Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Grammar Supplement · Curriculum gap

-다 못해

-다 못해: Unable to Go On… — Past the Limit

Connective -다 못해: cannot endure / continue that action any further — then the next act follows.

Before this, make sure you know: -아요 / -어요 , -다④

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Verb stem + -다 못해	-다 못해	참다 못해 / 기다리다 못해
Then sequel	-다 못해 + sequel	참다 못해 화를 냈다

-다 못해 marks past the limit — then the sequel.

Not soft cannot alone. The point is the break, then what you do.

Why this is hard

English couldn’t take it also covers -아서, -은 나머지, -는데도. Learners paste cause. -다 못해 sits on the endurance line that snaps.

What it does

You kept doing X; you could not keep going; Y happens.

참다 못해 화를 냈어요.
기다리다 못해 먼저 갔어요.
견디다 못해 자리를 피했어요.
보다 못해 한마디 했어요.

Forms

참다 → 참다 못해
기다리다 → 기다리다 못해
견디다 → 견디다 못해
보다 → 보다 못해

When not to use it

Do not use it for calm inability without a breaking point.

Do not drop the sequel if the next act is the news.

Do not confuse it with polite refusal.

Neighbours — and why they differ

Form	Why it is not this slot
-은 나머지	Excess → result.
-는데도	Concession despite X.
-지 못하다	Cannot / fail to — state.

Ask: did endurance snap, then something follow? If yes, -다 못해.

Do not confuse it with

-은 나머지

as a result of… — the outcome that follows from that act

-는데도

even though — contrast after a clause, softer than 지만

-지 못하다

long-form 못 — unable rather than unwilling

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 교재·표준 교육과정 밖의 문법 (Grammar outside of textbooks and standard curriculum) — Advanced Grammar Supplement, Unit 1, on the theme of Curriculum gap. These come with it:

-는 셈이다 amounts to / counts as — treating the situation as that result (-는 셈이다) -을 지경이다 to the point of… — an extreme state or plight (-을 지경이다) -기 십상이다 almost certain to… — nine times out of ten (-기 십상이다) -는 둥 마는 둥 half-doing it — barely, half-heartedly (-는 둥 마는 둥) -던 차에 just when… — at the very moment that was underway (-던 차에) 으로 말미암아 owing to… — formal written cause (으로 말미암아) -는답시고 under the pretext of… — claiming to, often critically (-는답시고) -는가 하면 and then again… — stacking contrasting cases (-는가 하면) -을 겸 while also… — doing it for that purpose too (-을 겸) -게끔 so that… — purpose with a firm push (-게끔) -을 턱이 없다 no reason whatsoever… — denying grounds flatly (-을 턱이 없다) -을 리 만무하다 utterly no chance… — impossibility stressed (-을 리 만무하다) -을 성싶다 seems likely to… — a soft forecast (-을 성싶다) -을지언정 even if… — conceding then holding the other line (-을지언정) -기 그지없다 endlessly… — extreme degree with no bound (-기 그지없다) -기 이를 데 없다 beyond words… — so much there is no way to say it (-기 이를 데 없다) -는 셈치고 pretending / counting it as… — provisional assumption (-는 셈치고) -는다 뿐이지 only that… — limiting the claim to just that (-는다 뿐이지) -는다손 치더라도 even granting that… — strong concession then pushback (-는다손 치더라도) -어 주십사 please do… for me — earnest old-style request (-어 주십사) -겠거니 thinking it would… — assumption that guides the next act (-겠거니) -으랴 -으랴 what with A and B… — piling pressures or tasks (-으랴 -으랴) -으려던 참이다 was just about to… — intention interrupted at the brink (-으려던 참이다) -는다기보다는 rather than saying… — reframing the label (-는다기보다는) -은 끝에 after all that… — only at the end of the ordeal (-은 끝에) -은 바 있다 have (once)… — formal experience on record (-은 바 있다) -건 간에 whether A or B… — it does not matter which (-건 간에)

Words used above

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-다 못해-da mothaeunable to go on… then…

참다chamdato endure

한계hangyelimit

나머지nameojias a result — neighbour

결국gyeolgukin the end

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. The noise continued until your patience broke and you finally left. Which line makes that breaking point explicit?

2. Which completion gives 기다리다 못해 the necessary next act instead of leaving the limit-break hanging?

3. Repeated explaining became unbearable, so the speaker raised their voice. Which form centers the action that could no longer continue?

Common questions

Dictionary?

Connective: reach the point of being unable to continue that action, then do what follows.

Tone?

Frustration, outburst, finally-acting.

Vs -지 못하다?

-지 못하다 is inability as a state. 다 못해 is the breaking point mid-course.

Café soft?

너무 답답해서… / 참을 수가 없어서…. Keep 다 못해 when the break itself matters.