Korean grammar · Level 4
N에 불과하다 · V/A-(으)ㄹ 뿐이다 · N일 뿐이다
Only, merely — playing it down
Taught in Level 4, Unit 3: Spending and saving
뿐만 아니라 says 'not only…'. Take away 만 아니라 and you get the opposite: -(으)ㄹ 뿐이다, 'it is only…, that's all'. And when you talk about money, the formal way to shrink a number — 'it is merely three thousand won a day' — is -에 불과하다. Both are everyday tools of accounts, articles and essays.
Example
하루 커피값은 삼천 원에 불과하지만 한 달이면 구만 원이에요.
A day's coffee is a mere three thousand won, but over a month it's ninety thousand.
The full explanation is in the unit · part of the Level 4 Pass, opening soon · Level 4, Unit 3
Spending and saving
The rule with a table, Sori’s tips, practice that checks itself, a review room and a one-page cheat sheet.
See the unit preview →