TOPIK II · LEVEL 4
-(느)ㄴ다고 해도
-(느)ㄴ다고 해도 means 'even if (it is the case that) …', conceding a point before saying it doesn't change things.
대조·양보Contrast & concessionHan: Adjectives attach -다고 to the dictionary stem: 바쁘다고.
Examples
지금 출발한다고 해도 제시간에 도착하기 어려워요.Even if we leave now, it'll be hard to arrive on time.
아무리 바쁘다고 해도 밥은 먹어야죠.However busy you may be, you still have to eat.
실수였다고 해도 사과는 해야 한다.Even if it was a mistake, you should apologize.
Don’t mix up
-(느)ㄴ다고 해도vs-아/어도-아/어도 is the plain 'even if'; -(느)ㄴ다고 해도 adds 'granting that it's true' and sounds more emphatic.How to build it
V+(느)ㄴ다고 해도
A+다고 해도
N+(이)라고 해도
간다 → 간다고 해도, 바쁘다 → 바쁘다고 해도
- Stronger and more hypothetical than -아/어도.
- Past: -았/었다고 해도.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 바빠다고 해도 연락하세요.
Right: 바쁘다고 해도 연락하세요.
Adjectives attach -다고 to the dictionary stem: 바쁘다고.
Practise -(느)ㄴ다고 해도 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)나-(으)나 is a formal written 'but / however', linking two contrasting clauses.
- -(으)되-(으)되 states or allows a first action and then adds a condition or limit to it, in a formal or written style.
- -(으)ㄹ 게 아니라Use it to say that doing X is not the right move, so you should do Y instead: "rather than doing X, do Y."
- -(으)ㄴ/는 데 반해-(으)ㄴ/는 데 반해 contrasts two facts: 'whereas / while A, B'.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 데 비해Says that the second fact is more or less than what the first fact would lead you to expect: 'considering that…', 'compared with the fact that…'.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 데도 불구하고Use it to say that something happened or is true despite a real fact that should have prevented it, which makes the result surprising.
- -(으)ㄴ들-(으)ㄴ들 means "even if (it happens), it changes nothing," and it usually leads into a negative statement or a rhetorical question.
- -(으)ㅁ에도 불구하고-(으)ㅁ에도 불구하고 states a real fact and says the result happened despite it, against what you would expect.
- -는 한편-는 한편 links two parallel actions or two sides of one situation: 'while doing X, (the subject) also does Y' or 'X is true; on the other hand, Y is true too'.