V/A+ 기라도 하면
It is attached to the stem of an action verb or a descriptive verb when you assume something would happen and you worry about it when it is actually unlikely to happen. Expressions about worry such as ‘어쩌다, 어떡하다, 큰일이다, 걱정이다’ and so on are used in the latter part of the sentence.
동전을 아무 데나 놔 뒀다가 아기가 먹기라도 하면 어쩌려고 그래요?
What if you leave a coin anywhere and the baby eats it?
유학을 간 딸이 아프기라도 하면 어떡하나 늘 걱정이 돼요.
I’m always worried about my daughter, who’s studying abroad, being sick.
혼자 해외여행을 갔다가 소매치기를 당하기라도 하면 큰일이니까 항상 가방에 신경써야 해.
You should always pay attention to the bag because it would be a huge problem if you get pickpocketed when you go abroad alone.
Conversation:
버스에서는 손잡이를 꽉 잡아야지. 넘어지기라도 하면 어떡해?
You have to hold on to the handle on a bus. What if you fall down?
나는 균형 감각이 있어서 손잡이를 안 잡아도 괜찮아.
I have a sense of balance, so it’s okay not to hold on to the handle.
앗, 깜짝이야. 버스가 급정거하는 바람에 넘어질 뻔했어.
Oh, my. I almost fell because the bus stopped suddenly.
괜찮아? 거봐, 달리는 버스 안에서는 손잡이를 잡아야지.
Are you all right? See, you’re supposed to hold the handle on a bus.
나도 안 움직이려고 했는데 마음처럼 되지 않네.
I tried not to move, but it didn’t work as I wanted.
관성이 작용해서 그래. 버스는 멈췄지만 우리 몸은 버스가 가던 방향으로 계속 움직이려고 하거든.
It’s because inertia works. Our bodies keep trying to move in the direction the bus was going although the bus stops.
Related words
감각 sense
급정거 stopping suddenly
거봐 see that?
It is used to indicate that something goes in one’s own words.
관성 inertia
Source: Yonsei University. Korean Language Institute