Lesson 157: 경우 – Case or Circumstance

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경우 A certain situation or circumstance
Describing 경우 with Nouns
Describing 경우 with Adjectives
Describing 경우 with Verbs

Vocabulary

Nouns:
경우 = situation or circumstance

Common Usages:
그럴 경우 = in those situations
… 같은 경우 = in situations like that

Examples:
애기 옷을 벗길 경우 조심해야 돼요
= You need to be careful in the situation when you take off the baby’s clothes

한국의 경우 물가가 매년 조금씩 오르고 있습니다
= In the case of Korea, the prices of goods rise slightly every year

정서가 불안한 경우에는 전문 상담사의 도움을 받는 것이 좋습니다
= In cases where emotions are unstable, it is good to seek help from a professional counselor

시계 내부의 기어가 정확히 맞물리지 않은 경우 시간이 정확하게 맞지 않을 수 있습니다
= If the gears inside a clock are not perfectly interlocked, the time may not be accurate

지원 = support

Examples:
통신이 원활하지 않은 경우 지원 팀에 연락하세요
= In cases where communication is not smooth, contact the support team

정서장애를 앓고 있는 환자의 경우 정기적인 치료와 가족의 지원이 회복에 큰 도움이 됩니다.
= In cases of patients suffering from emotional disorders, regular therapy and family support greatly aid recovery

중증 = serious disease

Examples:
우리 아버지는 중증 질환으로 병원에 입원했어요
= Our dad was hospitalized due to a serious disease

중증 장애인의 경우 보호자가 옷을 벗겨줘야 하는 상황이 자주 발생합니다.
= In the case of severely disabled individuals, situations often arise where a caregiver needs to help them take off their clothes

포로 = prisoner

Examples:
전쟁이 끝난 후 많은 포로들이 석방되었어요
= After the war ended, many prisoners were released

전쟁 포로의 경우 적군에 의해 발가벗겨진 채 심문을 받을 때도 있습니다.
= In the case of war prisoners, there are times when they are stripped of their clothes and interrogated by the enemy

적군 = enemy army

Examples:
적군은 밤사이 우리 진영을 공격했어요
= The enemy army attacked our camp overnight

물가 = the price of goods

Examples:
관강지의 물가는 터무니없었어요
= The prices of things in tourist area were ridiculous

다행히 요즘에 물가가 하락하고 있어요
= Thankfully these days the price of good is going down

한국의 경우 물가가 매년 조금씩 오르고 있습니다
= In the case of Korea, the prices of goods rise slightly every year

정서 = emotion

Examples:
정서가 불안한 경우에는 전문 상담사의 도움을 받는 것이 좋습니다
= In cases where emotions are unstable, it is good to seek help from a professional counselor

점점 더 스트레스로 인한 정서장애를 앓고 있는 사람의 수가 늘고 있어요
= Gradually, the number of people who are suffering from emotional disorders due to stress is increasing

정서장애 = emotional disorder

Examples:
그 학생은 정서장애로 인해 심리 상담을 받고 있어요
= That student is receiving psychological counseling due to an emotional disorder

사례 = case, situation

Examples:
그 사건과 같은 경우에는 비슷한 사례를 찾아 보세요
= In those types of cases, you should look for a similar case

고속도로에서 가속해서 달리다 사고가 나는 사례가 많다
= There are a lot of instances of accidents on the highway because of cars accelerating

통신 = communication

Examples:
통신이 원활하지 않은 경우 지원 팀에 연락하세요
= In cases where communication is not smooth, contact the support team

이 기술은 차세대 통신 시스템에 중요한 역할을 할 거예요
= This technology is going to play a crucial role in the next-generation of communication systems

인력 = manpower

Examples:
이 프로젝트에는 더 많은 인력이 필요해요
= This project requires more manpower

대규모 행사를 벌이는 경우, 준비 과정에서 많은 인력과 자원이 필요합니다.
= In the case of starting a large-scale event, a lot of manpower and resources are needed during the preparation process

자원 = resource

Examples:
모든 국가의 자원은 국민이다
= The resource of all nations is its people

이 프로젝트는 자원 절약 위주로 설계되었습니다
= This project is designed primarily for resource conservation

