TOPIK II · LEVEL 5
-(으)로써
-(으)로써 names the means or method by which a result is achieved: 'by (means of) N' or, as -(으)ㅁ으로써, 'by doing'.
조사ParticlesHan: 'Student' here is a status (as a student), not a means, so 로서 is required; 로써 and 로서 sound almost the same, which is why learners mix them up.
Examples
그는 끝까지 포기하지 않음으로써 자신의 실력을 증명했다.By not giving up until the very end, he proved his ability.
우리는 갈등을 대화로써 해결해야 합니다.We should resolve conflicts through dialogue.
정부는 세금을 줄임으로써 소비를 늘리려고 한다.The government is trying to boost consumption by cutting taxes.
꾸준히 운동함으로써 건강을 유지할 수 있습니다.You can stay healthy by exercising regularly.
Don’t mix up
-(으)로써vsN + (으)로서로서 marks a role or status ('as'), while 로써 marks a means ('by'): 교사로서 책임을 느낀다 vs 대화로써 문제를 해결한다.
-(으)로써vs-기 때문에-기 때문에 gives a reason ('because'), while -(으)ㅁ으로써 gives a deliberate method ('by doing'): 비가 많이 왔기 때문에 경기가 취소되었다 vs 매일 연습함으로써 실력을 키웠다.-(으)로써vsN + (으)로Plain (으)로 is the neutral everyday way to mark a tool or means; 로써 is more formal and emphasizes the means: 젓가락으로 먹어요 vs 법으로써 질서를 지킨다.
How to build it
N+(으)로써
V·A+(으)ㅁ으로써
대화 → 대화로써, 운동하다 → 운동함으로써
- After a noun ending in a consonant use 으로써; after a vowel or ㄹ use 로써 (책임 → 책임으로써, 칼 → 칼로써).
- It is formal and typical of writing, speeches and news; in casual speech Koreans usually say (으)로 or -아서/어서 instead.
- -(으)ㅁ으로써 is normally used in the plain form, with the tense shown in the main clause (운동함으로써 건강해졌다); a past marker (-았/었음으로써) is possible but uncommon, used only to stress that the action was completed.
- Do not use it for a role or status ('as a student'); that is (으)로서.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 학생으로써 열심히 공부해야 한다.
Right: 학생으로서 열심히 공부해야 한다.
'Student' here is a status (as a student), not a means, so 로서 is required; 로써 and 로서 sound almost the same, which is why learners mix them up.
Practise -(으)로써 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(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…".
- -(이)야말로N(이)야말로 singles out one thing and stresses that it, more than anything else, truly deserves the description.
- -을/를 가지고N을/를 가지고 means 'with N, using N' (tool, material, means) and 'over N, about N' when N is what people quarrel about, criticise or discuss, often something the speaker finds trivial. Spoken; casually shortened to 갖고.
- -따라Attached to a time word such as 오늘 or 그날, it means 'on that day of all days, unusually then': something differs from the usual, often inconveniently.
- -(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.
- -(으)ㄴ 끝에Shows that a result was finally reached after a long or difficult process of doing something.
- -(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 즈음-(으)ㄹ 즈음 means "around the time when something happens": it marks an approximate time, not an exact moment.
- -(으)ㄹ 테다Declares the speaker's firm will or determination: 'I will … (no matter what)'. In a question to the listener it asks about their intention, often bluntly. Plain style: -(으)ㄹ 테야 in speech, -(으)ㄹ 테다 in self-talk and narration.