못하다

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 몯〯ᄒᆞ다〮 (Yale: mwǒt-hòtá). Univerbation of 못 (mot, “cannot; poorly”) +‎ 하다 (hada, “to do”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈmo̞(ː)tʰa̠da̠]

  • (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [모(ː)타다]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	mothada
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	moshada
McCune–Reischauer?	mothada
Yale Romanization?	mōshata

Verb

못하다 • (mothada) (infinitive 못해 or 못하여, sequential 못하니)

1. (in the form 지 못하다 (-ji mothada)) cannot (do); to be unable, or impossible (to do)

   집에 가지 못해요. ― Jib-e gaji mothaeyo. ― I cannot go home.

2. (transitive, in the form 를 못하다 (-reul mothada)) not be good at

   Antonym: 잘하다 (jalhada, “to be good at”)

   나는 노래를 못해요. ― Na-neun norae-reul mothaeyo. ― I'm not good at singing.

Usage notes

The second sense is very commonly confused with 못 하다 (mot hada). The contrast is in fact solely orthographic, as there is no prosodic difference between the two and the adverb 못 (mot) can have the sense of "poorly" with all verbs.

오늘은 공부를 못 해요.

Oneur-eun gongbu-reul mot haeyo.

I cannot study today.

공부를 못해요.

Gongbu-reul mothaeyo.

I'm not good at studying.

Conjugation

    Selected forms of the verb 못하다 (mothada): vowel-stem, 하(ha)-irregular

Sentence-final forms
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	못한다 mothanda	못해 mothae	못해요 mothaeyo	못합니다 mothamnida
	Past	못했다 mothaetda	못했어 mothaesseo	못했어요 mothaesseoyo	못했습니다 mothaetseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	못하느냐 mothaneunya	못해 mothae	못해요 mothaeyo	못합니까 mothamnikka
	Past	못했느냐 mothaenneunya	못했어 mothaesseo	못했어요 mothaesseoyo	못했습니까 mothaetseumnikka
Hortative		못하자 mothaja	못해 mothae	못해요 mothaeyo	못하십시다 mothasipsida
Assertive		못하겠다 mothagetda	못하겠어 mothagesseo	못하겠어요 mothagesseoyo	못하겠습니다 mothagetseumnida
Connective forms
Cause/Reason		못해 mothae	못해서, 못하여서 mothaeseo, mothayeoseo	못하니 mothani	못하니까 mothanikka
Contrast		못하지만 mothajiman	못하는데 mothaneunde	못하더니 mothadeoni
Conjunction		못하고 mothago
Condition		못하면 mothamyeon	못해야, 못하여야 mothaeya, mothayeoya
Motive		못하려고 motharyeogo
Noun and determiner forms
Verbal nouns		못함 motham	못하기 mothagi
Past-tense verbal nouns		못했음, 못하였음 mothaesseum, mothayeosseum	못했기, 못하였기 mothaetgi, mothayeotgi
Determiners	Past	못한 mothan
	Present	못하는 mothaneun
	Future	못할 mothal

Sentence-final forms with honorific
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	못하신다 mothasinda	못하셔 mothasyeo	못하세요, 못하셔요 mothaseyo, mothasyeoyo	못하십니다 mothasimnida
	Past	못하셨다 mothasyeotda	못하셨어 mothasyeosseo	못하셨어요 mothasyeosseoyo	못하셨습니다 mothasyeotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	못하시느냐 mothasineunya	못하셔 mothasyeo	못하세요, 못하셔요 mothaseyo, mothasyeoyo	못하십니까 mothasimnikka
	Past	못하셨느냐 mothasyeonneunya	못하셨어 mothasyeosseo	못하셨어요 mothasyeosseoyo	못하셨습니까 mothasyeotseumnikka
Assertive		못하시겠다 mothasigetda	못하시겠어 mothasigesseo	못하시겠어요 mothasigesseoyo	못하시겠습니다 mothasigetseumnida
Connective forms with honorific
Cause/Reason		못하셔 mothasyeo	못하셔서 mothasyeoseo	못하시니 mothasini	못하시니까 mothasinikka
Contrast		못하시지만 mothasijiman	못하시는데 mothasineunde	못하시더니 mothasideoni
Conjunction		못하시고 mothasigo
Condition		못하시면 mothasimyeon	못하셔야 mothasyeoya
Motive		못하시려고 mothasiryeogo
Noun and determiner forms with honorific
Verbal nouns		못하심 mothasim	못하시기 mothasigi
Past-tense verbal nouns		못하셨음 mothasyeosseum	못하셨기 mothasyeotgi
Determiners	Past	못하신 mothasin
	Present	못하시는 mothasineun
	Future	못하실 mothasil