submit a letter of resignation and start my own business

신호등 = traffic lights

Common Usages:
신호등을 준수하다 = to obey the traffic lights

Examples:
신호등을 건널 때는 꼭 주위를 살피고 건너야 해요
= When you cross the street (the traffic light), always check one’s surroundings (look both ways) and then cross

신호등을 못 보는 바람에 벌금을 내야 했어요
= I didn’t/couldn’t see the traffic light, so I had to pay a fine

Verbs:
양해하다 = to ask for an understanding for

Notes: It is common and polite to use 양해하다 to ask for understanding about something. For example, when I need to call some agency or government office in Korea, I’ll usually start by saying that I’m a foreigner and to please excuse my Korean if you can’t understand me. I’ll say “제가 외국인이라서 부족한 한국어를 양해 부탁 드립니다.”

Common Usages:
양해 부탁 드리다 = please understand

Examples:
화장실을 금연구역으로 지정했으니 양해와 협조 바랍니다
= We appreciate your cooperation with us designating this bathroom as a non-smoking area

오늘까지 끝내야 할 일이 있어서 조금 늦더라도 양해해주세요
= Please forgive me even if I’m a bit late as I have some work that needs to be finished by today

철거하다 = to take down, to tear down

Common Usages:
건물을 철거하다 = to tear down a building

Examples:
철거 작업이 완료되면 새 건물을 건설할 수 있어요
= Once the demolition is finished, we can construct a new building

이 건물 화장실 하수구에 문제가 있어서 곧 건물을 철거해야 되겠지 뭐
= This building has a problem with its sewage pipes, so I guess we will soon have to demolish it

사직하다 = to resign from a job

Examples:
이 일을 너무 싫어해서 사직할 거예요
= I really don’t like this job, so I am going to resign

사직하려는 이유는 여러 가지가 있을 수 있어요
= There can be various reasons for wanting to resign

입대하다 = to enlist in the army

Common Usages:
입대일 = the day in which one enlists
해군에 입대하다 = to enlist to the navy
공군에 입대하다 = to enlist to the air force

Examples:
해군에 입대하기 위해서는 체력이 좋고 건강해야 해요
= If you want to enter the navy, you need to be in really good health

3년 동안 취업하려고 했는데 일자리가 아예 없어서 입대했지 뭐
= I tried for three years to get a job, but there just aren’t any positions so I had to join the army

체포하다 = to arrest

Examples:
그 남자가 살인 혐의로 체포되었어요
= That man was arrested on suspicion of murder

살인범이 탈출하자마자 경찰관이 그를 찾아서 체포했어요
= As soon as the murderer escaped, the police caught him and arrested him

우리가 언젠가 살인자를 찾아서 그때 체포하지 뭐
= We will eventually catch the murderer, so I guess we’ll just arrest him/her then

자수하다 = to turn oneself in

Examples:
자수하면 형량을 줄일 수 있어요
= If you turn yourself in, you can spend less time in jail

범죄를 저지른 사람이 양심에 가책을 느낄 거라서 곧 자수하겠지 뭐
= People that commit crimes will feel the guilt on the conscious and will eventually turn themselves in

반발하다 = to resist, to oppose

Examples:
학생들이 이 새로운 규정에 반발할 것 같아서 그냥 포기하지 뭐
= The students will probably resist/oppose this new rule, so let’s just give up

다른 나라가 그 나라를 점령하려고 하자 국민들이 반발했어요
= When the other country tried to conquer that country’s people started to resist

얼얼하다 = for one’s face or mouth to be tingling or burning

Common Usages:
입이 얼얼하다 = for one’s lips to be burning
얼굴이 얼얼하다 = for one’s face to be tingling

Examples:
충치를 치료할 때 한 마취가 지금 깨고 있어서 입안이 얼얼해요
= Inside of my mouth started to feel tingling as the freezing I got when i was getting cavity treatment was wearing off

매운 떡볶이를 먹으면 입안이 얼얼해서 그냥 순한 맛 떡볶이를 시키지 뭐
= When I eat spicy ttokboki the inside of my mouth gets all tingly, so I guess we just need to order the plain ttokboki

입씨름하다 = to argue about/bicker over

Examples:
하루 종일 고객과 입씨름을 해서 너무 피곤해요
= I am so tired from arguing with customers all day

한 시간 동안 회의에서 입씨름만 하다가 성과 없이 끝났지 뭐
= After just bickering for an hour during the meeting without any result, we just had to finish the meeting

Adjectives:
곱슬하다 = to be curly

Common Usages:
곱슬 머리 = curly hair

Examples:
머리가 곱슬해서 항상 스트레스를 받아요
= I am always stressed with my curly hair

그 여자는 곱슬한 머리카락을 매일 아침 손질해야 해요
= She has to style her curly hair every morning

과도하다 = to be excessive

Examples:
과도하게 포장된 제품들만 먼저 반품하지 뭐
= I guess let’s first return the products that are excessively packaged

과도한 업무량은 직장 생활의 질을 저하시킬 수 있어요
= Excessive workload can deteriorate the quality of work life

애매모호하다 = to be ambiguous

Examples:
그 문제는 애매모호하여 명확한 해결책이 필요해요
= The issue is ambiguous, and a clear solution is needed

내용이 살짝 애매모호해서 학생들한테 다시 설명해야 되겠지 뭐
= The content is a little bit ambiguous, so I guess I’ll just have to explain it to the students again

For help memorizing these words, try using our mobile app.

