What exactly does 경탄을 금치 못하다 mean? I heard it several times in the northern propaganda documentaries and also it can be found in newspaper articles.
I guess it's something like "be unable to hide the joy". But why is it written as -치 못하다, not -지 못하다? And what does the verb 금다 mean, which I can not find in vocabularies?
금하다
1) prohibit
도박을 금해야 한다 We should prohibit gambling.
술을 완전히 금하고 있다 I have wholly given up drinking.
2) contain emotion
그 소식을 들었을때, 기쁨을 금할 수 없었다.
When I heard the news, I could not contain a joy = I could not hide a joy on my face = I was glad largely.
@ 금할 수 없었다 = 금치 못했다.
As Kohctahtnh Bah said, 금치 is a short form of 금하지. In my thought, almost does not have a short form. For instance, 전하지 못하다 (can not send). Further, as like 금치, there is another example : 면하다 = I am free to a fixed duty.
A는 B를 상대로, 고전을 면치 못했다. A had a difficulty game.
