Korean grammar patterns › Level 6
-(으)ㄹ세라
lest, for fear that … (literary)
Level 6 · TOPIK II · advanced
How to use it
Clause 1 is something the subject worries might happen; clause 2 is what they do (quickly, carefully) to prevent it. Literary or a bit old-fashioned.
Forming it
| 깨다 | → 깰세라 |
| 늦다 | → 늦을세라 |
| 듣다 | → 들을세라 |
| 알다 | → 알세라 |
Clause 2 cannot be a command or suggestion: ✗ 늦을세라 빨리 가세요 → 늦을까 봐 …(or 늦지 않게 빨리 가세요).
Examples
아이가 깰세라 살금살금 방을 나왔어요.
I tiptoed out of the room for fear the child would wake up.
누가 볼세라 그는 편지를 얼른 주머니에 넣었다.
Lest anyone see it, he quickly put the letter in his pocket.
Compared with similar patterns
-(으)ㄹ까 봐(서) is the everyday way to express this worry; -도록 states the goal positively ('so that the child doesn't wake').