Usage
i) Denoting an extent: ‘up to’
내일까지 알려주세요.
Let me know by tomorrow.
ii) Denoting circumstances beyond the normal extent: ‘even’
부인까지 모르고 있는 것 같아.
Even his wife seems unaware.
Marking
| Noun | Marking | |
|---|---|---|
| Vowel | 남자 | 남자까지 |
| Consonant | 사람 | 사람까지 |
Contents
Introduction
i) Denoting an extent: ‘up to’
ii) Denoting circumstances beyond the normal extent: ‘even’
Expanded forms
Additional details
Associated grammar
See also
Bibliography
User examples
Introduction
Particle 까지 has two usages not to be confused with each other. The first usage expresses the upper bounds of an extent.
내일까지 알려주세요.
Let me know by tomorrow.
The second usage is an extension of the first and expresses a high degree.
부인까지 모르고 있는 것 같아.
Even his wife seems unaware.
Particle 까지 derives from the Middle Korean noun skAcang which meant ‘edge’. This noun developed the meanings ‘up to the limit’ and ‘to the full extent’ (think of how the edge of a table represents the furthest extent).
In fact, 까지 is related to the adverb 가장 (best). Interestingly, the modern noun 가장자리 describes an edge or outer rim.
i) Denoting an extent: ‘up to’
The first usage of 까지 is the most common and usually denotes an extent of space or time.
Space
사거리까지 같이 가자.
Let’s go as far as the intersection together.
Time
내일까지 알려주세요.
Let me know by tomorrow.
Here 까지 denotes the outer limit (edge) of an extent. This is expressed in English by words such as: ‘until’, ‘up to’, ‘as far as’, ‘to’, ‘by’ and ‘before’.
죽을 때까지 싸움
fight to the death
챕터 6까지 읽었어.
I’ve read up to Chapter Six.
언제까지 끝내면 될까요?
How soon do you need it by?
Particle 까지 is not restricted to extents of time and space. It’s also used with various abstract areas.
Numerical
몇 명까지 초대할 수 있나요?
How many people can we invite?
기온이 영하 20도까지 떨어졌다.
The temperature dropped to minus twenty.
Genre
블루스에서 재즈까지
from blues to jazz
ㅁㅁ부터 ㅁㅁ까지
Particle 까지 frequently occurs with particles 부터 or 에서 (from) to express start/endpoints in time and space.
아침부터 저녁까지
from morning till evening
집에서 학교까지
from home to school
Normally, 부터 is used for extents of time and 에서 is used for extents of space.
4월부터 8월까지
from April until August
처음부터 끝까지
from beginning to end
대구에서 부산까지
from Daegu to Busan
선박에서 육지까지
from ship to shore
However, in reality, natives will not always adhere to this rule.
4월에서 8월까지
from April until August
대구부터 부산까지
from Daegu to Busan
Of course, there are instances where the extents are abstract areas.
블루스부터 재즈까지
from blues to jazz
(History of music)
블루스에서 재즈까지
from blues to jazz
(Extent of one’s repertoire)
-기까지
까지 can combine with nominaliser -기 and sometimes implies a lot of effort has been put into getting up to the point of completing a task.
취업을 하기까지
up to the point where you land a job
이 책이 나오기까지 도움을 주신 다음 분들께 감사드립니다:
Many thanks to the following people who helped in making (getting to the completion of) this book:
ii) Denoting circumstances beyond the normal extent: ‘even’
The second usage of 까지 expresses a high degree with the meaning of ‘even’. This often carries a nuance that the situation is unexpected.
부인까지 모르고 있는 것 같아.
Even his wife seems unaware.
Here 까지 expresses that even his own wife is unaware (of something). That is, while it would be reasonable for unacquainted people to be unaware, his own wife not knowing the situation is excessive and unexpected.
100넘어까지 살다
live beyond (even) 100
산타 할아버지까지 만났다.
We even met Santa.
깊은 산속에 맛집까지 있다.
There’s even (surprising to me) a restaurant deep in the mountain.
내 친구들까지 나를 안 믿어.
Not even my friends believe me.
이렇게까지 하실 필요 없습니다.
You don’t need to do all this.
늦은 밤까지 도와주셔서 감사합니다.
Thanks for helping me this late at night.
집 앞 편의점에서 학용품까지 팔아요.
At the convenience store across from me, they even sell school supplies.
