않았을까

This is the 19302nd most frequent Korean word.


않았을까

"Wouldn't have" or "might not have."


In this sentence, '않았을까' is used to express a reflective or speculative mood about the possibility of an action's negative occurrence.

그가 오지 않았을까 생각했다.

I wondered if he hadn't come.


Here, '않았을까' indicates concern about an unlikely scenario regarding a past event.

비가 오지 않았을까 걱정했어요.

I was worried that it might not have rained.


In this case, '않았을까' raises a speculative thought about the inverse degree of difficulty of the test.

시험이 너무 어렵지 않았을까 놀랐다.

I was surprised that the test might not have been too difficult.