3 · Linking clauses, further
In case, for fear that: -(으)ㄹ까 봐
a worry as the reason
-(으)ㄹ까 봐(서) gives a worry as the reason for what the speaker did: “in case”, “for fear that”.
At a glance
- Remember
- Lkka bwa: I was afraid it might happen — so I did this.
- Form
- 늦다 → 늦을까 봐, 오다 → 올까 봐after a vowel
- Signal words
- -(으)ㄹ까 봐
- -(으)ㄹ까 봐서
- 걱정이다
- 혹시
- Trap
- Wrong:감기에 걸릴까 봐 옷을 따뜻하게 입으세요.Right:감기에 걸릴지도 모르니까 옷을 따뜻하게 입으세요.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Korean: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| after a vowel | 늦다 → 늦을까 봐, 오다 → 올까 봐 |
| after a consonant | 잊다 → 잊을까 봐 |
| a stem in rieul | 울다 → 울까 봐 |
| a p-stem | 춥다 → 추울까 봐 |
| already happened | 떠났을까 봐 |
| a worry named | 떨어질까 봐 걱정이에요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
-(으)ㄹ까 봐 gives the worry; the second half says what was done about it.
늦을까 봐 택시를 탔어요.I took a taxi in case I was late.
With 걱정이다 or 걱정되다, it names the worry itself.
면접에서 실수할까 봐 걱정이에요.I'm worried I'll make a mistake in the interview.
A worry about what may already have happened takes the past inside.
기차가 벌써 떠났을까 봐 뛰어갔어요.I ran, afraid the train might already have left.
The second half is a statement, never a request or a suggestion.
비가 올까 봐 우산을 가지고 왔어요.I brought an umbrella in case it rained.
Example sentences
잊어버릴까 봐 메모했어요.I made a note in case I forgot.
아이가 깰까 봐 조용히 들어갔어요.I went in quietly so as not to wake the child.
추울까 봐 두꺼운 옷을 입었어요.I wore something warm in case it was cold.
혹시 길을 잃을까 봐 지도를 챙겼어요.I took a map with me in case I got lost.
살이 찔까 봐 저녁을 조금만 먹었어요.I ate only a little dinner for fear of putting on weight.
친구가 상처받을까 봐 아무 말도 못 했어요.I couldn't say anything for fear of hurting my friend.
8 more example sentences
시험에 떨어질까 봐 걱정돼요.I'm worried I might fail the exam.
비밀을 말할까 봐 아무한테도 안 보여 줬어요.I didn't show it to anyone in case they told.
표가 없을까 봐 미리 예약했어요.I booked in advance in case there were no tickets left.
친구가 벌써 잘까 봐 문자로 보냈어요.I sent a text in case my friend was already asleep.
음식이 모자랄까 봐 많이 만들었어요.I made plenty in case there was not enough food.
발표할 때 떨까 봐 많이 연습했어요.I practised a lot in case I got nervous during the presentation.
제 말을 오해했을까 봐 다시 설명했어요.I explained again in case you had misunderstood me.
내일 비가 올까 봐요.I'm afraid it might rain tomorrow.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
-(으)ㄹ까 봐 explains a precaution somebody has taken; it cannot be followed by advice. To tell somebody to take a precaution, give the possibility as a reason: -(으)ㄹ지도 모르니까.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
After a vowel the stem takes -ㄹ까 봐: 늦다 → 늦을까 봐, 오다 → 올까 봐. After a consonant it is -을까 봐. A stem in rieul adds only 까 봐: 울다 → 울까 봐. The irregular stems change as before any 으: 춥다 → 추울까 봐, 듣다 → 들을까 봐. 서 may follow: 늦을까 봐서.
The first half is something the speaker was afraid might happen, the second is what they did about it: 늦을까 봐 택시를 탔어요, “I took a taxi in case I was late”. English uses “in case”, “for fear that” or “I was worried that … so …”. The worry need not come true; the sentence is about the precaution.
For a worry about something that may already have happened, the past goes inside: 벌써 떠났을까 봐 뛰어왔어요, “I ran here, afraid you might already have gone”. With 걱정이다 or 걱정되다 after it, the pattern simply names the worry: 시험에 떨어질까 봐 걱정이에요. At the end of a sentence, -(으)ㄹ까 봐요 says “I'm afraid that …”.
Because it explains something already done, the second half is a statement, not a request or a suggestion. To advise a precaution, Korean says -(으)ㄹ지도 모르니까: 비가 올지도 모르니까 우산을 가져가세요. And do not confuse it with -나 봐요, “it seems”: 비가 오나 봐요 is a guess, not a fear.
A closer look
Why a question ending expresses fear
-(으)ㄹ까 is the ending of wondering: 비가 올까?, “will it rain, I wonder?”. 봐 comes from 보다, here in the sense of thinking something possible. Together they picture the speaker turning a possibility over in their mind — and acting on it.
That is also why the pattern describes the speaker's own worry or a worry they can see in somebody else: 엄마가 걱정하실까 봐 전화했어요, “I rang in case Mum was worried”.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the worry is about a noun or a state: “in case it is a cold”
the noun takes 일까 봐: 감기일까 봐 병원에 갔어요.
혹시 큰 병일까 봐 검사를 받았어요.I had a check-up in case it was something serious.
이다 behaves like any stem ending in a vowel: 일까.
Worth knowing (1)
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Not to be confused: -나 봐요
비가 올까 봐요 is a fear, “I'm afraid it may rain”. 비가 오나 봐요 is a guess from evidence, “it seems to be raining”. The two endings share 보다 and nothing else.
밖에 비가 오나 봐요. 사람들이 우산을 쓰고 있어요.It seems to be raining. People have their umbrellas up.
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