-ㄴ/는/ㄹ 뻔했다
Almost, Nearly
-ㄹ/을 뻔했다 means 'almost/nearly did'. It's used for things that were close to happening but didn't.
How It Works
-ㄹ/을 뻔했다 is a useful expression to convey that something almost happened. It emphasizes the narrow escape from a situation or the near occurrence of an event. The structure is always fixed in the past tense with 했다 because it refers to a past near-miss.
Conjugation Rules:
1. Verb stem ends in a vowel or ㄹ: Add -ㄹ 뻔했다
- 가다 (to go) → 갈 뻔했다 (almost went)
- 넘어지다 (to fall) → 넘어질 뻔했다 (almost fell)
- 울다 (to cry) → 울 뻔했다 (almost cried)
2. Verb stem ends in a consonant (except ㄹ): Add -을 뻔했다
- 잊다 (to forget) → 잊을 뻔했다 (almost forgot)
This pattern is often used with the adverb 하마터면, which also means 'almost' or 'nearly', to add emphasis.
It's also frequently found in conditional sentences, explaining what would have happened if a certain condition had been met. For example, it can follow clauses using -면 (if) or -다가 (while doing something).
Example of a conditional sentence:
조금만 늦었으면 기차를 놓칠 뻔했어요.
If I had been just a little later, I would have missed the train.
Examples (5)
- 길이 미끄러워서 넘어질 뻔했어요.
The road was slippery, so I almost fell.
Word by Word: Road slippery-because fall-almost did.
- 하마터면 기차를 놓칠 뻔했어요.
I almost missed the train.
Word by Word: Almost train miss-almost did.
하마터면is an adverb that means 'almost' or 'nearly' and is frequently used with this pattern for emphasis. - 너무 피곤해서 운전하다가 졸 뻔했어요.
I was so tired that I almost dozed off while driving.
Word by Word: So tired-because driving-while doze off-almost did.
This shows the pattern used with -다가 to indicate an action that almost happened during another action.
- 깜빡하고 숙제를 안 낼 뻔했어요.
I spaced out and almost didn't turn in my homework.
Word by Word: Forgetting homework not turn in-almost did.
- 그 영화가 너무 슬퍼서 울 뻔했어요.
That movie was so sad, I almost cried.
Word by Word: That movie so sad-because cry-almost did.
For verb stems ending in the consonant ㄹ, like 울다 (울-), you attach
-ㄹ 뻔했다. The stem's ㄹ is kept, resulting in 울 뻔했다.
Common Mistakes
Using the present or future tense instead of the required past tense.
Not Quite넘어질 뻔해요.Better넘어질 뻔했어요.The expression
-ㄹ/을 뻔했다describes a past event that almost happened but didn't. Therefore, it must always end in the past tense form했다.Using the pattern for an event that actually happened.
Not Quite버스를 놓칠 뻔해서 지각했어요.Better버스를 놓쳐서 지각했어요.-ㄹ/을 뻔했다explicitly means the action did not happen. The incorrect sentence means 'I almost missed the bus, so I was late,' which is illogical. If you were late because of the bus, you must have actually missed it.
Learn This First
To express 'almost/nearly happened', you need modifier forms and past tense.
Related Patterns
- -(으)ㄹ걸 그랬다I Should Have Done
Both patterns deal with hypothetical past situations.
-ㄹ 뻔했다is about something that almost happened (often negative), while-ㄹ걸 그랬다expresses regret about something that didn't happen but should have. - -(으)려다가Was Going to, But
Both describe an uncompleted action.
-려다가focuses on an intended action that was interrupted ('I was going to do X, but...'), while-ㄹ 뻔했다focuses on narrowly avoiding an often unintended outcome ('I almost did X'). - -(으)ㄹ 수도 있다Might, Could Possibly
Both relate to possibility.
-ㄹ 뻔했다describes a strong possibility in the past that did not materialize.-ㄹ 수도 있다describes a potential possibility in the present or future ('might', 'could'). - -(으)면If, When
The conditional particle
-면('if') is often used to set up the condition under which something 'almost happened'. The-ㄹ 뻔했다phrase then becomes the result of that hypothetical condition.