Lesson 28
In this lesson, you will learn about the structure -(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다. This structure is a combination of two grammar points which were introduced in previous lessons. In Level 2 Lesson 17, you were introduced to -(으)ㄹ 수 없다 to express that you cannot do something, and in Level 3 Lesson 18, you learned how -밖에 is used in negative sentences to express the meaning of “only”.
-(으)ㄹ 수 없다 = cannot
Ex)
할 수 없어요. = You cannot do it.
볼 수 없어요. = You cannot see it.
-밖에 + negative sentence = only
Ex)
이거밖에 없어요. = I only have this. (lit. I do not have anything other than this.)
3명밖에 안 왔어요. = Only three people came.
When putting -(으)ㄹ 수 없다 and -밖에 together, -밖에 follows 수 because -밖에 is paired with nouns, and 수 is a noun which means “way”, “idea”, “method”, or “solution”.
→ -(으)ㄹ 수 없다 + -밖에 = -(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다
-(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다 literally means “other than THIS, there is nothing else you can do” or “outside of these options, there is none”. When naturally translated to English, it means “can only” or “to have no other choice but to (do something)”.
Ex)
1. 사다 → 살 수밖에 없다
= to have no other choice but to buy
2. 포기하다 → 포기할 수밖에 없다
= to have no other choice but to give up
3. 좋아하다 → 좋아할 수밖에 없다
= can only like
-(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다 can also mean “it is more than natural” or “it is obviously expected” to do something or to be in a certain state.
Ex)
1. 어렵다 → 어려울 수밖에 없다
= to be obviously expected to be difficult
2. 비싸다 → 비쌀 수밖에 없다
= to be obviously expensive
3. 시끄럽다 → 시끄러울 수밖에 없다
= to be bound to be noisy
Sample Sentences
어제 밤늦게까지 공부를 해서, 오늘 피곤할 수밖에 없어요.
= He studied until late last night, so he is bound to be tired today.
= He studied until late last night, so there is no way that he cannot be tired.
미안하지만 이렇게 할 수밖에 없어요.
= I am sorry, but there is no other choice for me but to do it this way.
그럴 수밖에 없어요.
= It is bound to be that way. = It is expected to be that way.
= That cannot be helped.
* 그럴 수밖에 없어요 is sometimes shortened to another form by dropping 없어요 and just saying “그럴 수밖에". If you want to be polite, add -요 to the end and say “그럴 수밖에요”.
또 이야기할 수밖에 없어요.
= I have no other choice but to talk to them (about this) again.
걱정이 될 수밖에 없어요.
= Of course I am worried.
= I am obviously going to be worried.
You can replace -(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없어요 with 안 -(으)ㄹ 수가 없어요 in most cases.
Ex)
그럴 수밖에 없어요. = 안 그럴 수가 없어요.
걱정이 될 수밖에 없어요. = 걱정이 안 될 수가 없어요.