차마

차마 (chama) is an adverb used to express that someone cannot bring themselves to do something, often due to a strong emotional or moral barrier. It implies a sense of hesitation or reluctance caused by feelings like shame, guilt, fear, or compassion.

For example, if you say “차마 말을 못했어요” (chama mareul mot-haesseoyo), it means you couldn't bring yourself to speak, perhaps because the words were too difficult to utter or would cause pain. It's stronger than simply 'couldn't speak'; it suggests an internal struggle preventing the action.

You might use 차마 when you witness something shocking and are too stunned to react, or when you feel deeply for someone and cannot bring yourself to tell them bad news. The core idea is an inability to act due to a powerful inner constraint.

It often appears with negative constructions like 못하다 (mot-hada, cannot do), 않다 (anta, not do), or 말다 (malda, to stop/not do), reinforcing the idea of an action that remains undone due to internal resistance.