조차
jocha
Grammar · 1 sense
not even that but
Examples
엄마조차 저를 못 믿으시는 거예요?
Even my mom doesn't believe me?
그 학생은 시험마다 공부조차 하지 않은데 성적표가 진짜 대단하네.
That student doesn't even study for exams, but their grades are really amazing.
When you'd hear it
조차 appears in both conversation and writing, especially when the speaker is stressing disappointment, surprise, or an extreme example. It is common in emotional dialogue in dramas and in explanatory or argumentative writing.
What learners get wrong
Unlike 도, which can simply mean “also” or “too,” 조차 highlights an unexpected extreme and often appears with negative forms such as 못 or 않다. Compare 공부도 안 했다 (didn’t study either) with 공부조차 안 했다 (didn’t even study).
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