하마터면
ha-ma-teo-myeon
하마터면 points at what did not happen
The picture A foot slips at the top of the stairs, a hand catches the rail, and everything halts. The floor was never reached. 하마터면 stops before contact; 결국 goes all the way and happens.
Where the picture shows up in 하마터면
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stopped before the fall
하마터면 넘어질 뻔했어요.
ha-ma-teo-myeon neo-meo-jil ppeon-hae-sseo-yo
I almost fell over.
The foot shoots out, but the hand on the rail catches the body in midair.
Almost always paired with -ㄹ 뻔했다 at the end.
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stopped before losing it
하마터면 지갑을 잃어버릴 뻔했어요.
ha-ma-teo-myeon ji-ga-beul i-reo-beo-ril ppeon-hae-sseo-yo
I almost lost my wallet.
You pick the wallet up from under the chair and pat your pocket to be sure.
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stopped before missing it
하마터면 버스를 놓칠 뻔했어요.
ha-ma-teo-myeon beo-seu-reul no-chil ppeon-hae-sseo-yo
I almost missed the bus.
One foot lands on the step of a bus whose door is already closing, and holds it there.
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stopped before the mistake
하마터면 약을 두 번 먹을 뻔했어요.
ha-ma-teo-myeon ya-geul du beon meo-geul ppeon-hae-sseo-yo
I almost took the medicine twice.
The hand on its way to the mouth freezes in the air at the sight of the already-empty packet.
Picture the instant you check the empty packet.
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stopped before sending
하마터면 다른 사람에게 보낼 뻔했어요.
ha-ma-teo-myeon da-reun sa-ra-me-ge bo-nael ppeon-hae-sseo-yo
I almost sent it to the wrong person.
The finger hovering over the send button goes rigid as the recipient's name registers.
All of it in one picture
하마터면 points at the stop just short of contact. A slipped foot caught in midair means you 하마터면 fell; a wallet retrieved from under the chair means you 하마터면 lost it. A foot on the closing bus step means you 하마터면 missed it, a hand freezing at the empty packet means you 하마터면 doubled the dose, a finger going rigid over the send button means you 하마터면 sent it wrong. None of it happened. It is the word for the breath you let out because none of it did.