In this lesson, we are going to take a look at the grammar structure, -아/어/여 버리다. This structure is used to express the completion of a certain action. In addition to the fact that an action is completed, this structure also includes the speaker’s feeling, which can be 1) a happy feeling about finally completing a task and getting rid of a burden, or 2) a sad feeling that something happened in a way that the speaker did not want or expect. 

Construction:

Verb stem + -아/어/여 버리다 

Ex)

끝나다 = to finish; to end

→ 끝나 버리다 = to finish; to come to an end

→ 끝나 버렸어요. = It ended (and I am sad about it). / It ended (and it’s completely over). 

Although the construction is fairly simple, it will take some time to get used to the actual meaning behind this grammar structure, especially when you want to determine whether the feeling contained in the sentence is a happy one about completing a task or a sad one about something ending.

Examples of a happy feeling attached to -아/어/여 버리다 

1. 다 끝내 버렸어요! 

= I’ve finished everything!

2. 고민하다가, 사 버렸어요! 

= I was hesitating, but I’ve (finally) bought it! 

Examples of a sad feeling attached to -아/어/여 버리다 

1. 잃어 버렸어요. 

= I’ve lost it (and I’m not happy about it).

2. 떨어져 버렸어요. 

= It dropped (and I didn’t want it to).

Sample Sentences

1. 어제 산 핸드폰을 잃어 버렸어요.

= I lost the cell phone I bought yesterday. (And I didn’t want that to happen.)

2. 안 좋은 일은 다 잊어 버렸어요.

= I’ve forgotten all the bad things. (I am done with them.)

3. 빨리 끝내 버리세요.

= Get it over with quickly. 

= Finish it quickly and be done with it already.

4. 벌써 다 말해 버렸어요. 

= I’ve already told them everything. (It’s done. It’s over.)

5. 10분 더 기다려도 안 오면 저 혼자 가 버릴 거예요.

= If I wait for 10 more minutes (and) you don’t come, I will just go by myself. 

6. 어제 쓴 글이 마음에 안 들어서 다 지워 버렸어요.

= I didn’t like what I wrote yesterday, so I’ve erased it all. 

7. 효진 씨한테 기다려 달라고 했는데, 그냥 가 버렸어요.

= I asked Hyojin to wait, but she just left.  

8. 컴퓨터가 멈춰 버렸어요.

= My computer has stopped. (And it’s causing me trouble.)

9. 시작한 김에 오늘 다 끝내 버리는 거 어때요?

= Now that we’ve started it, why don’t we just get it all done today?

10. 영화가 벌써 시작해 버렸어요. 

= Oh, no! The movie has already begun!