I feel sad that I can’t come in Korean 🇰🇷

Sentence info.

The sentence breaks down as follows:

1. 나는 (naneun) – “I” with a topic marker that sets “I” as the topic of the sentence.
2. 못 올 수 없다는 (mot ol su eopdaneun) – a subordinate clause acting as a modifier:
 • 못 (mot): “cannot”
 • 올 (ol): the shortened form of 오다 (“to come”) in its descriptive form.
 • 수 없다 (su eopda): “is not possible” (indicating inability)
 • -다는 (-daneun): a clause-ending form used to turn the entire clause into a noun phrase meaning “that…”
3. 것이 (geosi) – “thing” with the subject marker, referring to “the fact that I cannot come.”
4. 슬프다 (seulpeuda) – “is sad,” the main predicate of the sentence.

So the overall meaning is “The fact that I cannot come is sad.”

Tips to remember:
• Notice the structure “[clause]다는” which turns a verb phrase into a noun phrase that can be the subject or object.
• The descriptive form of “to come” (올) is combined with “수 없다” to express inability (“cannot come”).
• You can replace 나는 with 내가 in casual conversation; the meaning remains essentially the same.

Alternate ways to express “I feel sad that I can’t come”:
• 내가 못 온다는 사실이 슬프다 (naega mot ondaneun sasil-i seulpeuda)
• 내가 못 온다는 게 슬퍼 (naega mot ondaneun ge seulpeo)

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