# -는 단 한 가지



## Jigon

안녱하세요.

I asked a friend to translate a statement for me. The English is "There is only one thing we say to Death: Not today," and the Korean translation he gave me is 우리가 죽음에게 말 하는 단 한 가지: 오늘 말고.

My question is that can I use -는 단 한 가지 in other situations such as 먹는 단 한 가지, 읽는 단 한 가지?


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## Kross

Jigon said:


> My question is that can I use -는 단 한 가지 in other situations such as 먹는 단 한 가지, 읽는 단 한 가지?


 Yes, you can.


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## Jigon

Is -는 단 한 가지 a fixed expression or can it be broken down?


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## Kross

I am not sure that is fixed or not. But that is a common form. So we usually change the number part with another new number like 단 한(두, 세, 네, etc) 가지.


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## 조금만

Kross said:


> I am not sure that is fixed or not. But that is a common form. So we usually change the number part with another new number like 단 한(두, 세, 네, etc) 가지.



Possibly worth adding, though, that the expression 단 [NUMBER] 가지 has the force of "emphatically no more than a maximum of NUMBER of time/items" so it's very common indeed with NUMBER = 한, common enough with other numbers up to, say, 다섯, but then increasingly unlikely and odd-sounding with numbers much beyond that, since bigger numbers clash with the emphasis on a strict and low-ish limit.

There are also, of course, other related uses where 단 has the same force, i.e  "this many but no more" but is associated with different components, especially in the very common 단 한 번도 = not even once, and in the innumerable Kpop declarations of 단 한 사랑 for 단 한 사람


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