TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다
A formal, emphatic way to say "there is absolutely no way that ~", based on the speaker's firm reasoning.
추측·판단Guessing & judgingHan: 만무하다 is a fixed combination with 리; mixing it with 수 (from -(으)ㄹ 수 없다) is ungrammatical.
Examples
아무 준비도 없이 시작한 사업이 성공할 리 만무하다.A business started without any preparation cannot possibly succeed.
평소에 연습을 전혀 하지 않으니 실력이 늘 리 만무하다.Since he never practises, there is no way his skills will improve.
그렇게 성실한 사람이 회사 돈을 횡령했을 리 만무하다.There is no way such a diligent person embezzled company money.
담당자인 그가 그 사실을 몰랐을 리 만무합니다.As the person in charge, there is no way he did not know that fact.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다vs-(으)ㄹ 리가 없다Same meaning, but neutral and everyday; 만무하다 is more formal and emphatic: 그 사람이 거짓말을 할 리가 없어요.-(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다vs-(으)ㄹ 턱이 없다Also "no way", but colloquial and a bit blunt, not for formal writing: 그 돈으로 집을 살 턱이 없지.-(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다vs-(으)ㄹ 수 없다States inability or impossibility as a fact, not the speaker's reasoned denial: 그는 수영을 할 수 없다 vs 그가 수영을 못할 리 만무하다.
How to build it
V/A+(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다
N+일 리 만무하다
past: V/A+았/었을 리 만무하다
성공하다 → 성공할 리 만무하다; 알다 → 알았을 리 만무하다; 범인 → 범인일 리 만무하다
- Put tense before 리, not on 만무하다: for a past event use -았/었을 리 만무하다 (e.g. 몰랐을 리 만무하다). 만무하다 itself usually stays in the present.
- It is a statement of the speaker's conviction, so it is used in declarative sentences, not in commands or suggestions.
- It sounds formal and bookish (essays, news, speeches); in casual conversation -(으)ㄹ 리가 없다 is far more common. 가 after 리 is possible but usually dropped.
- It combines with 리 ("reason, likelihood"), not with 수 ("possibility, ability").
Classic mistake
Wrong: 공부를 하나도 안 했으니 합격할 수 만무하다.
Right: 공부를 하나도 안 했으니 합격할 리 만무하다.
만무하다 is a fixed combination with 리; mixing it with 수 (from -(으)ㄹ 수 없다) is ungrammatical.
Practise -(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다Something has a flaw or condition in it that could lead to an undesirable result, such as a misunderstanding, dispute or abuse.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 감이 있다Used to say, softly, that something strikes you as a bit too much or not quite enough: 'it feels somewhat ~'.
- -(으)ㄹ라A casual sentence ending used to warn someone close that something bad might happen if they are not careful.
- -(으)ㄹ세라-(으)ㄹ세라 means someone quickly or carefully does something out of anxiety that an unwanted event might happen ("for fear that", "lest").
- -(으)리라고-(으)리라 + quotative 고 before a verb of thinking or expecting: '(think/believe/expect) that … will …'. Literary; very common in -(으)리라고는 생각하지 못했다 'never imagined that …'.
- -지 싶다-지 싶다 expresses the speaker's own fairly confident guess, like 'I suppose / I'd say it's probably ~'.
- -(으)리라는 + NA literary noun modifier giving the content of an expectation, belief or resolve: 'the expectation/belief that … will …'. It is -(으)리라 + -는 (from -고 하는) and is typical of news, essays and narratives.
- -(으)매-(으)매 is a bookish, literary way to say 'because' or 'as', linking a cause to its natural result in formal writing.
- -(으)나 -(으)나Two paired or opposite verbs/adjectives, each with -(으)나, mean 'whichever of these is the case, the following stays the same', which often amounts to 'regardless' or 'all the time'.