치고
there’s no such thing as a … that isn’t
States a rule with no exceptions. It pairs with a negative and asserts that every member of the category behaves the same way.
Build it
Pick a category
When to use it
치고 attaches to a noun without changing shape. In this use it must be followed by a negative: 부모치고 자식 걱정 안 하는 사람 없어요 — there’s no parent who doesn’t worry about their child.
The double negative is the whole structure, and it delivers a universal claim: all parents worry. English usually flips this into a positive, which is why translations rarely look parallel.
The pattern is fixed: noun + 치고 … 없다 / 안 …. Without the negative, the sentence collapses into a different construction entirely.
That other construction is 치고는, which adds 는 and means “considering that it’s a …” — a quite separate meaning worth keeping apart.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any noun | 치고 — no change | 부모치고 |
| Must be followed by | a negative | … 안 하는 사람 없어요 |
| Typical shape | 치고 … -는 사람 없다 | 학생치고 안 바쁜 사람 없다 |
| Meaning delivered | a universal claim | every parent worries |
| Different construction | 치고는 = considering | 초보치고는 잘해요 |
| Without a negative | ungrammatical here | 부모치고 걱정해요 is wrong |
In use
부모치고 자식 걱정 안 하는 사람 없어요.
There isn’t a parent alive who doesn’t worry about their child.
한국 사람치고 김치 안 먹는 사람 없죠.
You won’t find a Korean who doesn’t eat kimchi.
시험 앞두고 안 떨리는 학생 치고 없더라고요.
I’ve yet to meet a student who isn’t nervous before an exam.
그 영화를 본 사람치고 안 우는 사람이 없었다.
Nobody who saw that film came away dry-eyed.
직접 만들어 본 사람치고 쉽다고 하는 사람 없어요.
Nobody who’s actually made it calls it easy.
여기 온 손님치고 다시 안 오는 분이 없습니다.
Every customer who comes here comes back.
Compared with
치고는
Adding 는 changes the meaning completely, from a universal rule to a judgement relative to expectation. The two are best learned as a contrast.
초보치고 못하는 사람 없어요. (all beginners can) / 초보치고는 잘해요. (good, for a beginner)
-(으)ㄴ/는 법이다
Both state general truths. 법이다 asserts a rule about how things go; 치고 rules out exceptions within a category.
부모는 걱정하는 법이다. (parents worry, as a rule) / 부모치고 안 하는 사람 없다. (no parent doesn’t)
모든
모든 states the universal directly. 치고 arrives at it through a denial of exceptions, which sounds more emphatic and more colloquial.
모든 부모가 걱정해요. / 부모치고 걱정 안 하는 사람 없어요.
Watch out
부모치고 자식을 걱정해요.
부모치고 자식 걱정 안 하는 사람 없어요.
This use requires a negative. Without one, the double-negative structure that carries the meaning is missing.
초보치고 잘하는 사람 없어요. — meaning “good for a beginner”
초보치고는 잘해요.
The judgement-relative-to-expectation reading needs 는. Without it you are claiming no beginner is any good.
부모를 치고 걱정 안 하는 사람 없어요.
부모치고 걱정 안 하는 사람 없어요.
치고 attaches directly to the noun with no particle in between.
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