KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean phrases › Café & daily life › 커피를 줄이려고 해도 좀처럼 쉽지 않네요

“Even when I try to cut back on…” in Korean

커피를 줄이려고 해도 좀처럼 쉽지 않네요

keopireul juriryeogo haedo jomcheoreom swipji anneyo

Situation: Café & daily lifeLevel: Advanced (TOPIK 5–6)

Meaning

Even when I try to cut back on coffee, it’s really not easy.

좀처럼 is an adverb that pairs with a negative and means “hardly / not easily.” -(으)려고 해도 means “even if I try to…”.

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 17 · Words: 6

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
커피를
커	ㅋ+ㅓ	keo
피	ㅍ+ㅣ	pi
를	ㄹ+ㅡ+ㄹ	reul
줄이려고
줄	ㅈ+ㅜ+ㄹ	[주] ju
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[리] ri
려	ㄹ+ㅕ	ryeo
고	ㄱ+ㅗ	go
해도
해	ㅎ+ㅐ	hae
도	ㄷ+ㅗ	do
좀처럼
좀	ㅈ+ㅗ+ㅁ	jom
처	ㅊ+ㅓ	cheo
럼	ㄹ+ㅓ+ㅁ	reom
쉽지
쉽	ㅅ+ㅟ+ㅂ	swip
지	ㅈ+ㅣ	[찌] ji
않네요
않	ㅇ+ㅏ+ㄶ	[안] an
네	ㄴ+ㅔ	ne
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 줄이 → [주리]
Tensing: after a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). 쉽지 → [쉽찌]
Final-sound reduction: every final consonant is pronounced as one of seven sounds — ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ or ㅇ. 않네 → [안네]

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.

These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).

Korean	Part of speech	Meaning	Level
하다	verb	to do	TOPIK level 1
쉽다	adjective	easy	TOPIK level 1

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “커피를 줄이려고 해도 좀처럼 쉽지 않네요” mean?

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Answer: Even when I try to cut back on coffee, it’s really not easy

Question 2 How do you say “Even when I try to cut back on coffee, it’s really not easy” in Korean?

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Answer: 커피를 줄이려고 해도 좀처럼 쉽지 않네요 keopireul juriryeogo haedo jomcheoreom swipji anneyo

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