-(으)ㄹ락 말락 하다
on the verge of, barely
Something hovering right at a threshold — almost happening, not quite. The paired 락 sets the two states against each other and leaves the thing suspended between them.
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When to use it
Attachment is the standard rule with the ㄹ short form. The pairing is fixed — the verb with 락, then 말다 with 락 — and 하다 normally follows.
It describes a state at the edge of happening: 손끝이 닿을락 말락 했다 — fingertips almost touching. The observer is watching something teeter.
Compared with -(으)ㄹ까 말까 하다, which is about a person’s indecision, this one is about a physical or perceptual threshold. Nobody is deciding anything.
Before a noun it becomes -(으)ㄹ락 말락 한: 들릴락 말락 한 소리.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ends in a vowel | -ㄹ락 말락 | 들리다 → 들릴락 말락 |
| Ends in a consonant | -을락 말락 | 닿다 → 닿을락 말락 |
| Ends in ㄹ | nothing added | 만들다 → 만들락 말락 |
| Usually followed by | 하다 | 닿을락 말락 했다 |
| Before a noun | -(으)ㄹ락 말락 한 | 들릴락 말락 한 소리 |
| Indecision instead | -(으)ㄹ까 말까 하다 | 갈까 말까 했어요 |
In use
두 사람의 손끝이 닿을락 말락 했다.
Their fingertips were almost touching.
들릴락 말락 한 목소리로 무언가 중얼거렸다.
He muttered something in a barely audible voice.
해가 산 너머로 넘어갈락 말락 하고 있었다.
The sun was just on the point of slipping behind the mountain.
눈물이 떨어질락 말락 눈가에 맺혔다.
Tears gathered at her eyes, on the verge of falling.
모양이 겨우 만들어질락 말락 한 상태였다.
The shape was only just beginning to hold.
잠이 들락 말락 할 때 전화가 울렸다.
The phone rang just as I was drifting off.
Compared with
-(으)ㄹ까 말까 하다
Similar shape, different subject matter. -(으)ㄹ까 말까 is a person weighing a choice; -(으)ㄹ락 말락 is a thing hovering at a threshold.
갈까 말까 했어요. (I couldn’t decide) / 닿을락 말락 했다. (almost touching)
-(으)ㄹ 뻔하다
뻔하다 reports a near miss that is over and usually alarming; -(으)ㄹ락 말락 describes the hovering itself, often calmly.
떨어질 뻔했어요. (nearly fell) / 떨어질락 말락 했다. (on the verge of falling)
-(으)ㄹ 정도로
정도로 measures how far something went; -(으)ㄹ락 말락 places it exactly at the boundary.
안 들릴 정도로 작았다. (so quiet it couldn’t be heard) / 들릴락 말락 했다. (just barely audible)
Watch out
모임에 갈락 말락 고민했어요.
모임에 갈까 말까 고민했어요.
Weighing a decision takes -(으)ㄹ까 말까. -(으)ㄹ락 말락 describes something hovering at a threshold.
손끝이 닿을락 했다.
손끝이 닿을락 말락 했다.
The pairing is fixed. One half alone is not an expression.
들릴락 말락 소리로 말했다.
들릴락 말락 한 소리로 말했다.
Before a noun the phrase needs 한, since it is functioning as a modifier.
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