말도 안 돼
maldo an dwae
In Korean, "no way" is expressed as 말도 안 돼 (maldo an dwae).
말도 안 돼 is used to express disbelief or to state that a situation is absurd or impossible.
Meaning: absolutely not (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "even words do not work" or "it doesn't even make sense as words."
Which one should you use?
While 말도 안 돼 expresses general disbelief, other phrases can be more specific. You might use 절대 그럴 리가 없어요 to say "There is no way that it would happen" or "Absolutely impossible," or 절대 안 될 것 같아요 to say "I don't think it can possibly be done." For informal settings, 그게 불가능해 can mean "That's impossible" or "It can't be done."
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase polite, add the suffix –요 to the end of the word to get 말도 안 돼요.
How do you pronounce it?
maldo an dwae
Did you know?
- The negation word 안 used here can be traced back to the 15th-century text 용비어천가, making the concept of negation in this phrase incredibly ancient.
- While very common in K-dramas, using 말도 안 돼 directly with a teacher or a boss would be considered quite rude due to its informal nature.
- To express an intense sense of shock or gasping disbelief, you can lengthen the vowels in the final syllable to say 말도 안 돼~!
Examples in context
- 말도 안 돼!No way!This sentence is useful for expressing disbelief with the form 말도 안 돼.Tatoeba #13205118 by atitarev, translation #2175 by CM
- 그 사람이 범인이라니 말도 안 돼.geu sarami beominarini maldo an dwae.That person is the criminal? No way.
- 시험에 만점을 받다니 말도 안 돼!siheome manjeomeul batdani maldo an dwae!Getting a perfect score on the exam? No way!
Example conversation
Minjun tells Subin that they won a free trip to Hawaii.
- 민준 Min-jun우리 하와이 여행 당첨됐대!uri hawai yeohaeng dangcheomdwaetdae!They say we won a trip to Hawaii!
- 수빈 Su-bin정말? 말도 안 돼!jeongmal? maldo an dwae!Really? No way!
- 민준 Min-jun진짜야, 여기 티켓 좀 봐.jinjjaya, yeogi tiket jom bwa.It's real, look at this ticket.
- 수빈 Su-bin민준 씨, 믿기지가 않아요.minjun ssi, mitgijiga anayo.Minjun, I can't believe it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 안, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
