Korean-English dictionary, What does 상관없다 mean?

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In this lesson, you will learn how to use the word "상관 없다" in sentences, both as a word that can be placed at the end of a sentence (like other verbs / adjectives) and as an adverb that can be placed in the middle of a sentence. To use this word, you will draw from previous grammar principles that you learned in previous lessons (~ 는 지, 아 / 어도), and learn new ones as well (~ 든). Let's start.

It doesn't matter if…: 상관 없다

The word "상관" literally translates to "relationship," and by saying "상관 없다," you are indicating that there is no relationship between two things. By using "상관 없다" at the end of a sentence, usually the translation is "irrelevant" or "no problem". Using "상관 없다", you can make a sentence that translates to:
  • It doesn't matter if you come late
  • It doesn't matter if you don't come

One way to make this sentence is to use “~ 아 / 어도” In Lesson 32. In Nature we have learned how to connect two clauses with ~ 아 / 어도, with that word we can make a sentence with the meaning “detached from…. ". Here is an example sentence for recalling what we learned earlier:

example sentences using the word 상관없
Example sentences using the word 상관없

By placing "상관 없다" after a clause ending with "~ 아 / 어도", we can make the meaning "it doesn't matter" as in the three examples above:

네가 오지 않아도 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter if you don't come

갈수 없어도 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter if you can't go

지금 책 을 사지 않아도 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter if you don't buy the book now

 
든지 / 말 든지


Now we will learn how to use the new particle in Korean, ~ 든 (지) or ~ 든 (지) 말든 (지). This grammatical form is sometimes used with "상관 없다," and I would like to present it here briefly.

This time we will study what functions are and how ~ 든 (지) is used in this grammar. 든 (지) can be placed after verbs and adjectives. The word "what" is also usually used in this sentence. As an example:

수건 을 사 든지 담요 를 사 든지… do you buy towels or blankets…

노래 하든지 춤추 든지 ... whether you sing or dance ...

이렇게 하든지 그렇게 하든지 ... do you do it like this or like that ...

Using "~ 든 (지) 말든 (지)" is the same as above, but this word means "whether you did this or not". For example:

수건 을 사 든지 말 든지… = did you buy towels or not…

그 사람 은 휠체어 를 쓰 든지 말 든지… = is that person using a wheelchair or not…

이렇게 하든지 말 든지… = are you doing it like this or not…

In most cases of this grammar, the second option can always be omitted and only the first option can be used depending on the end of the sentence. As an example:

수건 을 사사 든지… = did you buy towels…

휠체어 를 쓰 든지… = are you using a wheelchair…

이렇게 하든지… = do you do it like this…


The principle of grammar (~ 든지) is sometimes used before "상관 없다". As an example:

네가 오든지 말 든지 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter if you come or not

우리 는 거기 에 가든지 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter if we go there

그게 힘들 든지 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter if it's hard


Interrogative Sentence

When using question words, you should use "~ 든 (지)", not "~ 아 / 어도". As an example:

> 그것은 얼마나 힘들 든지 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter how hard it is
> 우리 는 어디 가든지 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter where we go


Apart from that, we can also use 는 지 (는 지 for verbs and ㄴ / 은 지 for adjectives) (instead of 든 (지)) if the sentence is used as an interrogative sentence. As an example:

> 네가 얼마나 슬픈 지 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter how sad you are
> 힘든지 상관 없어 = I don't care if it's hard
> 우리 는 어디 가는 지 상관 없어 = It doesn't matter where we go

Regardless of….: 상관 없이


상관 없이 used in the middle of a sentence, we can create a sentence which means "detached from" If we want to say "apart from (noun) ..." then we have to attach particle ~ 와 / 과 to the noun, followed by 상관 없이. For example:

저의 문제 와 상관 없이 ___= regardless of my problem ...

이 스크래치 마크 와 상관 없이 ... = apart from these scratches ...

Here is an example of a perfect sentence using the simple sentence in the example above:

저의 문제 와 상관 없이 이 이벤트 를 계속 하고 싶습니다 = I want to continue this event regardless of my problem


However, if 상관 없이 is used not only for nouns, then we must change the sentence to be like the following example:

> 내가 얼마나 많은 옷 을 샀는지 상관 없이
    (Regardless of how many clothes I buy)

> 내가 얼마나 많은 책 을 읽었 는지 상관 없이
    (Regardless of how many books I read)


In this example, we can attach particle "와" to "지" which means "with". "상관" means "relationship". So, if we create a clause like this:

내가 얼마나 많은 옷 을 샀는지 ... how many clothes did I buy ...

So we need "와" to be added to the main sentence:

내가 얼마나 많은 옷 을 샀는지 와 .. with how many clothes I bought

Then, by putting "상관 없이" after "지 와" we get the meaning of the sentence by:

내가 얼마나 많은 옷 을 샀는지 와 상관 없이 Regardless of how many clothes I buy


Conclusion:

- You can use 상관 없다 at the end of a sentence which means "it doesn't matter"
- You must attach "~ 아 / 어도" or "~ 든 (지)" to the previous clause
- However, if the previous clause contains a question word, you must use “~ 든 (지)” or “~ 는 지”

In closing this article, it can be concluded that learning a word is a first step tool that has a great impact on the progress in learning Korean. 

Understanding the meaning of "상관없다" can help you learn the language to expand your communication skills more clearly and effectively.

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