-고 말다
end up doing — despite yourself
Reports an outcome that arrived against your wishes. Where -아/어 버리다 can go either way emotionally, this one lands almost entirely on regret.
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When to use it
Attach -고 말다 to any verb stem — no vowel rule, ㄹ stays, tense on 말다. It appears overwhelmingly in the past: 울고 말았어요, 지고 말았어요.
The sense is that something reached an end you did not want and could not stop: 참으려고 했는데 울고 말았어요. There is often a struggle implied beforehand.
One exception flips it entirely. In the future with -겠, it expresses determination: 이번에는 꼭 합격하고 말겠어요 — I will pass this time, whatever it takes. Same form, opposite energy, and worth learning as a separate item.
It belongs to writing and to emphatic speech. In casual conversation -아/어 버리다 is far more common.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any verb | -고 말다 | 울다 → 울고 말았어요 |
| ㄹ stems keep the ㄹ | -고 말다 | 만들다 → 만들고 말았어요 |
| Usual tense | past | 지고 말았어요 |
| Determination | -고 말겠다 | 합격하고 말겠어요 |
| Adjectives | impossible | 좋고 말다 does not exist |
| Never takes tense | plain stem + 고 | 울었고 말았어요 is wrong |
In use
참으려고 했는데 결국 울고 말았어요.
I tried to hold it in, but I ended up crying.
열심히 했지만 시합에서 지고 말았어요.
We worked hard, but we lost the match after all.
조심했는데도 접시를 깨고 말았어요.
I was careful, and still I broke the plate.
비밀을 지키려다가 말해 버리고 말았어요.
I meant to keep the secret, but it came out in the end.
그 회사는 결국 문을 닫고 말았다.
The company ended up closing down.
이번에는 꼭 합격하고 말겠어요.
This time I’m going to pass, no matter what.
Compared with
-아/어 버리다
버리다 can express relief as easily as regret; -고 말다 is nearly always regret, and often implies you resisted first.
다 해 버렸어요. (glad it’s over) / 지고 말았어요. (we lost, sadly)
-게 되다
-게 되다 reports a change neutrally, even favourably. -고 말다 marks the outcome as unwelcome.
한국에서 일하게 됐어요. (it worked out) / 회사가 문을 닫고 말았어요. (it came to that)
-고 말겠다
The future form reverses the meaning into resolve. Treat it as a separate expression rather than a tense change.
지고 말았어요. (we lost) / 이기고 말겠어요. (we will win)
Watch out
결국 울었고 말았어요.
결국 울고 말았어요.
-고 never carries tense here. The past goes on 말다 at the end.
시험에 합격하고 말았어요. — meaning “I passed, happily”
시험에 합격했어요.
-고 말다 frames the outcome as unwelcome. For good news, use the plain past.
날씨가 춥고 말았어요.
날씨가 추워지고 말았어요.
This ending takes action verbs. An adjective needs -아/어지다 first to become a change.
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