Korean grammar patterns › Level 6
-(으)ㄹ쏘냐
how could … ? (of course not!) (archaic, rhetorical)
Level 6 · TOPIK II · advanced
How to use it
An old-style rhetorical question that strongly denies something, often in a defiant tone: 'Would I …? Never!' Found in old texts, sayings, and humorous or dramatic speech.
Forming it
| 지다 | → 질쏘냐 |
| 포기하다 | → 포기할쏘냐 |
| 두렵다 | → 두려울쏘냐 |
| 남 | → 남일쏘냐 |
The implied answer is always 'no'; it is not a real question.
Examples
여기까지 왔는데 이제 와서 포기할쏘냐.
I've come this far; would I give up now? Never.
그깟 추위가 두려울쏘냐? 계속 가자.
Would I be afraid of such a little cold? Let's keep going.
Compared with similar patterns
-(으)ㄹ 리가 없다 is a plain statement that something can't be so; -(으)ㄹ쏘냐 says the same through a defiant rhetorical question.