TeacherJoy

Once you reach the intermediate level, you will likely learn 만하다. But when this attaches to a verb instead of a noun, it can be hard to grasp the exact feeling of what it means.

As a quick review, the verb form 만하다 is closely related to the particle 만. When 만 is attached to a noun, it means it never exceeds the size or scope of that noun. 

Let’s look at how it works with a noun first.

• 와, 너 키 많이 컸네! 키가 몇이니? 이제 아빠만하지? (Wow, you’ve grown so tall! How tall are you? Are you about as tall as your dad now?)

Here, 아빠만하다 literally means “to be to the extent of dad.” Since we were already talking about height, it means “as tall as dad.” But you are up to his height, and you haven’t exceeded him yet.

Now, let’s connect this to verbs. Imagine someone asks you, “How is studying Korean?” Instead of just saying it’s hard, try using this phrase:

• 할 만해요. (It’s doable.)

This can mean “doing it is possible.” But remember the rule of 만—it means it doesn’t exceed that boundary. So, while it means “I can manage to do it,” it also secretly implies that it doesn’t go beyond that into something amazing. In other words, it means, “It’s doable, but it’s not super fun or easy.”

It works the same way with food:

• 먹을 만해요. (It’s okay to eat.)

If a Korean person asks you how you like the Korean dish you’re trying for the first time, this might be the answer. Since it strictly stays within the boundary of “just eating,” it subtly implies that you don’t find it mind-blowingly delicious, or that it feels a bit unfamiliar to you.