-아/어 버리다 vs -고 말다

Intermediate · TOPIK II

Both say something happened completely. -아/어 버리다 stresses completion, possibly with relief or regret; -고 말다 stresses that something undesirable finally happened (despite efforts), or a firm resolve to 'definitely do it'.

-아/어 버리다An expression used to indicate that the act mentioned in the preceding statement is completely done.-고 말다An expression used to state that it is regrettable that the act mentioned in the preceding statement finally occurred.

Rules of thumb

Completely done, with relief: -아/어 버리다 (숙제를 다 해 버렸어요 'I got all my homework done').
It finally (regrettably) happened despite trying not to: -고 말다 (참으려고 했지만 울고 말았어요 'I tried to hold it in, but I ended up crying').
Strong resolve about the future: -고 말겠다 (꼭 합격하고 말겠어요 'I'll pass no matter what'); -아/어 버리다 has no such use.
-아/어 버리다 can describe a deliberate, decisive action (그냥 가 버렸어요 'just went off') and is more colloquial; -고 말다 is common in writing and storytelling.

Example sentences

-아/어 버리다
I got all my backlog of homework done today.
-고 말다
I tried to hold back, but in the end I burst into tears.
-고 말다
I'm going to pass this exam no matter what.
-아/어 버리다
My little sister ate my whole cake.
-아/어 버리다
I got fed up waiting, so I just left.

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