Example Sentences#

1. 너에게 닿을 수 있을까?¹
   Will it ever reach you?
   • 닿다 means ‘to touch’ or ‘to reach’.
   • -을 is a modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun, conveying assumption, intention, or possibility and including future, potential, or unrealized actions and states.
2. 감정이 너무 깊게 와닿더라고.²
   The emotions touched me so deeply.
   • 와닿다 is a compound verb formed from 오다 (to come) and 닿다 (to touch or reach), meaning ‘to come and touch’. It is used idiomatically to express ‘to resonate’ or ‘to touch emotionally’.
   • -더라고 is a grammar pattern used to report a personal observation or experience from the past. It’s composed of -더- (a retrospective suffix conveying past personal experience or observation) and -라고 (a quotative marker grammaticalized as a sentence-final ending in this structure to report the speaker’s inner thoughts or experiences).
3. 손끝에 닿을수록 상처로 퍼져가³
   The closer they touch my fingertips, the more they turn into wounds
   • 닿다 means ‘to touch’ or ‘to reach’.
   • 을수록 is a grammar pattern indicating that as the extent of the preceding action or condition increases, the following statement changes accordingly. It means ‘the more (something happens)’.