올바른 재활용을 통해 한정된 자원을 더욱 효율적으로 쓸 수 있어요
= By doing proper recycling, we can use our limited resources more effectively

자원이 풍부한 나라일수록 미래에 더 발전할 가능성이 있어요
= As a country has more resources, there is more of a possibility for it to develop

멍청이 = an idiot

Examples:
우리 오빠가 진짜 멍청이예요
= My older brother is really an idiot

멍청이라고 불리는 경우가 있어도 자기 자신을 믿어야 합니다
= Even if you are called an idiot, you must believe in yourself

상담사 = counselor

Examples:
상담사는 제 고민을 들어주고 좋은 조언을 해줬어요
= The counselor listened to my concerns and gave good advice

정서가 불안한 경우에는 전문 상담사의 도움을 받는 것이 좋습니다
= In cases where emotions are unstable, it is good to seek help from a professional counselor

Verbs:
벗기다 = to take off someone else’s clothes

Examples:
애기 옷을 벗길 때 조심해야 돼요
= You need to be careful when you take off the baby’s clothes

어린 아이의 경우 부모가 아이의 옷을 벗겨 줘야 합니다
= In the case of young children, parents need to help them take off their clothes

발가벗기다 = to strip somebody’s clothes off

Examples:
경찰관들은 포로를 발가벗기고 심문을 시작했어요
= The police officers stripped the prisoner’s clothes off and began the interrogation

맞물리다 = to be interlocked

Examples:
시계 내부의 기어가 정확히 맞물리지 않은 경우 시간이 정확하게 맞지 않을 수 있습니다
= If the gears inside a clock are not perfectly interlocked, the time may not be accurate

기계 부품이 맞물리지 않는 경우에는 문제가 발생할 수 있습니다
= If the machine parts are not interlocked, problems can occur

벌이다 = to start to do something

Examples:
새로운 프로젝트를 벌이는 경우 예산이 중요합니다
= When starting a new project, a budget is important

벌리다 = to open a body part

Common Usages:
입을 벌리다 = to open one’s mouth
다리를 벌리다 = to open one’s legs

Examples:
너무 피곤해서 입을 벌리고 잤어요
= I was so tired that I fell asleep with my mouth open

의사가 환자의 상태를 확인하기 위해 눈을 벌리는 경우가 있습니다
= There are cases where a doctor needs to open a patient’s eyes to check their condition

심문하다 = to interrogate

Examples:
경찰은 용의자를 심문하기 시작했어요
= The police began to interrogate the suspect

겸비하다 = to be good at two things

Examples:
저의 와이프는 지성과 미모를 겸비한 인재이에요
= My wife is a talented person who is both intelligent and beautiful

훤칠한 외모와 뛰어난 능력을 겸비한 경우에는 사회에서 높은 평가를 받기 쉽습니다
= In the case of having both a tall and handsome appearance and excellent abilities, it is easy to receive high praise in societ

Adjectives:
훤칠하다 = to be tall and handsome

Examples:
그는 훤칠한 외모로 많은 사람들의 주목을 받았어요
= He drew attention from many people with his tall and handsome appearance

훤칠한 외모와 뛰어난 능력을 겸비한 경우에는 사회에서 높은 평가를 받기 쉽습니다
= In the case of having both a tall and handsome appearance and excellent abilities, it is easy to receive high praise in society

원활하다 = to be smooth, to be flowing

Notes:
When indicating the amount of traffic on the roads, 원활 is used to indicate that things are flowing nicely.

Examples:
회의는 원활하게 진행되었어요
= The meeting proceeded smoothly

통신이 원활하지 않은 경우 지원 팀에 연락하세요
= In cases where communication is not smooth, contact the support team

Adverbs:
마지못해 = reluctantly

Example:
직원은 마지못해 그 제안을 받아들였어요
= The worker reluctantly accepted the proposal

마지못해 하는 경우 결과가 좋지 않을 수도 있습니다
= When doing something reluctantly, the results may not be good

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn about a word that you can use in sentences to create complex meanings. This noun is quite flexible and can be used in a variety of situations. Let’s get started.

