haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4B › A-다기보다(는) · V-ㄴ/는다기보다(는) · N(이)라기보다(는)
A-다기보다(는) · V-ㄴ/는다기보다(는) · N(이)라기보다(는) — not so much … as … — correcting a word, and disagreeing softly
Not so much … as … — correcting a word, and disagreeing softly. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4B, lesson 2: 찬성인가 반대인가 (For or against? — debating a social issue).
What it means
-다기보다(는) corrects a word softly: the first description is not quite right, and the second fits better. 유나는 예쁘다기보다는 귀여워요 'Yuna is cute rather than pretty'. Inside it is the -다고 하다 of Lesson 3A-1 plus -기보다 'rather than': 예쁘다고 하기보다는 → 예쁘다기보다는, 'rather than say she is pretty'. So the endings are those of reported speech. An adjective takes -다기보다(는): 나쁘다기보다는, 어렵다기보다는. A verb takes -ㄴ다기보다(는) after a vowel or ㄹ (반대한다기보다는, 간다기보다는, 만든다기보다는) and -는다기보다(는) after any other 받침 (먹는다기보다는). A noun takes -(이)라기보다(는): 질문이라기보다는, 반대라기보다는. For the past, put -았/었- before 다, whatever the word: 실수했다기보다는, 싫었다기보다는, 질문이었다기보다는. 는 is often dropped. Because it rejects a word rather than the person who said it, it is the polite way to disagree in Korean: in a meeting, 반대한다기보다는 걱정이 하나 있습니다 'it's not that I'm against it — I just have one concern' sounds far gentler than 반대합니다. Use it for labels and descriptions, not for plain facts: to correct a date, just give the right one.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A-다기보다(는) | 형용사 — 받침 O · X 모두 다기보다는 · 과거는 -았/었다기보다는 | 나쁘다 + 다기보다는 → 나쁘다기보다는 |
| V-ㄴ/는다기보다(는) | 동사 — 받침 X · ㄹ ㄴ다기보다는 · 받침 O 는다기보다는 | 반대하다 + ㄴ다기보다는 → 반대한다기보다는 |
| N(이)라기보다(는) | 명사 — 받침 O 이라기보다는 · 받침 X 라기보다는 | 질문 + 이라기보다는 → 질문이라기보다는 |
Key points
- Adjective → -다기보다(는) (나쁘다기보다는) · verb → -ㄴ/는다기보다(는) (반대한다기보다는 · 먹는다기보다는) · noun → N(이)라기보다(는) (질문이라기보다는 · 반대라기보다는). The first word is not quite right; the second fits better. 는 can be dropped.
- Built from -다고 하다 (Lesson 3A-1) + -기보다 'rather than saying …', so it corrects a word, not the person — the polite way to disagree with a teacher, a boss or the other side in a debate. Past: -았/었다기보다는 (실수했다기보다는).
Examples
- 어떤 말이 조금 맞지 않아서 더 맞는 말로 고칠 때 써요: 유나는 예쁘다기보다는 귀여워요.
- 형용사는 -다기보다(는), 동사는 받침 X · ㄹ -ㄴ다기보다(는) · 받침 O -는다기보다(는), 명사는 N(이)라기보다(는)예요.
- 지난 일은 -았/었다기보다(는): 그날은 실수했다기보다는 운이 나빴어요.
- 토론이나 회의에서 「아니에요」라고 바로 말하지 않고 부드럽게 반대할 때 많이 써요: 반대한다기보다는 걱정이 하나 있어요.
- 는은 빼도 돼요: 나쁘다기보다 · 반대라기보다.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 16; Ewha Womans University Korean 5, lesson 5; Hongik University Korean 5B, lesson 12; Hanyang University Korean 5-1, lesson 2.
Also in this lesson
- N에 의하면 · N에 의해(서) · N에 의한 N — according to … · by … — giving a source, and naming who did it
- V-는 한 · -지 않는 한 · N인 한 — as long as … · unless … — a condition that has to keep holding
- A/V-고도 — even though … · and still … — when what happened goes against what you'd expect