TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다
Something has a flaw or condition in it that could lead to an undesirable result, such as a misunderstanding, dispute or abuse.
추측·판단Guessing & judgingHan: Getting a scholarship is a good outcome, and 소지 is used for problems or undesirable results, so a neutral word like 가능성 is needed.
Examples
이 문장은 표현이 모호해서 독자가 오해할 소지가 있습니다.This sentence is vaguely worded, so readers could misunderstand it.
이번 판결은 논란의 소지가 있어 신중하게 검토해야 한다.This ruling could be controversial, so it must be reviewed carefully.
개인 정보가 그대로 노출되면 범죄에 악용될 소지가 크다.If personal data is exposed as it is, there is a high risk it will be misused for crimes.
계약서에 책임 범위가 명확하지 않아 나중에 분쟁이 생길 소지가 있다.The contract does not clearly define responsibilities, so disputes may arise later.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다vs-(으)ㄹ 가능성이 있다가능성 is a neutral chance and works for good outcomes; 소지 is for problems only: 합격할 가능성이 있다 (not 합격할 소지가 있다).
-(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다vs-(으)ㄹ 우려가 있다우려 stresses worry about a feared event (often external, like weather); 소지 points to a flaw inside the thing itself: 폭우로 산사태가 발생할 우려가 있다 vs 이 조항은 악용될 소지가 있다.-(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다vs-(으)ㄹ 수 있다-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 is general, everyday possibility; 소지 is formal and implies a built-in weakness: 그 말은 오해할 수 있어요 (speech) vs 그 표현은 오해의 소지가 있다 (writing).
How to build it
V+(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다
N+의 소지가 있다
오해하다 → 오해할 소지가 있다; 논란 → 논란의 소지가 있다
- Used for undesirable outcomes. For a neutral or positive chance (passing an exam, winning), use -(으)ㄹ 가능성이 있다 instead.
- The verb before 소지 stays in the -(으)ㄹ form; tense is marked on 있다: 오해할 소지가 있었다, not 오해한 소지가 있다.
- It belongs to formal and written Korean (reports, news, legal texts). In casual conversation -(으)ㄹ 수도 있다 sounds more natural.
- The degree can be changed with 크다/많다 (소지가 크다) and denied with 없다 (소지가 없다).
Classic mistake
Wrong: 이번 시험에서 장학금을 받을 소지가 있다.
Right: 이번 시험에서 장학금을 받을 가능성이 있다.
Getting a scholarship is a good outcome, and 소지 is used for problems or undesirable results, so a neutral word like 가능성 is needed.
Practise -(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다A formal, emphatic way to say "there is absolutely no way that ~", based on the speaker's firm reasoning.
- -(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'.