-기 십상이다
is likely to — and it won’t be good
Warns that something is apt to go wrong. Another fixed -기 pattern, and the counterpart of -기 마련이다 with the sympathy removed.
Build it
Pick a verb
When to use it
Attach -기 십상이다 to a verb stem — no vowel rule, ㄹ stays, no tense in front. 십상 is a noun and takes a space.
The outcome must be undesirable. That is not a preference but part of the meaning: 십상 predicts a slip, a loss, a mistake. A good outcome makes the sentence ungrammatical.
It normally follows a condition, and the pair reads as a warning: 서두르면 실수하기 십상이에요.
Against 마련이다, the difference is stance. 마련이다 consoles — it happens to everyone. 십상이다 warns — be careful, or this will happen to you.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any verb | -기 십상이다 | 실수하다 → 실수하기 십상이다 |
| ㄹ stems keep the ㄹ | -기 십상이다 | 잃다 → 잃기 십상이다 |
| Usual shape | -(으)면 … 십상이다 | 서두르면 실수하기 십상이다 |
| Outcome must be | undesirable | 합격하기 십상이다 is wrong |
| Spacing | 십상 is a noun | 실수하기 십상이다 |
| Never takes tense | plain stem only | 실수했기 십상이다 is wrong |
In use
서두르면 실수하기 십상이에요.
Rush it and you’re likely to slip up.
준비 없이 시작하면 실패하기 십상이다.
Starting without preparation is a recipe for failure.
늦게까지 스마트폰을 보면 잠을 설치기 십상이다.
Look at your phone late and you’ll sleep badly.
급하게 만들면 맛이 없기 십상이에요.
Make it in a hurry and it’s likely to taste poor.
혼자 결정하면 후회하기 십상입니다.
Decide alone and you’ll probably regret it.
메모하지 않으면 잊어버리기 십상이에요.
If you don’t write it down you’re apt to forget.
Compared with
-기 마련이다
Same shape, opposite stance. 마련이다 consoles about what happens to everyone; 십상이다 warns about what will happen to you.
실수하기 마련이에요. (it happens to us all) / 실수하기 십상이에요. (you’ll slip up)
-(으)ㄹ 것 같다
것 같다 predicts anything, good or bad, and hedges. 십상이다 predicts only bad outcomes and states them firmly.
늦을 것 같아요. (I think I’ll be late) / 늦기 십상이에요. (you’re bound to be late)
-는 바람에
바람에 reports a bad outcome that already happened; 십상이다 predicts one that has not.
서두르는 바람에 실수했어요. (I rushed and erred) / 서두르면 실수하기 십상이에요. (rushing leads to errors)
Watch out
열심히 하면 합격하기 십상이에요.
열심히 하면 합격할 거예요.
십상이다 predicts an unwelcome result. For a good outcome, a plain future works.
어제 서둘러서 실수했기 십상이에요.
어제 서두르는 바람에 실수했어요.
-기 never carries tense, and 십상이다 predicts rather than reports. For something that already happened, use a past construction.
서두르면 실수하기십상이에요.
서두르면 실수하기 십상이에요.
십상 is a noun and takes a space.
Next
koreangrammarmap.com