TOPIK II · LEVEL 5
-(느)ㄴ다기보다는
Use it to say that a first description is not quite accurate and then give a better one: 'it's not so much X as Y.'
대조·양보Contrast & concessionHan: The pattern is built on the quoted form, and 이다 is quoted as -(이)라고, so nouns take -(이)라기보다는, not -이다기보다는.
Examples
그 사람은 저한테 친구라기보다는 가족 같은 존재예요.To me he's less a friend than family.
그 사람이 싫다기보다는 좀 불편해요.It's not so much that I dislike him; I just feel a bit uneasy around him.
요즘은 바쁘다기보다는 마음의 여유가 없는 것 같아요.These days it's not so much that I'm busy — I just don't seem to have any peace of mind.
시험이 어려웠다기보다는 제가 준비를 제대로 못 했어요.It's not really that the exam was hard; I just didn't prepare properly.
Don’t mix up
-(느)ㄴ다기보다는vs-기보다(는)-기보다는 compares two actions or choices (which is better); -(느)ㄴ다기보다는 replaces one description with a more accurate one: 혼자 하기보다는 같이 하는 게 좋아요 vs 혼자 한다기보다는 도움을 받으면서 해요.
-(느)ㄴ다기보다는vs-(으)ㄴ/는 게 아니라-는 게 아니라 flatly denies the first statement; -다기보다는 only says it isn't the best word for it: 싫은 게 아니라 불편해요 (not dislike at all) vs 싫다기보다는 불편해요 ("dislike" isn't quite right).
How to build it
V+(느)ㄴ다기보다는
A+다기보다는
N+(이)라기보다는
일하다 → 일한다기보다는, 먹다 → 먹는다기보다는, 바쁘다 → 바쁘다기보다는, 친구 → 친구라기보다는
- Verbs take -ㄴ다기보다는/-는다기보다는, adjectives -다기보다는, nouns -(이)라기보다는; dropping ㄴ/는 after a verb (일하다기보다는 ✗) is a frequent error.
- For past situations put the tense in the first part: -았/었다기보다는 (어려웠다기보다는).
- The second clause gives the more accurate description and often ends with -는 것 같다, -다고 할 수 있다 or -에 가깝다; it is not used to state a preference between two actions (that is -기보다는).
Classic mistake
Wrong: 그분은 선생님이다기보다는 친구 같아요.
Right: 그분은 선생님이라기보다는 친구 같아요.
The pattern is built on the quoted form, and 이다 is quoted as -(이)라고, so nouns take -(이)라기보다는, not -이다기보다는.
Practise -(느)ㄴ다기보다는 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 망정-(으)ㄹ망정 means 'even if I have to accept this bad situation, I still won't give up something more important,' or 'although X is true, Y still holds.'
- -(으)ㄹ 테지만From -(으)ㄹ 터이지만: 'surely / probably …, but'. The speaker grants a confident assumption, often about the listener's feelings or situation, and then adds a contrasting point. A little more formal than -겠지만.
- -(으)ㄹ지언정Use it to say you would accept even something bad in the first clause, but you will firmly hold to what you say in the second: "even if X, I still (won't) Y" or "X may be so, but Y."
- -지 (대조)A linking -지 that sets what is true against what is not: 'it is A, not B' / 'it only does A and not B'. Most often met as N(이)지 N이/가 아니다; neutral, used in speech and writing.
- -아/어 봤자-아/어 봤자 says that even if you do something, it will be useless or the result will be small, so it is not worth doing.
- -고도-고도 means that even after A has actually happened, B happens or stays the opposite of what A would lead you to expect.
- -에도 불구하고N에도 불구하고 'despite N, in spite of N': a known fact, expressed by a noun, that should have prevented the result, yet the result happened. Formal: news, reports, speeches.
- -(이)란N(이)란 picks out a concept that you are about to define or explain the essence of: "N is (by its nature)…", "what we call N is…".
- -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다Use -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다 when the situation makes it plain to you that something, usually something bad, will happen or has happened.