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~ㄹ/을락 말락: Stopping or Hesitating
Vocabulary
Nouns:
두피 = scalp
Examples:
두피가 가려워서 긁을락 말락 했어요
= My scalp was itchy, so I was about to scratch it but stopped
두피가 가려워서 샴푸를 바꿨어요
= I changed my shampoo because my scalp was itchy
치통 = toothache
Examples:
치통 때문에 밤새 잠을 못 잤어요
= I couldn’t sleep all night because of a toothache
치통이 생길락 말락 해서 단 것을 피하고 있어요
= I’m avoiding sweets because I feel like I’m about to get a toothache
벼룩 = flea
Common Usages:
벼룩시장 = flea market
간에 벼룩을 빼먹다 = to nitpick excessively (literally, remove a flea from the liver)
벼룩잡으려다 초가삼간 태운다 = to burn the house trying to catch a flea (overreact to a small issue)
Examples:
고양이에게서 벼룩이 발견되었어요
= Fleas were found on the cat
강아지가 벼룩을 잡을락 말락 하다가 결국 놓쳤어요
= The puppy was about to catch the flea but ended up missing it
적성 = aptitude
Common Usages:
적성에 맞다 = to suit one’s aptitude
적성을 찾다 = to find one’s aptitude
적성 검사 = aptitude test
Examples:
그 학생은 과학이 적성에 잘 맞아요
= That student has an aptitude for science
그 일이 제 적성에 맞을락 말락 해서 계속 고민 중이에요
= That job seems like it suits my aptitude but not quite, so I’m still thinking about it
사탕 = candy
Common Usages:
알사탕 = hard candy
사탕발린 말 = sugar-coated words
Examples:
아이들은 사탕을 받고 기뻐했어요
= The children were happy to receive candy
사탕을 먹을락 말락 하다가 결국 건강에 얼마나 안 좋은 지를 생각했어요
= I was about to eat the candy but ended up thinking about how bad it would be for my health
솜사탕 = cotton candy
Examples:
솜사탕이 달고 부드러워서 맛있었어요
= The cotton candy was sweet and soft, so it tasted good
입에 넣자마자 솜사탕이 녹을락 말락 했어요
= As soon as I put it in my mouth, the cotton candy almost melted
건전지 = battery
Common Usages:
AA건전지 = AA battery
AAA건전지 = AAA battery
건전지 교체 = battery change
Examples:
리모컨의 건전지를 새 것으로 바꿨어요
= I replaced the battery in the remote with a new one
건전지가 다 닳을락 말락 해서 새 것으로 교체했어요
= The battery was about to die, so I replaced it with a new one
병문안 = a visit in the hospital
Examples:
우리는 병문안을 가기 위해 꽃을 샀어요
= We bought flowers to visit someone in the hospital
병문안을 갈락 말락 하다가 결국 시간이 없어서 못 갔어요
= I was about to visit but ended up not going because I didn’t have time
장난감 = toy
Examples:
아이들은 장난감을 가지고 놀면서 즐거워했어요
= The children had fun playing with their toys
우리 아가가 장난감 망치로 물건을 뚝딱뚝딱 고치는 게 좋아요
= Our baby likes to fix objects with her toy hammer
그 장난감 자동차가 사람으로 변신할 수 있어요
= That toy car can transform into a person
제 동생의 장난감을 망가뜨릴락 말락 했어요
= I was about to destroy by younger sibling’s toy but I stopped
우리 아가가 장난감 망치로 물건을 뚝딱뚝딱 고치는 게 좋아요
= Our baby likes to fix objects with her toy hammer
Verbs:
기절하다 = to faint
Examples:
갑자기 기절할락 말락 했어요
= All of a sudden I was about to faint (but didn’t)
그 소식을 듣고 엄마는 충격으로 기절했어요
= Mom fainted from the shock of the news
교체하다 = to replace, to change
Common Usages:
선수를 교체하다 = to replace a player in a game (athlete)
Examples:
오래된 전구를 새 것으로 교체했어요
= I replaced the old light bulb with a new one
타이어가 교체될 때 차량이 회전하게 돼요
= The vehicle rotates when the tires are replaced
건전지가 다 닳을락 말락 해서 새 것으로 교체했어요
= The battery was about to die, so I replaced it with a new one
창문에 미세하게 금이 가 있어서 창문이 깨지기 전에 교체해야 돼요
= There is a minute crack on the window so you should replace it before it breaks
면회하다 = to visit
Common Usages:
면회실 = visiting room (in hospitals, prisons, etc.)
