一TOPIK 1-2

N을/를 잘 못하다

to be not very good at

Says you can’t do something well. 못하다 on its own means “can’t”; adding 잘 softens it to “can’t do it well”, which is the usual way to be modest about yourself.

접속 conjugation

N + 을/를 잘 못하다：운전을 잘 못해요／요리를 잘 못합니다
with a verb, use V-는 걸 잘 못하다 or 잘 못 V: 일찍 일어나는 걸 잘 못해요
drop 잘 and it gets blunter: 요리를 못해요 (can’t cook at all)

예문

EXAMPLES

저는 마케팅 쪽 일을 잘 못해서 자료부터 찾고 있습니다.

I’m not very good at marketing work, so I’m starting by gathering material.from 2026.08.31 Mon the examples

그렇군요. 사실 저는 아직 이런 자료를 잘 못해서 시간이 좀 걸릴 것 같습니다.

I see. To be honest I’m not very good at this kind of material yet, so it may take me a while.from 2026.08.31 Mon the business dialogue

길눈이 어두워서 처음 가는 곳은 잘 못 찾아가요.

I’ve got no sense of direction, so I struggle to find anywhere I haven’t been before.from 2026.09.01 Tue the examples

저는 아침에 일찍 일어나는 걸 잘 못해요.

I’m not very good at getting up early.from 2026.09.01 Tue the examples

나 아침에 일찍 일어나는 걸 잘 못해서... 그게 제일 어려워.

I’m not very good at getting up early… that’s the hard part.from 2026.09.01 Tue the everyday dialogue

※Spaced, 잘 못하다 means “can’t do it well”; written as one word, 잘못하다 means “to do something wrong” — quite different. Note too that 못하다 is about ability, while 안 하다 is about not wanting to.

Appears in

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