경우 A certain situation or circumstance

I always found 경우 to be an interesting word. It always reminded me of 때, which you learned in Lesson 42. In that lesson, you saw that 때 refers to a time in which some event occurs. The event can be placed before 때 to indicate which time it is. It can be a noun or a verb/adjective that comes before 때. For example:

애기 옷을 벗길 때 조심해야 돼요
= You need to be careful when you take off the baby’s clothes

You could replace 때 with 경우 to create a similar meaning here. However, 경우 would more specifically refer to the situation describing it. When using 때, you are generally making a statement. With 경우, you are drawing attention to specifically when taking off the baby’s clothes. For example:

애기 옷을 벗길 경우 조심해야 돼요
= You need to be careful in the situation when you take off the baby’s clothes

In practice, this is precisely what ~는 can do to 때. In fact, the meanings of these two sentences are essentially identical:

애기 옷을 벗길 경우 조심해야 돼요
= You need to be careful in the situation when you take off the baby’s clothes

애기 옷을 벗길 때는 조심해야 돼요
= You need to be careful in the situation when you take off the baby’s clothes

There are different things that can describe 경우. Let’s look at what can do it.

Describing 경우 with Nouns

경우 is almost always used when its being described by something. There are many ways that you can describe 경우, but a common way it is done is with a noun by attaching ~의 to it (you were introduced to this effect in Lesson 23). The resulting translation usually becomes “in the case of (noun)…”. For example:

한국의 경우 물가가 매년 조금씩 오르고 있습니다
= In the case of Korea, the prices of goods rise slightly every year

어린 아이의 경우 부모가 아이의 옷을 벗겨 줘야 합니다
= In the case of young children, parents need to help them take off their clothes

정서장애를 앓고 있는 환자의 경우 정기적인 치료와 가족의 지원이 회복에 큰 도움이 됩니다
= In cases of patients suffering from emotional disorders, regular therapy and family support greatly aid recovery

중증 장애인의 경우 보호자가 옷을 벗겨줘야 하는 상황이 자주 발생합니다
= In the case of severely disabled individuals, situations often arise where a caregiver needs to help them take off their clothes

전쟁 포로의 경우 적군에 의해 발가벗겨진 채 심문을 받을 때도 있습니다
= In the case of war prisoners, there are times when they are stripped of their clothes and interrogated by the enemy

With Adjectives

Naturally, it is also possible to describe 경우 with adjectives. In these sentences, the speaker is identifying a specific situation where the adjective is the case. For example:

정서가 불안한 경우에는 전문 상담사의 도움을 받는 것이 좋습니다
= In cases where emotions are unstable, it is good to seek help from a professional counselor

통신이 원활하지 않은 경우 지원 팀에 연락하세요
= In cases where communication is not smooth, contact the support team

The most common adjective that describes 경우 is probably 같다. It is common to want to say something like “in situations similar to _____…” For example:

그 사건과 같은 경우에는 비슷한 사례를 찾아 보세요
= In those types of cases, you should look for a similar case

Another common adjective that describes 경우 is 그렇다, to indicate “in those types of situations.”

For example:

그럴 경우 보통 부자만 돼요
= In those situations, only the rich will survive

With Verbs

Verbs can also describe 경우 much like an adjective. Here, the speaker indicates the situation when a verb occurs. For example:

기계 부품이 맞물리지 않는 경우에는 문제가 발생할 수 있습니다
= If the machine parts are not interlocked, problems can occur

새로운 프로젝트를 벌이는 경우 예산이 중요합니다
= When starting a new project, a budget is important

마지못해 하는 경우 결과가 좋지 않을 수도 있습니다
= When doing something reluctantly, the results may not be good

대규모 행사를 벌이는 경우, 준비 과정에서 많은 인력과 자원이 필요합니다
= In the case of starting a large-scale event, a lot of manpower and resources are needed during the preparation process

In every example so far, 경우 was describing what occurs in the situation that 경우 represents. As 경우 is a noun, it is also possible for it to be accepted on by verbs and adjectives. For example:

멍청이라고 불리는 경우가 있어도 자기 자신을 믿어야 합니다
= Even if you are called an idiot, you must believe in yourself

의사가 환자의 상태를 확인하기 위해 눈을 벌리는 경우가 있습니다
= There are cases where a doctor needs to open a patient’s eyes to check their condition

That’s it for this lesson!