Korean expression
상상도 못했어
Said by Jin (BTS)
What does 상상도 못했어 mean?
상상도 못했어 means "An expression indicating that something was not expected at all." in Korean.
Key expression
상상도 못하다
An expression indicating that something was not expected at all.
‘상상도 못하다’ is commonly used as ‘상상도 못했어’ or ‘상상도 못한 일’ and strongly emphasizes the meaning of ‘not at all’. It expresses unexpectedness much more strongly than ‘예상하다’.
When it's used
Used when hearing unexpected news or something far outside one’s expectations.
The line
한강 들었을 때 상상도 못했어
I couldn’t even imagine it when I heard about the Han River.
The speaker reacts immediately after hearing an unexpected result.
Scene from “Run BTS! 2022 Special Episode - Telepathy Part 2” · Channel: BANGTANTV Watch on YouTube
More examples
이렇게 빨리 끝날 줄은 상상도 못했어.
I never imagined it would end this quickly.
그 사람이 거절할 거라고는 상상도 못하셨죠?
You never imagined that person would refuse, did you?
Quick check
When would you use this expression?
상상도 못했어
한강 들었을 때 상상도 못했어
I couldn’t even imagine it when I heard about the Han River.
- A situation of saying that you already knew the result before hearing it.
- A situation of saying that you did not expect the result at all after hearing it.
- A situation of asking someone to explain the result again after hearing it.
Show the answer
A situation of saying that you did not expect the result at all after hearing it.
An expression indicating that something was not expected at all. ‘상상도 못하다’ is commonly used as ‘상상도 못했어’ or ‘상상도 못한 일’ and strongly emphasizes the meaning of ‘not at all’. It expresses unexpectedness much more strongly than ‘예상하다’.
Other words in this line
- 듣다
- To hear
- 상상
- Imagination
- 못하다
- To be unable to; not to do
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