TOPIK II Grammar · Ch.2 Guessing & Possibility 03

TOPIK II Grammar · Ch.2 Guessing & Possibility 03

'-(으)ㄹ 리가 없다' · '-(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다' - No Way, No Other Way

그 사람이 거짓말을 할 리가 없어요. There's no way that person would lie. 차가 없어서 걸어갈 수밖에 없었어요. I didn't have a car, so I had no choice but to walk. Both patterns end in 없다, but they express opposite kinds of certainty: absolutely not, and absolutely must.

Key point -(으)ㄹ 리가 없다 = there's no way ~ : 리 is a noun meaning "reason, logic". So the pattern literally says "no reason for that exists". -(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다 = have no choice but to ~ : built from 수 (way) + 밖에 없다 (nothing but).

How to use it

You already use this kind of reasoning in English: "There's no way he forgot - he's the most reliable person I know." The Korean version is built around the abstract noun 리 (= reason, logic). For example: 성실한 그 친구가 약속을 잊을 리가 없어요 (= there's no way that reliable friend forgot the appointment - literally "a reason for him forgetting doesn't exist"). For past events, put the past form before it: -았/었을 리가 없다 (어제 봤을 리가 없어요). Nouns take 일 리가 없다.

The rhetorical question -(으)ㄹ 리가 있어요? makes the same point with extra force. A rhetorical question is one you ask without expecting an answer: 그럴 리가 있어요? (= could that possibly be true? - meaning: it can't be).

-(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다 is assembled from parts you know: the 수 of -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 (= a way, a possibility) plus 밖에 + 없다 (= nothing outside of it). Literally "outside of that way, nothing exists" - so: no choice but to. 표가 매진돼서 다음 기차를 기다릴 수밖에 없었어요 (= the tickets were sold out, so I had no choice but to wait for the next train). Note the spelling: 수밖에 is written as one unit, no space.

At a glance

Pattern	Meaning	Example
-(으)ㄹ 리가 없다	there's no way ~	이 시간에 문을 닫았을 리가 없어요
-(으)ㄹ 리가 있어요?	rhetorical: could it possibly be?	그 팀이 졌다고요? 그럴 리가 있어요?
-(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없다	have no choice but to ~	비가 와서 취소할 수밖에 없었어요

A set phrase  그럴 리가! - the rest of the sentence dropped - is a set expression of shock and disbelief, close to "No way!" You'll hear it constantly in dramas and read it in comment sections.

Examples

공부를 그렇게 열심히 했는데 떨어졌을 리가 없어요. He studied that hard - there's no way he failed. - certainty backed by evidence; a past event takes -았/었을 리가 없다.

그 소식이 사실일 리가 없어요. There's no way that news is true. - noun + 일 리가 없다.

월세가 너무 올라서 이사할 수밖에 없어요. The rent went up so much that we have no choice but to move. - the situation leaves one road open.

Common mistakes

❌ 그 가게가 문을 열었을 리가 있어요. → ⭕ 그 가게가 문을 열었을 리가 없어요. As a statement of certainty, the pattern must end in 없다. 리가 있다 survives only as the rhetorical question 리가 있어요? - question mark, rising intonation, and the same "no way" meaning.

❌ 버스가 끊겨서 택시를 탈 수 밖에 없었어요. → ⭕ 버스가 끊겨서 택시를 탈 수밖에 없었어요. 수밖에 is written as one unit - 밖에 is a particle, and particles attach directly to the word before them. Adding a space counts as a spelling error in the writing section.

Quick check

Complete each sentence with -(으)ㄹ 리가 없어요 or -(으)ㄹ 수밖에 없어요.

1. 그 친구는 매일 연습해요. 시험에 떨어질 (      ).
2. 전화도 인터넷도 안 돼요. 직접 갈 (      ).
3. 약속을 세 번이나 확인했어요. 친구가 잊었을 (      ).

Show answers

1. 리가 없어요 (daily practice is the evidence - no way he fails)   2. 수밖에 없어요 (no other way to reach them is left)   3. 리가 없어요 (confirmed three times - no way he forgot; note that each answer takes its evidence from the sentence before the blank)

💡 Study tip - Count 그럴 리가! in tonight's drama episode. Every time a character says it in shock, two words carry the whole pattern: "there is no reason for that - it can't be true."