haru Korean › Grammar › Level 5A › A/V-(으)ㄹ 지경이다
A/V-(으)ㄹ 지경이다 — so … that it's almost … · to the point of … — when a hard situation reaches its limit
So … that it's almost … · to the point of … — when a hard situation reaches its limit. Korean grammar for advanced learners — Level 5A, lesson 5: 연애도 앱으로 (Dating by app — dating apps, AI relationship advice, and a generation that doesn't date).
What it means
A/V-(으)ㄹ 지경이다 says that a situation has become so bad that it has almost reached an extreme point: 답장을 기다리느라 일을 못 할 지경이었어요 'I was so busy waiting for a reply that I could hardly work'. The cause usually comes first, with -아서/어서, -느라고 or N 때문에. After a 받침 use -을 지경이다 (못 먹을 지경), after a vowel -ㄹ 지경이다 (쓰러질 지경), and a ㄹ stem simply adds 지경 (울 지경). It is mostly used for hard or tiring situations and often as a friendly exaggeration: 배가 터질 지경이었어요 'I was about to burst' — nobody really burst.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -을 지경이다 | 받침 O | 먹다 → 못 먹을 지경이에요 |
| -ㄹ 지경이다 | 받침 X · ㄹ 받침 (그대로) | 쓰러지다 → 쓰러질 지경이에요 |
Key points
- A/V-(으)ㄹ 지경이다 = so … that it's almost … — a hard situation pushed to its limit: 받침 O → -을 지경 (못 먹을 지경) · 받침 X → -ㄹ 지경 (쓰러질 지경) · ㄹ stem (울 지경).
- The cause comes first (-아서/어서 · -느라고 · N 때문에) and the tense goes on 이다 (못 할 지경이었어요). It is for hard states — and it is often a friendly exaggeration.
Examples
- 어떤 일이 너무 심해서 거의 끝까지 갔을 때 써요: 답장을 기다리느라 일을 못 할 지경이었어요.
- 앞에 이유를 많이 써요: -아서/어서 · -느라고 · N 때문에 + -(으)ㄹ 지경이다.
- 받침 O → -을 지경이다: 못 먹을 지경 · 받침 X → -ㄹ 지경이다: 쓰러질 지경 · ㄹ 받침: 울 지경
- 힘든 일에 많이 써요. 조금 크게 말하는 느낌이에요: 배가 터질 지경이었어요. (정말 터진 게 아니에요.)
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 5A, lesson 5.
Also in this lesson
- N(이)라든가 — things like N or N · N, for example — giving a few examples of a kind
- A/V-게 마련이다 — … is bound to … — what always happens to love and to people (Lesson 4A-6 -기 마련이다, now in arguments)
- N(이)란 N은/는 모두 — every single N — and N(이)란 for definitions in writing (Lesson 4A-11, now deeper)