그는 실패했다
geuneun silpaehaetda
In Korean, 'he failed' is expressed as 그는 실패했다 (geuneun silpaehaetda).
This phrase is used to indicate that a male individual did not succeed in achieving a specific goal or completing a task.
What does it mean word for word?
The core component 실패했다 means 'failed' and is composed of the noun 실패, meaning 'failure' and the verb 했다, meaning 'did'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a polite and spoken way to say 'he failed', use 그는 실패했어요. Other formal variations include 그는 실패했습니다 and 그는 실패하였습니다. For informal situations, you can use 그는 실패했어 or 그는 실패했어요.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form 실패했다 is in the past tense, which is indicated by the suffix -했다.
How do you pronounce it?
geuneun silpaehaetda
Did you know?
- In Korean culture, failing a major exam is often discussed using the term 낙방, which literally means 'falling from the room'. This evokes the historical image of candidates failing the civil service exams in ancient Korea.
- If a person fails in a way that is seen as a 'learning experience', Koreans might use a phrase involving 밑거름, meaning 'base fertilizer'. This implies that the failure is actually nourishment for future success.
- In many Korean contexts, using the pronoun 그 for 'he' can feel unnatural or overly literary. In real conversation, people usually replace 'he' with the person's name or title to avoid sounding like a translated textbook.
Example conversation
Subin and Hyunwoo are talking about a mutual friend's business venture.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo민수 사업은 어떻게 됐어?Minsu sa-eop-eun eotteoke dwaesseo?How did Minsu's business go?
- 수빈 Su-bin안타깝지만 그는 실패했다.antakkap-jiman geuneun silpaehaetda.Unfortunately, he failed.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo정말 아쉽다.jeongmal aswipda.That's a real shame.
- 수빈 Su-bin응, 많이 속상해하고 있어.eung, mani soksang-hae-hago isseo.Yes, he is very upset.
