Korean grammar patterns › Level 3
-(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다
have no choice but to; can't help but be
Level 3 · TOPIK II · intermediate
How to use it
Says there is no other option, or that a result is natural and inevitable in the situation.
Forming it
| 타다 | → 탈 수밖에 없다 |
| 먹다 | → 먹을 수밖에 없다 |
| 듣다 | → 들을 수밖에 없다 |
| 비싸다 | → 비쌀 수밖에 없다 |
밖에 is attached to 수 and always goes with 없다: ✗ 할 수밖에 있다.
Examples
버스가 끊겨서 택시를 탈 수밖에 없었어요.
The buses had stopped running, so I had no choice but to take a taxi.
매일 연습했으니까 잘할 수밖에 없죠.
She practiced every day, so of course she's good.
Compared with similar patterns
-지 않을 수 없다 (double negative) is more formal and emphatic; -지 않으면 안 되다 expresses obligation. -(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다 focuses on having no alternative or on inevitability.