Phrase in 30 Seconds
Use this phrase to express that a task or situation is more challenging than you initially anticipated.
- Means: It is harder than I thought it would be.
- Used in: School, work, or when trying a new hobby.
- Don't confuse: '보다' here means 'than', not 'to see'.
あなたのレベルに合った解説：
意味
Expressing that something is more difficult than initially expected.
文化的背景
In Korean workplaces, saying '생각보다 어려워요' is a common way to manage a boss's expectations without being confrontational. Korean students often use this phrase to bond over the difficulty of exams, creating a sense of shared struggle. On platforms like Instagram, the hashtag #생각보다어려움 is used for 'Reality vs Expectation' posts. In 'One-day classes' (popular in Korea), instructors often hear this from beginners who underestimate crafts like pottery or baking.
Add '훨씬' for emphasis
If something is much harder than you thought, say '생각보다 훨씬 어려워요'.
Watch the 'ㅂ' irregular
Don't say '어렵아요'. It's always '어려워요' in the polite present tense.
Add '훨씬' for emphasis
If something is much harder than you thought, say '생각보다 훨씬 어려워요'.
Watch the 'ㅂ' irregular
Don't say '어렵아요'. It's always '어려워요' in the polite present tense.
Use it to be humble
When someone praises your skill, saying '아니에요, 생각보다 어려워요' is a very natural, humble response.
自分をテスト
Fill in the blank with the correct particle.
한국어 공부가 생각____ 어려워요.
'보다' is the particle used for comparisons, meaning 'than'.
Choose the correctly conjugated form of '어렵다'.
이 문제는 생각보다 ________.
'어렵다' is a 'ㅂ' irregular verb, so it becomes '어려워요'.
Complete the dialogue naturally.
가: 요리하는 거 어때요? 나: ________________.
The question asks 'How is cooking?', and 'It's harder than I thought' is a logical response about the process.
Match the phrase to the most appropriate situation.
Situation: You are trying to assemble a complex LEGO set.
Assembling a complex set usually involves unexpected difficulty.
🎉 スコア： /4
ビジュアル学習ツール
Expectation vs. Reality
練習問題バンク
5 問題한국어 공부가 생각____ 어려워요.
'보다' is the particle used for comparisons, meaning 'than'.
이 문제는 생각보다 ________.
'어렵다' is a 'ㅂ' irregular verb, so it becomes '어려워요'.
가: 요리하는 거 어때요? 나: ________________.
The question asks 'How is cooking?', and 'It's harder than I thought' is a logical response about the process.
Situation: You are trying to assemble a complex LEGO set.
Assembling a complex set usually involves unexpected difficulty.
🎉 スコア： /5
よくある質問
10 問Not really. You wouldn't say a person is 'harder than I thought' using this phrase. You would use '까다롭다' (picky/difficult personality) instead.
No, you can use it with any adjective! '생각보다 비싸요' (More expensive than I thought), '생각보다 맛있어요' (Tastier than I thought).
'생각' is more common in daily conversation, while '예상' is more formal and used in professional settings.
Use the past tense: '생각보다 어려웠어요'.
Yes, adding '더' (more) is common and adds a bit of emphasis, though it's not strictly necessary.
No, it's perfectly polite as long as you use the '-요' ending. It shows you are engaging with the material.
You can say '생각보다 안 어려워요' or '생각보다 쉬워요'.
This is due to the 'ㅂ' irregular rule in Korean grammar where 'ㅂ' changes to '우' before a vowel.
Yes! It's very common. You can even write it as '생각보다 어렵네' for a more casual 'thinking out loud' vibe.
In this context, yes. It is a comparative particle. In other contexts, it can be the verb 'to see'.
関連フレーズ
생각보다 쉬워요
contrastEasier than I thought.
예상보다 어려워요
specialized formHarder than expected.
보기보다 어려워요
similarHarder than it looks.
생각만큼 안 돼요
similarIt's not going as well as I thought.
どこで使う？
Cooking a new recipe
Friend A: 파스타 만들기 쉬워?
Friend B: 아니, 생각보다 어려워.
Job Interview Task
Interviewer: 이 테스트 어땠나요?
Candidate: 생각보다 어려웠지만 재미있었습니다.
Learning Korean
Teacher: 오늘 문법 어때요?
Student: 생각보다 어려워요. 더 공부해야겠어요.
Assembling Furniture
Brother: 다 했어?
Sister: 아니, 이거 생각보다 어려워. 도와줘.
Playing a Video Game
Gamer 1: 이 레벨 깼어?
Gamer 2: 못 깼어. 생각보다 너무 어려워.
Hiking
Hiker A: 정상까지 멀었어요?
Hiker B: 네, 생각보다 길이 어려워요. 조심하세요.
暗記しよう
記憶術
Think of 'Saeng-gak' as 'Sank' (like your thoughts sank when you realized how hard it is) and 'Boda' as 'Border' (you crossed the border from easy to hard).
視覚的連想
Imagine a person looking at a small hill (their thought) but then standing in front of a massive mountain (the reality). The mountain is '생각보다 어려워요'.
Rhyme
생각보다 (Saeng-gak-bo-da), hard to do-da!
