Lesson-3--기가 무섭게, -기가 바쁘게

We have already introduced how to say “as soon as” or “right after” in Korean in Level 5, Lesson 7, but there is more than one way to say these phrases in Korean. In this lesson, we will introduce a more advanced and figurative way of saying “as soon as”.

1. Verb + -기가 무섭게
The word 무섭다 literally means “to be scary” or “to be scared”, but -기가 무섭게 has nothing to do with being scared or scary in its translation. When you say that something happens right after you do something, or even “as” you are doing it, you can say “Verb + -기가 무섭게” and then say what happened.

Ex)
수업이 끝나기가 무섭게 = as soon as the class ended; as the class was finishing
= 수업이 끝나자마자
* You are really emphasizing just how fast everyone left or did something after the class finished.

말이 끝나기가 무섭게 = as soon as he finished talking
= 말이 끝나자마자

2. Verb + -기가 바쁘게
-기가 바쁘게 and -기가 무섭게 are almost always interchangeable and are used depending on personal preference. However, in everyday conversations, -기가 바쁘게 is used less commonly than -기가 무섭게 in general.

Ex)
문을 열기가 바쁘게 = as soon as I opened the doors
= 문을 열자마자

밥을 다 먹기가 바쁘게 = as soon as he finished eating
= 밥을 다 먹자마자

Please note that you do not usually use -기가 무섭게 and -기가 바쁘게 in imperative sentences or in “Let us” sentences. They are usually used in the past tense or the present tense.

Sample Sentences

아침에 눈을 뜨기가 무섭게 집에서 나왔어요.
= 아침에 눈을 뜨기가 바쁘게 집에서 나왔어요.
= As soon as I woke up in the morning, I left the house.

문을 열기가 무섭게 손님들이 들어왔어요.
= 문을 열기가 바쁘게 손님들이 들어왔어요.
= As soon as we opened the door, customers came in.

음식이 주문하기가 무섭게 나왔어요.
= 음식이 주문하기가 바쁘게 나왔어요.
= The food came out as soon as we ordered it.

수업이 끝나기가 무섭게 학생들이 교실 밖으로 나갔어요.
= 수업이 끝나기가 바쁘게 학생들이 교실 밖으로 나갔어요.
= The students left the classroom as soon as the class was over.

사람들은 공연이 끝나기가 무섭게 밖으로 나갔어요.
= 사람들은 공연이 끝나기가 바쁘게 밖으로 나갔어요.
= As soon as the performance was over, people went outside.