haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4B › N마저
N마저 — even (the last thing) — one more piece of bad luck
Even (the last thing) — one more piece of bad luck. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4B, lesson 1: 소중한 환경 (Our precious environment — changing plans and formal reasons).
What it means
N마저 means 'even' in the sense of 'the very last one': something bad happens to the last thing you still had, or one more bad thing lands on top of a bad situation — 늦잠을 잤는데 버스마저 놓쳤어요 'I overslept, and then I even missed the bus'; 가뭄 때문에 작은 호수마저 말라 버렸어요 'because of the drought, even the little lake has dried up'. It attaches straight to the noun whatever its final sound (버스마저, 물마저, 너마저) and takes the place of 이/가 or 을/를. Because it carries a sigh, it is almost always used for bad news; for good surprises use 까지 or 도 — 장학금까지 받았어요 'I even got a scholarship'. 까지 in this 'even' sense (Lesson 4B-5) simply piles things up, good or bad, while 마저 says 'and now nothing is left'. N조차 is close to 마저 but means 'not even the most basic thing' and mostly appears with negatives: 이름조차 몰라요 'I don't even know their name'. The bad situation usually comes first with -는데 or -아/어서. As a particle, 마저 lets the verb take any tense.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N마저 | 받침 O · X 모두 — 이/가 · 을/를 자리에 · 나쁜 일이 하나 더 · 마지막 하나까지 | 버스 + 마저 → 버스마저 (놓쳤어요) |
Key points
- N마저 = even (the very last one) — something bad happens to the last thing you had, or one more bad thing piles on: 버스마저 놓쳤어요. It replaces 이/가 or 을/를, and 받침 makes no difference: 버스마저 · 물마저 · 너마저.
- Compare: N도 = also (neutral) · N까지 = even, adding to a list, good or bad (Lesson 4B-5) · N마저 = even the last one — almost always bad · N조차 = not even the most basic (mostly with negatives: 이름조차 몰라요).
Examples
- 나쁜 일이 있는데 그 위에 나쁜 일이 하나 더 생겼을 때 써요: 늦잠을 잤는데 버스마저 놓쳤어요.
- 마지막으로 남은 하나까지 없어졌을 때도 써요: 가뭄 때문에 작은 호수마저 말라 버렸어요.
- 받침이 있어도 없어도 마저: 버스마저 · 물마저 · 너마저. 이/가 · 을/를 자리에 써요.
- 거의 늘 나쁜 일에 써요. 좋은 일에는 까지나 도: 장학금까지 받았어요.
- N조차는 「제일 쉬운 것도」예요. 주로 없다 · 못 · 안과 같이 써요: 이름조차 몰라요.
- 앞에는 -는데 · -아/어서가 자주 와요: 황사가 심한데 마스크마저 잊어버렸어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 12; Hongik University Korean 4B, lesson 7.
Also in this lesson
- V-(으)려다(가) — was about to … but — a plan that changes halfway
- N(으)로써 — by means of · through — how something is done, in formal Korean
- A/V-기에 · -기에는 — as · since (in writing) — and 'for doing …, it's too …'