Story
Min-su thought making gimbap would be easy. He bought the ingredients and started rolling. But the rice stuck to his hands and the seaweed tore. He sighed and said, '생각보다 어려워요.'
In Other Languages
In English, we say 'Harder than it looks' or 'Harder than I thought.' In Japanese, '思ったより難しい' (Omotta yori muzukashii) uses the exact same logic.
Word Web
チャレンジ
Try to find one thing today that you thought would be easy but was actually tricky. Say '생각보다 어려워요' out loud to yourself.
Review this phrase 1 day, 3 days, and 1 week after your first encounter to lock in the 'ㅂ' irregular conjugation.
発音
The 'k' sound in '생각' is unreleased before the 'b' in '보다'.
The 'r' sound is a light tap, and the 'w' sound is soft.
フォーマル度スペクトル
생각보다 어렵습니다. (General difficulty)
생각보다 어려워요. (General difficulty)
생각보다 어려워. (General difficulty)
생각보다 빡세네. (General difficulty)
The phrase is a combination of '생각' (thought), the comparative particle '보다' (than), and the adjective '어렵다' (difficult).
豆知識
The particle '보다' actually comes from the verb 'to see', implying that comparison is a way of 'seeing' one thing against another.
文化メモ
In Korean workplaces, saying '생각보다 어려워요' is a common way to manage a boss's expectations without being confrontational.
“부장님, 이 보고서 작성이 생각보다 어려워요.”
Korean students often use this phrase to bond over the difficulty of exams, creating a sense of shared struggle.
“이번 수학 시험 생각보다 어려웠지?”
On platforms like Instagram, the hashtag #생각보다어려움 is used for 'Reality vs Expectation' posts.
“홈트(Home training) 시작! 근데 생각보다 어려워요. 😂”
In 'One-day classes' (popular in Korea), instructors often hear this from beginners who underestimate crafts like pottery or baking.
“선생님, 도자기 만드는 게 생각보다 어려워요!”
会話のきっかけ
한국어 공부 어때요?
요즘 배우는 취미가 뭐예요? 그건 어때요?
새로 나온 게임 해봤어요?
よくある間違い
생각보다 어렵다요
생각보다 어려워요
L1 Interference
생각에 보다 어려워요
생각보다 어려워요
L1 Interference
생각보다 더 어려워요
생각보다 어려워요
L1 Interference
생각보고 어려워요
생각보다 어려워요
L1 Interference
In Other Languages
Más difícil de lo que pensaba.
Spanish uses a full clause ('lo que pensaba') while Korean uses a single noun ('생각').
Plus difficile que je ne le pensais.
French requires a subject pronoun ('je') and an object pronoun ('le'), whereas Korean omits them.
Schwieriger als ich dachte.
German changes the adjective itself (adding -er), while Korean uses the particle '보다' on the noun.
思ったより難しい。
Japanese uses the past tense verb 'omotta' (thought), while Korean uses the noun 'saeng-gak' (thought).
أصعب مما كنت أعتقد.
Arabic uses a specific adjective form for comparison, while Korean uses a particle.
比我想象的要难。
Chinese often places the comparison before the adjective, similar to Korean.
예상보다 어려워요.
Uses the Hanja-derived '예상' instead of the native-feeling '생각'.
Mais difícil do que eu pensava.
Portuguese uses 'do que' as the comparative bridge.
Spotted in the Real World
“코딩이 생각보다 어려워요.”
Discussing the challenges of developing a new AI algorithm.
“이게 생각보다 어렵네.”
While trying to forge documents to get a job.
“사랑은 생각보다 어려워요.”
Lyrics reflecting on the complexities of growing up and love.
“#생각보다어려움 #베이킹실패”
A caption for a burnt cake photo.
“아, 이거 생각보다 어려운데요?”
During a physical mission involving balancing.
間違えやすい
Learners confuse the particle '보다' with the connective '-고'.
Remember that '보다' is for comparison, while '-고' is for connecting actions.
Learners confuse 'harder than I thought' with 'it looks hard'.
'어려워 보여요' is an observation before trying; '생각보다 어려워요' is a realization after trying.
よくある質問 (10)
Not really. You wouldn't say a person is 'harder than I thought' using this phrase. You would use '까다롭다' (picky/difficult personality) instead.
usage contextsNo, you can use it with any adjective! '생각보다 비싸요' (More expensive than I thought), '생각보다 맛있어요' (Tastier than I thought).
basic understanding'생각' is more common in daily conversation, while '예상' is more formal and used in professional settings.
comparisonsUse the past tense: '생각보다 어려웠어요'.
grammar mechanicsYes, adding '더' (more) is common and adds a bit of emphasis, though it's not strictly necessary.
practical tipsNo, it's perfectly polite as long as you use the '-요' ending. It shows you are engaging with the material.
cultural usageYou can say '생각보다 안 어려워요' or '생각보다 쉬워요'.
usage contextsThis is due to the 'ㅂ' irregular rule in Korean grammar where 'ㅂ' changes to '우' before a vowel.
grammar mechanicsYes! It's very common. You can even write it as '생각보다 어렵네' for a more casual 'thinking out loud' vibe.
practical tipsIn this context, yes. It is a comparative particle. In other contexts, it can be the verb 'to see'.
basic understanding
