TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-느니만 못하다
Says that doing something (in that way) turns out worse than not doing it at all, or worse than the alternative.
조건·가정Conditions & what-ifsHan: -느니 cannot take the past marker -았/었-; the past tense goes on 못하다 only.
Examples
준비 없이 발표하는 것은 안 하느니만 못해요.Giving a presentation without preparing is worse than not giving one at all.
진심이 담기지 않은 사과는 안 하느니만 못하다.An insincere apology is worse than no apology at all.
어설프게 아는 것은 모르느니만 못하다.Half-knowing something is worse than not knowing it at all.
무리하게 운동하다가 허리를 다쳤으니 안 하느니만 못했어요.I overdid my workout and hurt my back, so it was worse than not exercising at all.
Don’t mix up
-느니만 못하다vs-느니 (차라리)-느니 (차라리) states the speaker's choice of the lesser evil, usually with -겠다; -느니만 못하다 judges that an action's result is worse: 그 사람한테 부탁하느니 차라리 혼자 하겠어요.-느니만 못하다vs-(으)나 마나-(으)나 마나 means doing it makes no difference; -느니만 못하다 means doing it actually makes things worse: 지금 가 보나 마나 문이 닫혔을 거예요.
-느니만 못하다vs-는 게 낫다-는 게 낫다 is neutral everyday advice ('better to ~'); -느니만 못하다 is a stronger, more formal verdict on what is or was done: 오늘은 안 가는 게 나아요.How to build it
V / 있다·없다+느니만 못하다 (A-는 것은 B-느니만 못하다)
안 하다 → 안 하느니만 못하다; 모르다 → 모르느니만 못하다; 없다 → 없느니만 못하다
- It attaches to verbs and to 있다/없다, not to ordinary adjectives; the part before -느니만 is usually a negative alternative (안 V, 모르다, 없다).
- Tense is marked only on 못하다 (안 하느니만 못했다); -느니 itself does not take -았/었-.
- 못하다 here means 'to be inferior' and is written as one word; 못 하다 with a space is wrong in this pattern.
- It is an evaluative statement, typical of writing and serious speech; it is not used to form commands or suggestions.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 괜히 말했다가 오해만 생겼으니 말 안 했느니만 못했어요.
Right: 괜히 말했다가 오해만 생겼으니 말 안 하느니만 못했어요.
-느니 cannot take the past marker -았/었-; the past tense goes on 못하다 only.
Practise -느니만 못하다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ진대-(으)ㄹ진대 sets up an accepted fact as a premise ("given that…, since it is so that…") from which a firm conclusion, command or rhetorical question follows, in formal, bookish style.
- -(느)ㄴ다면야-(느)ㄴ다면야 stresses a condition: if this is really the case, the result naturally follows; the speaker often accepts or concedes the condition.
- -(으)ㄹ라치면-(으)ㄹ라치면 means 'every time I am about to do something, (annoyingly) something else happens', describing a repeated pattern that blocks or spoils the attempt.
- -는 날에는V-는 날에는 pictures the day a feared event might happen and warns that a serious, usually bad consequence will follow: "if ever ~, then it's all over."
- -았/었다 하면-았/었다 하면 means that once someone does a certain action, a particular, often excessive result follows every single time.
- -았/었던들Imagines the opposite of what really happened in the past ('had X happened…'), usually with regret that things could have turned out differently.
- -자면A connective ending of hypothetical intention, 'if one sets out to do V, if V is to be done': it states what doing it would take (time, money, effort). This is an ending in its own right; the quoted contraction of -자고 하면 'if someone says let's' is a separate use (see the last rule). Slightly bookish; also in set phrases like 말하자면 'so to speak' and 솔직히 말하자면 'to be honest'.
- -기로 들면If someone really sets about doing something, often stubbornly, there is no end to it, or nothing is impossible.
- -노라면-노라면 means 'if you keep doing something for a while', and the next clause gives the result that naturally follows; it has a literary, reflective tone.