면회시간 = visiting hours
Examples:
우리는 병원에 입원한 친구를 면회하러 갔어요
= We went to visit our friend who was hospitalized
군대에 있는 오빠를 면회할락 말락 했는데 시간이 안 맞더라고요
= I was going back and forth on whether to visit my brother in the military, but the timing didn’t work out
통풍하다 = to ventilate
Examples:
창문을 열어 방을 통풍해야 해요
= You should open the window to ventilate the room
통풍이 안 돼서 다른 창문을 설치할까 말까 고민 중이에요
= I’m considering whether to install another window because the ventilation is bad
망가뜨리다 = to destroy
Examples:
제 동생의 장난감을 망가뜨릴락 말락 했어요
= I was about to destroy by younger sibling’s toy but I stopped
아이들이 장난을 치다가 장난감을 망가뜨렸어요
= The kids broke the toy while playing with it
Adjectives:
상큼하다 = to be refreshing, to be fresh
Examples:
상큼한 레몬 향이 방 안 가득 퍼졌어요
= The fresh scent of lemon filled the room
레몬에는 신맛이 있지만 상큼하고 맛있어요
= Lemons have a sour taste, but they’re refreshing and tasty
이 레몬차는 상큼할락 말락 해서 맛이 애매해요
= This lemon tea is almost refreshing but not quite, so the taste is ambiguous
촉촉하다 = to be moist
Common Usages:
피부가 촉촉하다 = skin is moist
Examples:
촉촉한 케이크가 입안에서 부드럽게 녹았어요
= The moist cake melted softly in my mouth
빵이 오븐에서 다 구워져서 촉촉해질 것 같아서 꺼낼락 말락 하다가 조금 더 구웠어요
= The bread was about to be taken out of the oven, and it seemed like it would be moist, but I decided to bake it a little longer
고급스럽다 = to be luxurious
Examples:
그 호텔은 인테리어가 고급스러워서 인기가 많아요
= The hotel is popular because of its luxurious interior
그녀는 고급스러운 드레스를 입고 무대에 올라갈락 말락 했지만 긴장해서 한 걸음 물러섰어요
= She was about to step onto the stage in a luxurious dress but stepped back due to nervousness
당혹스럽다 = to be embarrassed
Examples:
예상치 못한 질문에 당혹스러웠어요
= I was embarrassed by the unexpected question
저를 놀리곤 했던 친구를 길에서 마주쳐서 당황스러웠어요
= I bumped into a friend that used to tease me on the street so I was embarrassed
너무 당황스러워서. 물론 나는 네가 마음에 들기 때문에 꼭 말을 하고 싶었어. 하지만 너는 인기도 많고, 친구들도 많기 때문에 나한테 관심이 있을지 정말 몰랐어
= I am too shy. Of course, because I like you, I had to talk to you. But, you are so popular, and you have a lot of friends, so I really didn’t think that you would be interested in me.
Adverbs and Other Words:
쏙 = snugly
Common Usages:
쏙 빼다 = to copy exactly / to extract completely
Examples:
작은 고양이가 상자 안에 쏙 들어갔어요
= The small cat snugly fit into the box
반지가 손가락에 쏙 들어갈락 말락 해서 조금 더 밀어 넣었어요
= The ring was about to snugly fit on my finger, so I pushed it in a little more
멋대로 = as one pleases
Common Usages:
멋대로 행동하다 = to act as one pleases
Examples:
그 아이는 항상 멋대로 행동해서 문제가 많아요
= That kid always acts as he pleases, which causes many problems
동생이 내 물건을 멋대로 가져갈락 말락 해서 제가 쳐다봤어요
= My younger sibling seemed like she was about to take my stuff as they pleased, so I stared at them
Introduction
In this lesson, you will continue to learn about applications of 말다. Specifically, you will see how it can be used with ~ㄹ/을락 말락. Let’s get started.
