Nuance Dictionary / Grammar
가정 ga-jeong
Hypothesis or assumption — setting up a hypothetical scenario in speech
What does 가정 mean?
가정 (ga-jeong) means: Hypothesis or assumption — setting up a hypothetical scenario in speech.
In Korean grammar, setting up a hypothesis is never neutral. It always carries an underlying emotional stance toward the reality being hypothesized.
🔊 From the story above
었으면 — Ass-eoss-eu-myeon
돈이 많았으면 좋겠어요 — don-i man-ass-eu-myeon jo-ket-sseo-yo, "I wish I had a lot of money"
거리두기 — geo-ri-du-gi, "creating psychological distance"
가정 — ga-jeong, "hypothesis or assumption"
소망 — so-mang, "a deep, earnest wish for something currently absent"
한국어가 더 쉬웠으면 좋겠어요 — han-gu-geo-ga deo swi-woss-eu-myeon jo-ket-sseo-yo, "I wish Korean were easier"
시간이 더 있었으면 좋겠어요 — si-gan-i deo iss-eoss-eu-myeon jo-ket-sseo-yo, "I wish I had more time"
좋겠다 — jo-ket-da, "that would be nice"
How it's actually used
- 만약에 네가 그 상황이었다고 가정해 봐, 네가 과연 다르게 행동했을까?
m-yag-e ne-ga geu sang-hwang-i-at-da-go ga-jeong-hae bwa, ne-ga gwa-yeon dare-ge haeng-dong-haess-eul-kka?
Just imagine you were in that situation—would you really have acted differently?
💡 Use 가정해 봐 to push the listener into a hypothetical emotional stance. - 우리가 무조건 이긴다는 가정 하에 전략을 짜면 큰코다칠 수 있어요.
u-ri-ga mu-jo-geon ig-in-dan-neun ga-jeong ha-e jeon-ryag-eul jjam-yeon keun-ko-dach-il su iss-eo-yo.
If we build our strategy on the assumption that we'll win no matter what, we're going to get burned.
💡 가정 하에 frames an underlying overconfidence as a risky setup. - 그런 불가능한 가정을 자꾸 세워봤자 지금 우리한테는 아무런 도움도 안 돼요.
geu-reon bul-gan-neung-han ga-jeong-eul jak-ku se-wo-bwat-ja ji-geum u-ri-han-te-neun a-mu-reon do-um-do an dwae-yo.
Constantly setting up impossible hypotheses like that does nothing to help us right now.
💡 Expresses frustration toward an unrealistic hypothetical scenario.
Related words in Grammar
소망 so-mang거리두기 geo-ri-du-gi완곡어법 wan-gok-eoh-beop잡수시다 jap-su-si-da주무시다 ju-mu-si-da