haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › A/V-기는커녕 · N은/는커녕
A/V-기는커녕 · N은/는커녕 — far from … · let alone … — not even the smaller thing
Far from … · let alone … — not even the smaller thing. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4A, lesson 5: 저축은커녕 생활비도 모자라요 (Saving? I can barely cover living costs — money and spending).
What it means
N은/는커녕 and -기는커녕 say that something is out of the question — it didn't happen, and not even something smaller or easier did: 저축은커녕 생활비도 모자라요 'saving? I can't even cover my living costs'. The first part is the big thing you could not even think about (saving), the second the smaller thing that also fails (living costs), usually with 도 and a negative or 'not enough' verb: 도 못 하다, 도 안 되다, 도 모자라다, 도 없다. After a noun use 은커녕 (with 받침) or 는커녕 (without): 저축은커녕, 커피는커녕. After a verb or an adjective use -기는커녕: 쉬기는커녕, 싸기는커녕. With -기는커녕 the second half often says that the very opposite happened: 지출이 줄기는커녕 20만 원이나 늘었어요 'far from going down, my spending went up by 200,000 won'. Compare -기는 하지만 (Lesson 2B-4), which admits something and then adds a 'but' (저축하기는 하지만 조금밖에 못 해요 'I do save, but only a little'); 커녕 denies it completely. The tense goes on the verb at the end: 쉬기는커녕 일했어요. 커녕 is a complaint, often an exaggeration, and it is casual — fine about your own life and with friends, but used about the person you are talking to, or about someone older, it sounds like an accusation.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N은/는커녕 | 명사 — 받침 O 은커녕 · 받침 X 는커녕 · 뒤에 「N도 + 못 · 안 · 없다 · 모자라다」 | 저축 + 은커녕 → 저축은커녕 |
| A/V-기는커녕 | 동사 · 형용사 + 기는커녕 · 뒤에 반대의 일도 자주 와요 | 쉬다 + 기는커녕 → 쉬기는커녕 |
Key points
- N은/는커녕 … 도 + a negative = far from N, not even …: the first part is the big thing you can't even think about, the second the smaller thing that also fails — 저축은커녕 생활비도 모자라요. 받침 O 은커녕 · 받침 X 는커녕.
- A/V-기는커녕 = far from …ing — and often the very opposite follows: 쉬기는커녕 일했어요 · 줄기는커녕 늘었어요. It is a complaint, a little exaggerated and casual: fine about your own life, risky about the person in front of you.
Examples
- 큰 일은 생각할 수도 없고, 더 작은 일도 안 될 때 써요: 저축은커녕 생활비도 모자라요.
- 명사: 받침 O → 은커녕, 받침 X → 는커녕: 저축은커녕 · 커피는커녕.
- 동사 · 형용사: -기는커녕: 쉬기는커녕 · 줄기는커녕 · 싸기는커녕.
- 뒤에는 보통 「N도 못 하다 · N도 안 되다 · N도 모자라다 · N도 없다」가 와요.
- -기는커녕 뒤에는 반대의 일이 올 때가 많아요: 지출이 줄기는커녕 20만 원이나 늘었어요.
- 불평할 때 많이 써요. 앞에 있는 사람이나 윗사람의 일에 쓰면 실례가 될 수 있어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4A, lesson 4; Sogang University Korean 5A, lesson 1; Ewha Womans University Korean 4, lesson 9; Hongik University Korean 4B, lesson 12; Hanyang University Korean 4-2, lesson 9.
Also in this lesson
- A-(으)ㄴ 반면(에) · V-는 반면(에) — while … · on the other hand — two sides of one thing, two people, two months
- A/V-(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다 — it's obvious that … · … is bound to happen — predicting what anyone can see coming