아니었을까

This is the 6335th most frequent Korean word.


아니었을까

"Wouldn't it have been" or "Wasn't it possibly."


In this sentence, '합격하지 않았을까' implies a speculation or doubt about the possibility of passing.

그가 더 열심히 공부했다면 합격하지 않았을까 싶다.

If he had studied harder, he might have passed.


Here, '찾지 않았을까' questions an alternative possible conclusion in a hypothetical situation.

이 길이 아니라면 아마도 잃어버린 물건을 찾지 않았을까?

If not this path, might we have already found the lost item?


'가지 않았을까' speculates about what might have happened given a past condition.

그날 시간이 있었다면 그냥 집에 가지 않았을까 추측해 본다.

If they had time that day, I guess they would have just gone home.