# 잘못하다



## idialegre

Hi everyone,

I am a little unclear about the usage of 잘못하다, as in 나는 한국어를 잘못해요. My question is, is this more of a positive statement, meaning "I speak a little Korean" or is it more negative, as in "I speak only a little Korean / I don't speak Korean very well."

If I want to say, "I'm sorry I only speak a little Korean, " do I say 제가 한국어를 잘못해서 죄송합니다 ? Or would that mean that I'm sorry I speak Korean at all?

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## aceofpace

You must first understand that there are two versions of the expression:

1. 잘 못하다 (with a space in between)
2. 잘못하다 (without a space in between)

They are substantially different in meaning.

1. 잘 못하다: do poorly or not well (as in a skill, language, etc.)
2. 잘못하다: make a mistake or error (while doing something, a specific action)

By the looks of it you probably mean 나는 한국어를 잘 못해요. (with a space in between)

Now to answer your questions. The above sentence is more negative than positive as in "I don't speak Korean very well."

제가 한국어를 잘 못해서 죄송합니다 means "I'm sorry I don't speak Korean well or speak only a little Korean" just like you said.


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## idialegre

Thank you, aceofpace. Your explanation is very helpful.

One more question then: if I want to say that someone speaks a little Korean, but in a positive way, i.e., "He speaks a little Korean (as opposed most people, who speak none at all)", I would say  그가 한국어를 조금 해요.  Is that right?


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## aceofpace

Right.


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## idialegre

Thank you!


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