-(으)랴
(eu)rya
Grammar · 2 senses
between A and B
Examples
음식 만들랴 집안 청소하랴 쉴 틈이 없다.
Between preparing food and cleaning the house, I can't get a second of rest.
어학당에서 공부하랴 회사에 다니랴 눈 코 뜰 새 없어요.
I'm busy as a bee between studying at language school and working at my job.
When you'd hear it
This expressive pattern is common in written Korean and in spoken narration, especially in the paired form A하랴 B하랴. It can sound literary or emphatic, so everyday speakers may use a plainer alternative in casual conversation.
What learners get wrong
It describes being busy doing both activities, not a choice between them. The repeated A하랴 B하랴 pattern is what signals the “busy with this and that” meaning.
Rhetorical Question
Examples
웃는 낯에 침 뱉으랴.
Would you spit on a smiling face? (You can't treat someone badly who treats you well)
돈을 누가 마다하랴.
Who would turn down money?
공든 탑이 무너지랴.
Would a carefully-built tower collapse? (If you put all of your effort into what you do, the result cannot possibly be bad)
When you'd hear it
This is literary and rhetorical, common in proverbs, speeches, writing, and dramatic dialogue rather than casual conversation. It often appears in questions whose expected answer is clearly “no” or “of course not.”
What learners get wrong
Do not treat it like the neutral question ending -(으)ㄹ까; -(으)랴 usually does not seek information, but strongly suggests the speaker’s conclusion. In “돈을 누가 마다하랴,” the intended meaning is “Of course nobody would refuse money.”
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