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn how to end your sentences with ~지 뭐 to show that one doesn’t really care what the outcome of a situation is. I don’t really like “one doesn’t really care about what the outcome of a situation is” as a way to translate ~지 뭐. It just doesn’t sound very academic. Instead, let’s translate it to “to resign to the fact that.” Yes, much more academic. Let me break ~지 뭐 down for you and show you how we can use it. Let’s get started.

~지 뭐: To resign to the fact that…

In Lesson 93, you learned many ways that ~지 can be added to the stems of verbs or adjectives or 이다 to end a sentence. It is also possible to end a sentence with ~지 and then add 뭐 after it. For example:

침대가 없다니 침낭을 가져가지 뭐

I’ve heard Korean people try to make this type of sentence formal by saying ~죠 뭐요 instead of ~지 뭐. For example, by saying this:

침대가 없다니 침낭을 가져가죠 뭐요

It is hard to say that this is “incorrect” if Korean people use it like this sometimes. However, I don’t like this, and I suggest you don’t use it like this.

When a sentence ends in ~지 뭐, the speaker is implying a feeling that there is nothing that can be done about the situation. They will have to give up or resign to the idea that they will just have to bring a sleeping bag because there won’t be any beds. What else could one do? If somebody says that there isn’t any beds, and you need to go to this place anyways, well… I guess you’re sleeping on the floor, aren’t you?

As is typical with grammatical principles in Unit 6, it is difficult to translate ~지 뭐 to English. A proper translation usually requires a lot of words that describe the feeling that is trying to be conveyed. For example:

침대가 없다니 침낭을 가져가지 뭐
= Well, there’s nothing I can do. They say there are no beds, so I guess I’m bringing a sleeping bag.

Below are many example sentences with my attempts at translating the feeling that comes along with ending a sentence with ~지 뭐:

완벽한 남자랑 결혼하는 것이 그냥 환상이지 뭐
= I guess I just need to resign to the fact that marrying the perfect man is just a fantasy

과도하게 포장된 제품들만 먼저 반품하지 뭐
= I guess let’s first return the products that are excessively packaged

You might be thinking when you would ever say this. My wife actually said this to me when we were on a trip and she realized she bought way too many things to bring back with us. We had to return a few things, so she suggested that we return the things that have big packaging. I suggested from the beginning we don’t shop at all.

우리가 언젠가 살인자를 찾아서 그때 체포하지 뭐
= We will eventually catch the murderer, so I guess we’ll just arrest him/her then

학생들이 이 새로운 규정에 반발할 것 같아서 그냥 포기하지 뭐
= The students will probably resist/oppose this new rule, so let’s just give up

매운 떡볶이를 먹으면 입안이 얼얼해서 그냥 순한 맛 떡볶이를 시키지 뭐
= When I eat spicy ttokboki the inside of my mouth gets all tingly, so I guess we just need to order the plain

부가세를 깜박해서 생각보다 가격이 비싸서 이 컴퓨터 말고 다른 컴퓨터를 사지 뭐
= I forgot about the tax, so the price is more expensive than I thought, which means I guess I won’t be able to buy this computer, and I’ll have to buy another one instead

샤워를 하고 머리를 안 말려서 지금 머리가 곱슬머리인데 나가야 되면 모자를 쓰지 뭐
= After showering I didn’t dry my hair and now my hair is all curly, so if I have to go outside I guess I’ll just wear a hat

———–

It is also possible to add ~지 뭐 to situations that occurred in the past tense to indicate that one had, in the past, resigned to some fact. For example:

동료를 싫어해서 사직서를 냈지 뭐
= I hated all of my coworkers, so I had nothing I could do, I submitted my resignation

한 시간 동안 회의에서 입씨름만 하다가 성과 없이 끝났지 뭐
= After just bickering for an hour during the meeting without any result, we just had to finish the meeting

3년 동안 취업하려고 했는데 일자리가 아예 없어서 입대했지 뭐
= I tried for three years to get a job, but there just aren’t any positions so I had to join the army

———–

It is also possible to add ~지 뭐 to situations that will occur in the future to indicate that one will have to give up on something. I guess you could say that some of the examples in the first slew of sentences have already done this. That is, they refer to situations in the near future even though ~지 뭐 is added to the present tense form of a verb. However, I specifically want to mention that ~지 뭐 is commonly added to ~겠. For example:

집 근처 하수에서 악취가 나서 곧 이사를 해야 되겠지 뭐
= There is a bad smell coming out of some sewage near our house, so I guess we will just have to move soon

내용이 살짝 애매모호해서 학생들한테 다시 설명해야 되겠지 뭐
= The content is a little bit ambiguous, so I guess I’ll just have to explain it to the students again

범죄를 저지른 사람이 양심에 가책을 느낄 거라서 곧 자수하겠지 뭐
= People that commit crimes will feel the guilt on the conscious and will eventually turn themselves in

관련 통계에 대한 수치를 보면 그 문제에 대한 답을 찾을 수 있겠지 뭐
= If we look at the relevant statistic figures, I guess we can just find and answer

이 건물 화장실 하수구에 문제가 있어서 곧 건물을 철거해야 되겠지 뭐
= This building has a problem with its sewage pipes, so I guess we will soon have to demolish it

That’s it for this lesson!

Okay, got it! Take me to the next lesson!