-아/어 버리다
a/eo beorida
Grammar · 1 sense
After completed action or event
Examples
그 사람이 드디어 떠나 버렸어요.
That person finally left. (And so I feel relieved)
건강을 위하여 담배를 끊어 버렸어요.
I quit smoking for my health.
When you'd hear it
Common in conversation and also frequent in personal writing, dramas, and everyday workplace speech. It presents the action as fully finished and often adds a speaker’s feeling, such as relief, regret, or decisiveness.
What learners get wrong
Learners often treat it as a neutral equivalent of “finish,” but it usually carries an attitude toward the completed action. Unlike 그냥 -았/었어요, -아/어 버리다 can show relief or regret; unlike -고 말다, it can describe a deliberate decision as well as an unwanted outcome.
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