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

-을 지경이다

-을 지경이다: To the Point Of… — Extreme Plight

Bound noun 지경 「003」: case, plight, or degree after -은/-는/-을 — often an extreme or painful state.

Before this, make sure you know: -을 / -ㄹ (modifier) , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Prospective / future-leaning adnominal	-(으)ㄹ 지경이다	울 지경이다 / 쓰러질 지경이다
Past / completed adnominal	-(으)ㄴ 지경이다	지친 지경이다 / 힘든 지경이다
Ongoing adnominal	-는 지경이다	견디기 힘든 지경이다

-을 지경이다 marks an extreme state — to the point of… / in such a plight that….

우리말샘 지경 「003」. Not the map border sense.

Why this is hard

지경 also means a geographic border (「001」). Learners meet the noun first, then miss the bound-noun seat after adnominals. Classroom Korean uses the plight reading far more than the map.

What it does

You name how far the situation has gone — often painfully far.

너무 슬퍼서 울 지경이에요.
피곤해서 쓰러질 지경이에요.
배고파서 쓰러질 지경이었어요.
참기 어려운 지경입니다.

The focus is the state, not a soft intensifier alone.

Forms

Adnominal + 지경이다.

울다 → 울 지경이다
쓰러지다 → 쓰러질 지경이다
힘들다 → 힘든 지경이다

-을 is the headline form in many textbooks; -은/-는 also sit in the dictionary note.

When not to use it

Do not use it for mild a bit tired — the colour is strong.

Do not confuse map 지경 with this bound noun.

Do not paste it where -게 생겼다 already packages “ended up badly” and you only need that verb frame.

Neighbours — and why they differ

Form	Why it is not this slot
-게 생겼다	Ended up in a bad spot — verb package.
-은 나머지	Leftover result of doing X.
-기 짝이 없다	Extreme degree via -기 — different noun.

Ask: am I naming the plight / degree itself after an adnominal? If yes, -을 지경이다. If you only need mild intensity, stay lighter.

Do not confuse it with

-게 생겼다

have ended up (badly)… — negative predicament with -게 생기다

-은 나머지

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

-기 짝이 없다

extremely… — so much there is no comparison

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) -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) -다 못해 unable to go on… — past the limit, then the sequel (-다 못해) -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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지경jigyeongbound noun — case / plight / degree

-을 지경이다-eul jigyeongidato the point of…

몸살momsalaching body from overexertion

Quick check

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

1. The exhaustion is so severe that collapse feels imminent. Which sentence names that extreme plight?

2. Which sentence uses 지경 as the geographic noun rather than the bound noun meaning an extreme state?

3. A deadline problem means the team is now likely to work all night. Which line focuses on the bad outcome they have ended up facing rather than the degree itself?

Common questions

Dictionary?

우리말샘 지경 「003」: after -은/-는/-을 — case, plight, degree. 「001」 is geographic border — different word life.

Tone?

Often heavy — pain, exhaustion, crisis. Check before using it for mild inconvenience.

Vs -은 나머지?

-은 나머지 stresses the leftover outcome of an act. 지경 names the state itself.

Café soft version?

너무 …하다 / …할 뻔했다 may fit. Keep 지경 when the state itself is the point.