-기 그지없다
-기 그지없다: Endlessly… — No Bound on Degree
Adjective 그지없다: 「001」 no end/limit; 「002」 with -기가 — beyond words. Extreme degree package.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Descriptive -기 + 그지없다 | -기 그지없다 | 슬프기 그지없다 / 안타깝기 그지없다 |
| With -기가 | -기가 그지없다 | 한심하기가 그지없다 |
-기 그지없다 maxes degree with no bound — endlessly….
우리말샘 그지없다 「001」「002」. Not mild 아주.
Why this is hard
Degree intensifiers look interchangeable. 그지없다 is a fixed extreme: no end to the feeling. It wants the -기 seat — 슬프다 그지없다 misses the package.
What it does
You push emotion past any ordinary limit.
슬프기 그지없어요.
안타깝기 그지없어요.
한심하기 그지없어요.
답답하기 그지없어요.Forms
Descriptive stem + -기 그지없다.
슬프다 → 슬프기 그지없다
안타깝다 → 안타깝기 그지없다
한심하다 → 한심하기 그지없다When not to use it
Do not use it as soft very.
Do not drop -기.
Do not force cheerful praise by default — tone is often heavy.
Neighbours — and why they differ
| Form | Why it is not this slot |
|---|---|
| -기 짝이 없다 | No peer — different noun frame. |
| -기 이를 데 없다 | Beyond words — related extreme (separate slot). |
Ask: am I saying the feeling has no end? If yes, -기 그지없다. If soft very, stay lighter.
Do not confuse it with
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:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. A long effort failed on a technicality and you want to say the regret has no bottom to it. Which line goes that far?
2. Which sentence uses the 가 variant the forms table lists?
3. You want to say someone's rudeness was beyond anything you had met before. Which neighbour leans on having no equal?
Common questions
Dictionary?
우리말샘 그지없다 「001」: no end/limit. 「002」 【-기가】 beyond words.
Tone?
Heavy emotion — grief, pity, frustration.
Vs mild 아주?
아주 is light. Save 그지없다 for extreme colour.
Café soft?
너무 / 정말. Keep 그지없다 when boundlessness is the point.