차곡 문형첩
문형 해설
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.
- 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)
※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.
A-(으)ㄴ데도 불구하고
even though, despite
The first clause ought to lead to one outcome, and the second delivers the opposite. It sharpens the contrast more than plain -는데도, and belongs to formal speech and writing.
- adjective A-(으)ㄴ데도 불구하고: 바쁘다 → 바쁜데도 불구하고
- verb V-는데도 불구하고: 노력하다 → 노력하는데도 불구하고
- noun N인데도 불구하고; for the past, -았/었는데도 불구하고
※You can drop 불구하고 and keep just -는데도, which sounds lighter. The two clauses must genuinely clash — if you only need a plain “but”, -지만 will do.
따지고 보면
when you think about it, ultimately
Used when you reach a judgement after weighing something up, usually carrying the sense that the surface reading doesn’t survive scrutiny. It is a fixed phrase and sits at the head of the second sentence; it doesn’t change with the subject.
- goes after the claim being reconsidered: “A. 하지만 따지고 보면 B.”
- similar phrases: 알고 보면 (as it turns out), 생각해 보면 (come to think of it)
- fine in speech and writing; neutral in tone, never impolite
※It can’t sit mid-sentence as a connective — it stands at the front of the following sentence. And it reconsiders a conclusion already on the table; if you are just adding detail, 사실은 reads better.
비즈니스 회화
자료 정리 순서 묻기 Asking what order to work through the material——Jihoon, new to the team, asks his senior Eunju how to organise the marketing material for a new product. She sets out the order and adds a warning.（지훈＝Jihoon (new hire) ／ 은주＝Eunju (senior colleague)）