~ㄹ/을락 말락: Stopping or Hesitating
In the past two lessons (Lesson 167 and 168), you have seen how you can use 말다 as a way to refer to an action being done or not done. When you attach ~ㄹ/을락 말락 to an action, you can indicate that somebody is about to do something, but then hesitates and stops. As a result, the action wasn’t done, but it was on the verge of happening. For example:
갑자기 기절할락 말락 했어요
= All of a sudden I was about to faint (but didn’t)
두피가 가려워서 긁을락 말락 했어요
= My scalp was itchy, so I was about to scratch it but stopped
제 동생의 장난감을 망가뜨릴락 말락 했어요
= I was about to destroy by younger sibling’s toy but I stopped
입에 넣자마자 솜사탕이 녹을락 말락 했어요
= As soon as I put it in my mouth, the cotton candy almost melted
In the sentences above, the speaker simply ends the sentences with 하다. This implies that the action attached to ~ㄹ/을락 말락 didn’t happen, although it was on the verge of happening. Often sentences with ~ㄹ/을락 말락 end with an indication that the speaker is worried or thinking about doing the action or not. For example:
통풍이 안 돼서 다른 창문을 설치할까 말까 고민 중이에요
= I’m considering whether to install another window because the ventilation is bad
아이가 장난감을 집을락 말락 하면서 고민했어요
= The child hesitated, about to pick up the toy but then thought about it
It’s also possible that the speaker can end the sentence with more context as to the result of the action almost happening. In the sentences below, you’ll see ~ㄹ/을락 말락 attached to something that was about to happen, followed by some sort of context about that action. For example:
제가 말을 할락 말락 하다가 결국 안 했어요
= I was about to say something but ended up not saying it
강아지가 벼룩을 잡을락 말락 하다가 결국 놓쳤어요
= The puppy was about to catch the flea but ended up missing it
친구의 말을 듣고 당혹스러울락 말락 했지만 참았어요
= I was about to feel embarrassed by my friend’s words but held it in
병문안을 갈락 말락 하다가 결국 시간이 없어서 못 갔어요
= I was about to visit but ended up not going because I didn’t have time
반지가 손가락에 쏙 들어갈락 말락 해서 조금 더 밀어 넣었어요
= The ring was about to snugly fit on my finger, so I pushed it in a little more
군대에 있는 오빠를 면회할락 말락 했는데 시간이 안 맞더라고요
= I was going back and forth on whether to visit my brother in the military, but the timing didn’t work out
사탕을 먹을락 말락 하다가 결국 건강에 얼마나 안 좋은 지를 생각했어요
= I was about to eat the candy but ended up thinking about how bad it would be for my health
빵이 오븐에서 다 구워져서 촉촉해질 것 같아서 꺼낼락 말락 하다가 조금 더 구웠어요
= The bread was about to be taken out of the oven, and it seemed like it would be moist, but I decided to bake it a little longer
그녀는 고급스러운 드레스를 입고 무대에 올라갈락 말락 했지만 긴장해서 한 걸음 물러섰어요
= She was about to step onto the stage in a luxurious dress but stepped back due to nervousness
Depending on the context, it is also possible for ~ㄹ/을락 말락 to have the connotation that something looks like it might be the case. In this way, from the perspective of the speaker, they are describing a scenario that looks like it might happen or is on the verge of happening. For example:
이 레몬차는 상큼할락 말락 해서 맛이 애매해요
= This lemon tea is almost refreshing but not quite, so the taste is ambiguous
치통이 생길락 말락 해서 단 것을 피하고 있어요
= I’m avoiding sweets because I feel like I’m about to get a toothache
건전지가 다 닳을락 말락 해서 새 것으로 교체했어요
= The battery was about to die, so I replaced it with a new one
그 일이 제 적성에 맞을락 말락 해서 계속 고민 중이에요
= That job seems like it suits my aptitude but not quite, so I’m still thinking about it
동생이 내 물건을 멋대로 가져갈락 말락 해서 제가 쳐다봤어요
= My younger sibling seemed like she was about to take my stuff as they pleased, so I stared at them
That’s it for this lesson!