나에 대해서 작은 것까지 자세히 기억했어.
She remembered even small details about me.
근무시간에 게임까지 하는 직원이 있다는 논란도 있었다.
There was a controversy that workers would even play games during working hours.
How does this compare to the first usage of 까지? Consider how not knowing details about someone can range from unknown with unacquainted people (normal extent) to unknown with even one’s own spouse (beyond the normal extent). It’s a bit like saying “even this far” or “as far as”.
‘and even’
This usage of 까지 sometimes appears as the climax of a list where it means ‘and even’.
밤도 늦었고 비까지 내려요.
It’s late and it’s even raining.
철수에 영희에 바둑이까지 왔어.
철수, 영희 and even 바둑이 came.
그 수업은 재미가 없다. 게다가 숙제까지 많다.
That class is boring. What’s worse, there’s (even) a lot of homework.
동물원에서 기린, 사자 그리고 고릴라까지 구경했다.
At the zoo, we saw giraffes, lions and even gorillas.
Speaker was not expecting to see gorillas (because they’re endangered).
최신 노트북은 가볍고 얇아진 데다 성능까지 좋아졌다.
Recent laptops have become lighter and thinner, and (what’s surprisingly more) their performance has improved.
Expanded forms
Particle 까지 is sometimes expanded with the following forms:
까지도
Particle 도 meaning ‘even’ can attach to 까지 to give extra emphatic effect to ‘even’.
P도 Example:
1불도 없다.
I don’t even have $1.
까지도 Examples:
학교에서까지도 잠을 자니?
You even sleep at school?
철수는 아직까지도 숙제를 안했다.
철수 still hasn’t done his homework.
철수는 아직까지도 결혼을 안 했대?
철수 still hasn’t gotten married.
까지는
Particle 은/는 can attach to 까지 to give contrastive effect.
P는 Example:
얼굴은 예뻐.
She has a pretty face (but the rest of her…)
까지는 Examples:
어제 산에 갔는데 정상까지는 안갔다.
I went to the mountain yesterday but didn’t reach the summit.
어제까지는 날씨가 맑았다.
The weather was clear until yesterday (unlike now).
교수님께서 오늘까지는 과제를 제출해야 한다고 하셨어.
The teacher said we need to submit our assignment by today (unlike what you might have heard).
Additional details
General
• As always, there isn’t always a clear distinction between usages. It’s beneficial to see 까지 as ranging from ‘until > ‘as far as’ > ‘even’.
Associated grammar
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See also
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Bibliography
Affiliate links help support uK.
— Choo, M., & Kwak, H. (2008). Using Korean: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. New York: Cambridge University Press.
— Ihm, H.B., Hong, K.P., & Chang, S.I. (2001). Korean Grammar for International Learners. Seoul: Yonsei University Press.
— King, R., Yeon, J., Kim, C., & Baker, D. (2015). Advanced Korean. Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
— Lee, H. A Cognitive Comparative Analysis of Stance Marking in English and Korean. (2015). Language and Linguistics, 71, 189–214.
— Lee, I., & Ramsey, S.R. (2000). The Korean Language. Albany: State University of New York Press.
— Rhee, S. Grammaticalization of Spatio-Temporal Postpositions in Korean. (2004). The Journal of Linguistic Science, 31, 169–188.
User examples
i) Denoting an extent: ‘up to’
Context: The narrator describes the situation of the women living in a harem.
궁에 한번 들어오면 죽을 때까지 나갈 수 없다.
Once you enter the palace, you cannot leave until you have died.
From the 만화책: 달의 상자 II by 김달
[Submitted by autoditactics]
Context: A mathematician claims to prove a long-standing conjecture and a professor chimes in..
논문이 여러 수학자의 검토를 받았을 것은 분명하지만 완전 검증까지는 더 시간이 필요할 것으로 보고 있다.
While it is clear that the paper has received examinations from many mathematicians, I still see more time being needed to go as far as to call it completely verified.
[Submitted by autoditactics]
ii) Denoting circumstances beyond the normal extent: ‘even’
Context: Group project members find out the person collecting materials did a poor job..
죄다 복붙인 것 같은데요. 밑에 출처까지 안 지우고 보냈잖아요.
Looks like he just copied and pasted everything. I mean, he sent it without even removing the source on the bottom.
{Line at 0:57}
[Submitted by autoditactics]