남은 조사 ② 견주기와 범위 · 8분
Both 만 and 밖에 translate to *“only / just / nothing but”* in English, but they are the single biggest grammatical trap for Korean learners!
Master this one core rule, and you will never make this mistake again:
1. 만 (Neutral “Only / Just”) — AFFIRMATIVE & NEGATIVE:
- Works freely anywhere! You can use it with both positive and negative verbs:
- *“물만 마셔요.”* *(I only drink water. — Affirmative)*
- *“사과만 안 먹었어요.”* *(Only the apple was not eaten. — Negative)*
- *“지갑에 천 원만 있어요.”* *(I have only 1,000 won.)*
2. 밖에 (Restricted “Nothing but / Only”) — STRICTLY NEGATIVE ONLY!:
- 밖에 literally means “outside of / other than”.
- Therefore, it MUST ALWAYS be followed by a negative predicate (없다, 안, 못, 모르다)!
- *“지갑에 천 원밖에 없어요.”* *(Outside of 1,000 won, I have nothing = I only have 1,000 won.)*
- *“사과밖에 안 먹었어요.”* *(I ate nothing except apples.)*
- *“한국어는 인사말밖에 몰라요.”* *(I know nothing of Korean other than greetings.)*
이 레슨에는 풀어 보는 문제가 10개 있습니다. 앱에서 하나씩 맞히며 넘어갑니다.
10 exercises come with this lesson — open it to work through them.