-(으)ㄹ 리가 없다
There's No Way, Impossible
-ㄹ 리가 없다 means 'there's no way that...' or 'it's impossible that...'. It's a strong statement of disbelief.
How It Works
-ㄹ 리가 없다 is a powerful expression used to reject a possibility based on logic, prior knowledge, or common sense. It conveys a much stronger sense of certainty than simple negation.
Conjugation:
1. Stems ending in a vowel: Add -ㄹ 리가 없다.
- 가다 (to go) → 갈 리가 없다
- 예쁘다 (to be pretty) → 예쁠 리가 없다
2. Stems ending in the consonant ㄹ: The final ㄹ of the stem is dropped, and then -ㄹ 리가 없다 is added. This effectively means you just add 리가 없다 to the stem.
- 살다 (to live) → 살 리가 없다
- 만들다 (to make) → 만들 리가 없다
3. Stems ending in a consonant (other than ㄹ): Add -을 리가 없다.
- 먹다 (to eat) → 먹을 리가 없다
- 좋다 (to be good) → 좋을 리가 없다
Tense and Form Variations:
1. Past Tense: -았/었을 리가 없다
This form is used when expressing disbelief about something that supposedly happened in the past.
- 그가 시험에 합격했을 리가 없어요. (There's no way he passed the exam.)
2. With Nouns: (noun)일 리가 없다 / (noun)이었을 리가 없다
It can be used with the copula 이다.
- 저 사람이 의사일 리가 없어요. (There's no way that person is a doctor.)
- 그게 실수였을 리가 없어요. (There's no way that was a mistake.)
3. Rhetorical Question: -ㄹ 리가 있나(요)?
The 없다 can be replaced with 있다 in a question form to create a strong rhetorical statement meaning the same thing.
- 그렇게 쉬운 문제를 틀릴 리가 있나요? (How could you possibly get such an easy problem wrong? / There's no way.)
This pattern is stronger than -ㄹ 수 없다 (cannot), which refers to ability or possibility, whereas -ㄹ 리가 없다 refers to logical impossibility.
Examples (5)
- 그는 항상 약속을 잘 지켜요. 늦을 리가 없어요.
He always keeps his promises well. There's no way he'll be late.
Word by Word: He always promises well keeps. Be late reason cannot be.
- 방금 전에 밥을 먹었는데 배가 고플 리가 없잖아요.
I just ate a moment ago, so there's no way I'm hungry, you know.
Word by Word: Just before meal ate but stomach hungry reason cannot be.
The speaker is using their recent action (eating) as the logical basis for their disbelief about being hungry.
- 제가 그 비밀을 다른 사람에게 말했을 리가 없어요. 절대 아니에요.
There's no way I told that secret to anyone else. Absolutely not.
Word by Word: I that secret to another person told reason cannot be. Absolutely not.
This uses the past tense form
-았/었을 리가 없다to express strong denial about a past action. - A: 이 비싼 시계를 민수 씨가 샀대요. B: 그럴 리가요! 민수 씨는 돈이 하나도 없는데.
A: I heard Min-su bought this expensive watch. B: No way! Min-su doesn't have any money.
Word by Word: A: This expensive watch Min-su bought, they say. B: That reason cannot be! Min-su money one bit does not have but.
그럴 리가요!is a very common conversational response to express strong disbelief or shock. - 그 똑똑한 학생이 그런 기초적인 실수를 했을 리가 없어요.
There's no way that smart student made such a basic mistake.
Word by Word: That smart student that kind of basic mistake made reason cannot be.
Common Mistakes
Confusing
-ㄹ 리가 없다(logical impossibility) with-ㄹ 수 없다(inability/impossibility).Different Meaning저는 수영을 배운 적이 없어서 바다에서 수영할 리가 없어요.Better저는 수영을 배운 적이 없어서 바다에서 수영할 수 없어요.-ㄹ 수 없다is correct here because it's about the speaker's inability to swim.-ㄹ 리가 없다would be used if someone claimed to have seen you swimming, and you reply in disbelief: 'I've never learned to swim, so there's no way I was swimming in the sea!' (제가 바다에서 수영했을 리가 없어요!).Using the present tense form for a past event.
Not Quite어제 하루 종일 집에 있었는데, 제가 영화관에 갈 리가 없어요.Better어제 하루 종일 집에 있었는데, 제가 영화관에 갔을 리가 없어요.Because the speaker is expressing disbelief about an event that supposedly happened yesterday (a past event), the past tense form
-았/었을 리가 없다must be used.
Learn This First
To express impossibility 'there's no way/impossible', you need disbelief patterns.
Related Patterns
- -(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다Can/cannot
Both express impossibility, but -ㄹ 수 없다 refers to a lack of ability or permission ('cannot'), while
-ㄹ 리가 없다refers to logical impossibility or strong disbelief ('there's no way'). - -ㄴ/는/ㄹ 게 틀림없다Be Certain/sure
This is the direct opposite of
-ㄹ 리가 없다. While-ㄹ 리가 없다expresses certainty that something is NOT true ('there's no way'), -ㄴ/는/ㄹ 게 틀림없다 expresses certainty that something IS true ('it must be...'). - -나 보다It Seems/looks Like
-나 보다 ('it seems/looks like') is used to make a guess or assumption based on some evidence. It shows uncertainty, whereas
-ㄹ 리가 없다shows strong certainty about the opposite conclusion. - -겠-Will, (I) Intend to
One use of -겠- is to express a supposition or guess ('must be', 'probably is'), like in
저 케이크는 맛있겠다(That cake must be delicious). This is a conjecture, while-ㄹ 리가 없다is a firm conclusion based on logic that something is impossible.