TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-(으)리오
An archaic, literary rhetorical-question ending: 'how could …? who would …?'. The question implies the opposite (누가 알리오 = nobody knows). Found in classical poetry and prose, speeches and period dramas.
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: ㄹ-stem verbs take 리오 directly, with no 으: 알다 → 알리오, 살다 → 살리오.
Examples
이미 떠나간 사람을 원망한들 무엇하리오.What use is there in blaming someone who has already gone?
사극에서 장군은 "나라가 위태로운데 어찌 내 한 몸의 안위만 생각하리오" 하고 외쳤다.In the historical drama, the general cried, 'With the country in danger, how could I think only of my own safety?'
부모님께서 베풀어 주신 은혜를 어찌 말로 다 표현하리오.How could words ever express all the kindness my parents have shown me?
Don’t mix up
-(으)리오vs-(으)랴-(으)랴 is the same kind of archaic rhetorical question at the plain level: 누가 알랴? -(으)리오 sounds more solemn: 누가 알리오.
-(으)리오vs-겠어요?The modern spoken rhetorical question: 이 마음을 누가 알겠어요? Same meaning, everyday register.
How to build it
consonant stem+으리오
vowel or ㄹ stem+리오
N+(이)리오
past: 았/었으리오
잊다 → 잊으리오; 표현하다 → 표현하리오; 알다 → 알리오; 무엇하다 → 무엇하리오; 꿈 → 꿈이리오
- It is always rhetorical and usually paired with a question word: 어찌, 누가, 무엇, 어디. 어찌 잊으리오 = I can never forget.
- A fixed literary combination: -(으)ㄴ들 무엇하리오 'what use would it be even if …': 후회한들 무엇하리오.
- Purely literary and old: in modern speech say -겠어요? or -(으)ㄹ 수 있겠어요?: 누가 알겠어요?
Classic mistake
Wrong: 내 이 쓸쓸한 마음을 누가 알으리오.
Right: 내 이 쓸쓸한 마음을 누가 알리오.
ㄹ-stem verbs take 리오 directly, with no 으: 알다 → 알리오, 살다 → 살리오.
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All TOPIK grammar- -(이)라 (예스러운 서술)An archaic plain (해라체) statement ending attached to 이다 and 아니다: 'X is Y.' It sounds solemn and old, as in classical texts, proverbs, historical-drama narration and poetry; modern Korean uses -(이)다.
- -(으)오/-소Ending of the 하오체, an old-fashioned semi-formal style: one form serves statements and questions, and with -(으)시오 commands. Heard in period dramas, between older spouses, and in written notices such as 손대지 마시오.
- -나 (의문)A question ending without 요 with two uses: the 하게체 question an older speaker asks an adult junior ('are you …?'), and a casual question to oneself ('did I …?', 'is it …?').
- -네 (하게체 서술)Statement ending of the 하게체: an older speaker telling an adult junior (son-in-law, grown-up former student) a fact or an intention, plainly but with courtesy. Old-fashioned; today mostly heard from elderly men and in novels and dramas.
- -그려Added after another sentence ending (-네, -구먼, -세, -ㅂ시다…) to give an old-fashioned emphatic or exclamatory touch: '…, indeed / you know'. Now found mainly in novels, period dramas and the speech of very old people.
- -던가 (회상 의문)A 하게체 question ending asking the listener about something they saw or experienced in the past: 'was it …? did you find that …?'. Old-fashioned, used by older speakers to adult juniors.
- -구려 (권유·명령)A 하오체 ending after an action verb that gently urges or advises the listener: 'do …, why don't you …'. Old-fashioned; heard from elderly speakers (often between spouses), in period dramas and novels.
- -던가 (혼잣말·추측)Used when talking to oneself about the past: the speaker wonders about something remembered only vaguely, or makes a tentative guess about it: 'was it …?', 'I wonder if …'. Reflective; common in essays, lyrics and inner monologue.
- -구려/-는구려Exclamatory ending of the old-fashioned 하오체: the speaker remarks on something just realised, with feeling: '…, I see / how …!'. Today heard mostly from elderly speakers (for example between older spouses) and in period dramas and novels.