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

-기 십상이다

-기 십상이다: Almost Certain — Nine Times Out of Ten

Noun 십상 「003」 after -기: almost certain / nine times out of ten — high likelihood, often a caution.

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

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Verb / adjective + -기 십상이다	-기 십상이다	실수하기 십상이다 / 늦기 십상이다
Polite	-기 십상이에요	감기 걸리기 십상이에요

-기 십상이다 marks near-certainty — nine times out of ten.

우리말샘 십상 「003」. Not 쉽상. Not mild ability.

Why this is hard

Learners hear 십상 and invent 쉽상 from 쉽다. The noun is 十常 — eight or nine out of ten — then 이다. The -기 seat is required; bare 실수 십상이다 misses the package.

What it does

You forecast a very likely outcome, often as a warning.

그렇게 하면 실수하기 십상이에요.
밤늦게 나가면 위험하기 십상이에요.
서두르면 놓치기 십상이에요.
안 챙기면 잊기 십상이에요.

Forms

Stem + -기 십상이다.

실수하다 → 실수하기 십상이다
늦다 → 늦기 십상이다
감기에 걸리다 → 감기 걸리기 십상이다

When not to use it

Do not write 쉽상.

Do not use it for soft ability — -을 수 있다.

Do not drop -기 and bolt 십상이다 onto a bare noun by habit.

Neighbours — and why they differ

Form	Why it is not this slot
-기가 쉽다	Ease / prone — softer likelihood.
-을 법하다	Reasonable prediction.
-을 수 있다	Ability / possibility.

Ask: am I saying this is almost certain (often as caution)? If yes, -기 십상이다. If only can, use ability grammar.

Do not confuse it with

-기가 쉽다

easy to… / prone to — a tendency that comes naturally

-을 법하다

likely to… — a reasonable prediction

-을 수 있다

can, cannot — ability and possibility

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) -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

Tap the speaker to hear it read aloud by your browser.

십상sibsangnine times out of ten (十常)

-기 십상이다-gi sibsangidaalmost certain to…

십중팔구sipjungpalgueight or nine out of ten

가능성ganeungseongpossibility

쉽다swipdaeasy / prone — different neighbour

Quick check

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

1. You are warning a trainee that rushing this step usually goes wrong. Which line says it is the likely outcome, not a certainty?

2. A learner writes 쉽상이다 because the meaning feels close to 쉽다. What should they write instead?

3. You want to say a dish is easy to make, with no warning attached. Which line fits?

Common questions

Dictionary?

우리말샘 십상 「003」: almost no exception — eight or nine out of ten. Package: -기 십상이다.

쉽상?

Common misspelling from 쉽다. Standard is 십상 (十常).

Vs -을 법하다?

-을 법하다 is a reasonable prediction. 십상 feels closer to near-certainty.

Café soft version?

아마 / 거의 그럴 거예요. Keep 십상 when you want the strong odds colour.