Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 1 · expression

-을 만하다

-을 만하다: Worth Doing / Decent Enough — Acceptable

Adjective 만하다 after -(으)ㄹ: worth doing 「001」 or possible/able 「002」.

Before this, make sure you know: -을 수 있다 , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Worth / decent	-(으)ㄹ 만하다	볼 만하다 / 먹을 만하다 / 들을 만하다
Possible colour	-(으)ㄹ 만하다	참을 만하다 / 이해할 만하다

-을 만하다 means worth doing / decent enough — worth the effort or acceptable.

Why this is hard

English worth and deserve both get pasted here. Classroom focus is evaluation: worth seeing, worth trying, decent enough to pass. It is not obligation -어야 하다.

What it does

You evaluate something as worth the action or as acceptably good.

볼 만해요.
먹을 만해요.
읽을 만한 책이에요.
칭찬할 만해요.

Forms

Prospective adnominal -을 + 만하다 / 만한 N.

When not to use it

Do not use it as must/obligation. Do not confuse it with -을 뻔하다 ‘almost’. Do not skip the adnominal.

Neighbours — and why they differ

Form	Why it is not this slot
-어야 되다	Must — obligation, not worth.
-을 뻔하다	Almost did — near miss.
-을 법하다	Likely — prediction, not worth.

Reviews and soft recommendations love this frame. Keep praise measured — 만하다 is often ‘good enough,’ not ‘best ever.’

Classroom examples should keep the meaning concrete: one clear scene beats three vague glosses. If a neighbour form already says the same thing more lightly, prefer the lighter tool unless register demands this one.

Ask: am I saying it’s worth doing or decent enough? If yes, -을 만하다. If you mean obligation, use -어야 하다.

Do not confuse it with

-기만 하다

only does… — limiting the action to just that

-을 수 있다

can, cannot — ability and possibility

-을 법하다

likely to… — a reasonable prediction

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 표현 (expression) — Advanced Korean 1, Unit 4, on the theme of expression. These come with it:

-는다니1 what are they telling me to…? — asking what the order was -었던 that had been… — past modifier with a lingering sense 에 관하여 regarding, about — the written 에 관하여 / 관한 -자기에 because one decides to… — contracted -자고 하기에 (청유 인용 + 이유), pair of -는다기에 -게 마련이다 bound to be — naturally so (-기/게 마련이다) -게 생겼다 have ended up (badly)… — negative predicament with -게 생기다 -기 나름이다 depends on how you… — the outcome varies with the method -기가 바쁘게 as soon as — barely finishing one thing before the next -기가 쉽다 easy to… / prone to — a tendency that comes naturally -기만 하다 only does… — limiting the action to just that -기에 따라 depending on… — outcomes that change with the condition -기에 앞서(서) before doing… — prior to the step you name -은 나머지 as a result of… — the outcome that follows from that act -는 데다가 and on top of that — stacking one fact onto another -는 동시에 at the same time as — two things in the same moment -는 듯하다 seems to… — a soft guess from appearance -는 법이다 it is natural that… — a general rule of how things go -는 이상 now that / given that — already being in that state -은 채로 while still… — leaving it in the state it already has -는 척하다 pretend to… — acting as if -는 가운데 in the midst of — while that situation continues 는 말할 것도 없고 not to mention — A goes without saying, and B too (는/은 말할 것도 없고) -을 법하다 likely to… — a reasonable prediction -을 테다 will (for sure) — a strong expectation about what follows -을 테면 if you are going to… — setting a condition for a plan -을 테지만 will, but… — expecting one thing and contrasting another -으려나 보다 I guess they mean to… — reading someone's likely intention 를 가지고 with, using — taking that as the means or topic -으면 몰라도 only if… — the following holds only under that (unreal / opposite) condition 에도 불구하고 despite — in spite of that noun situation -는데도 even though — contrast after a clause, softer than 지만 -어 내다 manage to… — pushing through until it is done -는다기에 because they say… — the reported claim is the reason -는다는 것이 meant to…, but — intention (-는다고 하는 것이) whose result diverged -는데도 불구하고 even so — despite the whole preceding clause

Words used above

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-(으)ㄹ 만하다-(eu)l manhadaworth / decent enough to…

보다bodato see / watch

먹다meokdato eat

듣다deutdato listen

참다chamdato endure

Quick check

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

1. A friend asks whether a film is worth their evening. Which line says it repays the time?

2. The pain is bearable rather than worthwhile. Which sense of 만하다 is that, and which line shows it?

3. Which line means that someone does nothing but wait, rather than that waiting is worthwhile?

Common questions

Dictionary?

우리말샘 만하다 「001」: worth doing. 「002」: possible to do. Both in -(으)ㄹ 만하다.

Vs -을 수 있다?

-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 is ability. 만하다 often rates quality (‘decent’) or bearability.

Vs -기만 하다?

Spelling cousins, opposite jobs.

Negative?

볼 만하지 않다 — not worth watching.