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그지없다: To not be able to express the extent of an adjective
Vocabulary
Nouns:
근원 = root, cause, source
원천 = the source of
길가 = roadside, side of the road
코웃음 = scoff
기본적 = to be basic
원천적 = to be fundamental
개척자 = pioneer, trailblazer
Verbs:
걷어차다 = to kick
개척하다 = to colonize
착수하다 = to start, to commence
Adjectives:
겹다 = to be choked with emotion
그지없다 = to not be able to express
한심하다 = to be pathetic
무식하다 = to be ignorant
창백하다 = to be pale (usually skin color)
야비하다 = to be mean, to be despicable
나른하다 = to be sluggish, to be drowsy
나약하다 = to be weak, to be soft spirited
어눌하다 = to speak awkwardly, inarticulately
용감하다 = to be 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!