Level 3 / Lesson 3: (으)면 되다 / 아/어/여도 되다 (I can.../You may...)
안녕, 여러분! In previous lessons, we learned how to say “if” using -면 and “even though” or “even if” using 아/어/여도. In this lesson, we are going to be using these structures to either give someone permission, or to say that we can do something. Let’s begin!
First of all, let’s talk about the word 되다. You might know that 되다 means “to become,” but it also has a few different other meanings. Talk to Me in Korean I think defines it best–it can mean “’to function,’ ‘to be possible,’ or ‘can do.’” For example, you may hear people say “돼요?” to mean “is it working?” or “is it okay?” Let’s see how we can use how we can use 되다 with -(으)면 or 아/어/여도 to say “I/you can…”
Now that we know that -면 means “if” and 되다 means “to be possible” or “to work,” let’s look at a sentence with both of them together. You can use this formula:
[verb / adjective stem] + (으)면 되다 = You may [verb / adjective] / I can [verb / adjective]
지금 가면 돼요. = You can go now / You may go now / I can go now
가면 돼요 = if you go now, it’s okay / it’s okay if you go now / it is possible for you to go now
So literally, this sentence can mean “it’s okay if you go now” or “it’s okay if I go now.” But most of the time you’ll see it translated as “you can/may go now” or “I can go now.” Let’s look at some more examples!
숙제를 끝냈으니까 친구를 만나면 돼요. = You finished the homework, so you can meet your friend.
끝내다 = to finish / to complete
만나 + (으)면 되다 = 만나면 되다 = you can meet / it’s okay if you meet
More on the (으)니까 structure in a future lesson!
저는 돈이 충분해서 이걸 사면 돼요 = I have enough money, so I can buy this
충분하다 = to be enough / to be plenty
사 + (으)면 되다 = 사면 되다 = you can buy it / it’s okay if you buy it / it’s possible for me to buy it
If you want to say that you or someone else cannot do something, or that something is not possible, you can just attach -면 안 되다 to a verb or adjective. For example:
지금 말하면 안 돼요 = You can’t talk right now
말하 + (으)면 안 되다 = 말하면 안 되다 = it’s not okay if you talk / you may not talk
늦으면 안 돼요 = You cannot be late
늦 + (으)면 안 되다 = 늦으면 안 되다 = I can’t be late / you cannot be late / it’s not okay if you’re late
Let’s move on to 아/어/여도 되다. In a lot of cases, this is very similar to (으)면 되다. Simply use this formula to say that it is okay for someone to do something:
[verb / adjective stem] + 아/어/여도 되다 = You can [verb / adjective] / You may [verb / adjective]
From what I could gather, the only difference between this and (으)면 되다 is that (으)면 되다 can be used to talk about yourself, while 아/어/여도 되다 is used for only talking to other people (as in granting others permission). Someone please correct me if I’m wrong!
지금 가도 돼요 = You may go now / you can go now
가도 돼요 = Even if you go, it’s okay / it’s okay even if you go
내일은 일찍 퇴근해도 돼요. = You can leave work early tomorrow.
퇴근하다 = to get off work / to leave work
퇴근하 + 아/어/여도 되다 = 퇴근해도 되다 = You can get off work / It’s okay even if you leave work
제 핸드폰을 빌려도 돼요 = You can borrow my phone
빌리 + 아/어/여도 되다 = 빌려도 되다 = you can borrow it / its okay even if you borrow it
You will also hear 아/어/여도 되다 when asking for permission. For instance:
질문 물어봐도 돼요? = May I ask a question?
물어봐도 돼요? = May I ask? / Is it okay if I ask?
이걸 입어봐도 돼요? = May I try this on?
입어보다 = to try on [clothes]
입어봐도 돼요? = May I try it on? / Is it okay if I try it on?
If you want to say that someone does not have to do something, simply add 안 before the verb or adjective. For instance:
지금 안 가도 돼요 = You don’t have to go now / Even if you don’t go now, it’s okay
공부를 안 해도 돼요 = You don’t have to study / Even if you don’t study, it’s okay
Occasionally, you may even hear 아/어/여도 followed by the adjective 괜찮다, which means “to be okay.” For example:
내일은 일찍 퇴근해도 괜찮아요. = It’s okay [even] if you leave work early.
질문 물어봐도 괜찮아요? = Is it okay [even] if I ask a question?
Wow, this lesson was pretty long, but I hope you understand everything! 질문 물어봐도 돼요! You can ask me questions!! See you in the next lesson! 안녕!
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