커녕: Let Alone — Not Even the Smaller Thing

커녕 is the let-alone particle: you scrap the bigger claim and deny something smaller with it.

Gloss: let alone — not even the smaller thing, never mind the bigger. 우리말샘 커녕 「001」: after a noun, deny that fact and deny something lesser or weaker along with it. Classroom Korean almost always pairs it with 은/는 → 은커녕 / 는커녕.

What it does — step the expectation down

밥은커녕 물도 못 마셨어요.
잠은커녕 눈도 붙이지 못했어요.
도움은커녕 방해만 됐어요.
쉬기는커녕 야근만 했어요.
공부는커녕 책도 안 펴 봤어요.

English let alone is a useful crutch, but Korean order is denied bigger (or hoped-for) item first, then the lesser reality. Learners who calque English word order write nonsense.

Forms

With verbs, the familiar contrast form -기는 combines with 커녕: 쉬기는커녕. For nouns, fix the open/batchim split the same way you fix 은/는. 물은커녕 is correct (batchim); *물는커녕 is not.

Neighbours — three different “even” feelings

친구마저 떠났어요.           last remaining friend left
친구는커녕 가족도 없었어요. let alone a friend — no family either

When to use — and when not

Use 커녕 when the first item is already too generous to claim, and you need the listener to feel the shortfall.

Avoid pairing it with a bright, matching positive that does not step down (행복은커녕 즐거웠어요 without a clear lesser contrast). Avoid using it as a fancy 마저. Avoid English let alone word order.

Practice: name one hoped-for thing, then one lesser failure — X은/는커녕 Y도 못…