KOREAN LANGUAGE TUTORIAL

LESSON 70

Korean Lesson: Lessons 70

Almost: 거의

The word (거의) in Korean is a very common adverb, and is used very similar to how it is used in English. In can be used in sentences to mean “almost,” for example:
우리는 돈이 없어요 = We have no money
우리는 돈이 거의 없어요 = We almost have no money
우리는 다 왔어요 = We are there (we have arrived)
우리는 거의 다 왔어요 = We have almost arrived
미국은 캐나다와 똑같아요 = The US is the same as Canada
미국은 캐나다와 거의 똑같아요 = The US is almost the same as Canada
저는 숙제를 다 했어요 = I finished all of my homework
저는 숙제를 거의 다 했어요 = I almost finished all of my homework
Using 거의 in those kinds of sentences isn’t all that complicated or difficult. However, in certain sentences, the use of a special grammatical form must be used in combination with the word “거의.” I will talk about this in the next section.
Almost: 거의… ~ㄹ/을 뻔했다
This is very difficult to describe without showing examples immediately, but I will try to describe it the best I can without showing examples so you can understand what I mean. Whenever an action “almost” happens, where the action that almost happens had not started in any way before it almost happens, you must use a different grammatical form.
That sentence is very convoluted, but try reading it again to understand it completely.
Look at the following example:
저는 음식을 거의 다 먹었어요 = I almost ate all the food
In that sentence, the action that “almost” happened was “eating (all the food).” However, even though you didn’t eat all of the food, you were in the state of eating prior to “not being able to eat all of the food.” Therefore, that sentence is perfect, and there is no need to use any other words or grammatical forms.
Another example:
저는 운동이 거의 다 했어요 = I am almost finished exercising
Again, in that sentence, the action that “almost” happened was “being finished exercising.” However, even though you are almost finished exercising, you are still in the state of exercising. Therefore, that sentence is perfect, and there is no need to use any other words or grammatical forms.
However, in the following example:
저는 거의 넘어졌어요 = I almost fell
In that sentence, (it is assumed that) you were walking, and then you almost fell. The action that “almost” happened was you falling – and prior to it “almost” happening, the action never started. Whenever an action almost happens where the action had never even begun to start previously, you need to use the following grammatical form:
거의 ~ㄹ/을 뻔 했다.
For example:
저는 거의 넘어질 뻔 했어요 = I almost fell
Again, the action that “almost” happens (to fall) never actually happened, and prior to it almost happening, it was also not happening.
More examples:
저는 차를 칠 뻔 했어요 = I almost hit that car (before the fact that you almost hit the car, you were not doing the action of “hitting the car,” so this form must be used)
화가 너무 나서 친구를 거의 때릴 뻔 했어요 = Because I was so mad, I almost punched my friend (before the fact that you almost punched your friend, you were not doing the action of “punching your friend,” so this form must be used).
The word “뻔” is another one of those pseudo-nouns that actually has no meaning outside of the grammatical form (like “수” in “할 수 있다” and “지” in “언제 하는 지 모르다.”)
Using the “거의 ~ㄹ/을 뻔 했다” grammatical form is simple once you get the hang of it, but it just takes a few minutes to wrap your head around. I’ll explain it one more time for good measure:
When an action that had not started in any way, shape or form almost happens (but doesn’t), you should use the “거의 ~ㄹ/을 뻔 했다” grammatical form. For example:
저는 거의 죽을 뻔 했어요 = I almost died
However, when you are talking about an action that had already started, and you are saying that that action is “almost” at a certain point, you shouldn’t use “거의 ~ㄹ/을 뻔 했다.” For example:
우리는 거의 다 먹었어요 = We are almost finished eating