Korean Grammar Bank

HOW TO SAY ALMOST IN KOREAN

We will be looking at multiple ways to express almost in Korean.

We will mention a few sentence structures and plenty of sentence examples, so make sure to bookmark this lesson first!

ALMOST IN KOREAN WITH 뻔하다

To express that something almost happened in Korean, you can use the expression 뻔하다 with a past tense verb stem.

It indicates that a specific event was narrowly avoided or nearly took place.

PATTERN

Verb + ᄅ/을 뻔하다

As in English, the expression ‘almost’ is frequently used in the past tense, in which case the 하다 verb is conjugated to 했다.

나는 수업시간에 잠들 뻔 했어.I almost fall asleep during the class.
나는 공원에서 뛰다가 넘어질 뻔했다.I almost fell while running in the park.
그녀는 물인줄 알고 와인을 마실 뻔했다.She almost drank the wine thinking it was water.
View More Examples:
나는 그 예쁜 가방을 살 뻔했다.I almost bought that pretty bag.
그는 학교에 가방을 놓고 올 뻔했다.He almost left his backpack at the school.
내 여동생은 우산을 잃어버릴 뻔했다.My sister almost lost her umbrella.
그녀는 깜짝 놀라서 소리를 지를 뻔했다.She was so surprised that she almost screamed.
그는 너무 빨리 뛰다가 다칠 뻔했다.He ran so fast that he almost got hurt.

ALMOST IN KOREAN WITH 거의 다

거의 다 can be used to express something that is almost achieved or completed.

Unlike the expression in Structure 1, which describes an event that nearly happened but actually did not, Structure 2 is used to describe an event that has been happening over some period and is close to a completion.

PATTERN

거의 다 + Verb

나는예금을거의다썼어.I used almost all of my savings.
이제거의다왔다.We are almost here.
저는저녁을거의다 먹었어요.I am almost done with my dinner.
View More Examples:
사람들은 거의 다 떠났어요.Almost everyone has left.
해가거의다졌어요.Sun is almost out.
동생은 방청소를 거의 다 끝냈어요.My brother almost finished cleaning his room.
그녀는 배가 너무 고파서 씨리얼을 거의 다 먹었다.She was so hungry that she ate almost all the cereal.
비가 거의 다 그쳤어요.It almost stopped raining.

ALMOST IN KOREAN WITH 거의 모든

거의 모든 has the same meaning as 거의 다 from structure 2, but the expression is used in front of noun, instead of the verb.

The use of 거의 모든 depends on whether the ‘almost’ can be applied to the object, and not just to the verb.

PATTERN

거의 모든 + Noun

englishstructure #2structure #3
I used almost all my savings. 나는예금을거의다썼어. 나는 거의 모든예금을 썼어.

*거의 모든 can be applied to the 예금 (=saving)
We are almost there. 이제 거의 다 왔다. Not applicable because there is no object.
Almost everyone has left. 사람들은 거의다 떠났어요. 거의 모든 사람들은 떠났어요.

*거의 모든 can be applied to the 사람들 (=people)
View More Examples:
englishstructure #2structure #3
I am almost done with my dinner. 저는 저녁을 거의 다 먹었어요. Not applicable because ‘dinner’ cannot be quantified.
Sun is almost out. 해가 거의 다 졌어요. Not applicable because ‘sun’ cannot be quantified.
My brother almost finished cleaning his room. 동생은 방청소를 거의 다
끝냈어요. 		Not applicable because ‘cleaning room’ cannot be quantified.
She was so hungry that she ate almost all the cereal. 그녀는 배가 너무 고파서 씨리얼을 거의 다 먹었다. 그녀는 배가 너무 고파서 거의 모든 씨리얼을 먹었어요.
It almost stopped raining. 비가 거의 다 그쳤어요. Not applicable because ‘rain’ cannot be quantified.

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MORE RESOURCES

Want to learn more? Check out these other free resources:

  • Learn how to say almost in Japanese
  • Learn how to say almost in Vietnamese

FAQs

How to say almost in Korean?

Almost in Korean can be expressed by using the following sentence structures:

Verb + ᄅ/을 뻔하다

Example: 나는 수업시간에 잠들 뻔 했어. I almost fall asleep during the class.

거의 다 + Verb

Example: 이제거의다왔다. We are almost here.

거의 모든 + Noun

Example: 거의 모든 사람들은 떠났어요. Almost everyone has left.

How to express almost in Korean with 뻔하다?

To express that something almost happened in Korean, you can use the expression 뻔하다 with a past tense verb stem.

It indicates that a specific event was narrowly avoided or nearly took place.

Verb + ᄅ/을 뻔하다

나는 공원에서 뛰다가 넘어질 뻔했다. I almost fell while running in the park.

그녀는 물인줄 알고 와인을 마실 뻔했다. She almost drank the wine thinking it was water.

How to express almost in Korean with 거의 다?

거의 다 can be used to express something that is almost achieved or completed.

Unlike the expression in Structure 1, which describes an event that nearly happened but actually did not, Structure 2 is used to describe an event that has been happening over some period and is close to a completion.

거의 다 + Verb

나는예금을거의다썼어. I used almost all of my savings.

이제거의다왔다. We are almost here.

저는저녁을거의다 먹었어요. I am almost done with my dinner.

How to express almost with 거의 모든?

거의 모든 has the same meaning as 거의 다 from structure 2, but the expression is used in front of noun, instead of the verb.

The use of 거의 모든 depends on whether the ‘almost’ can be applied to the object, and not just to the verb.

거의 모든 + Noun

나는 거의 모든예금을 썼어. I used almost all my savings.

거의 모든 사람들은 떠났어요. Almost everyone has left.

그녀는 배가 너무 고파서 거의 모든 씨리얼을 먹었어요. She was so hungry that she ate almost all the cereal.

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You can find more free Korean lessons like this one in our Korean Grammar Bank, where we cover A1, A2 and B1 levels.

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