silsuro paireul sakjeharyeodaga jungyohan memoreul bogo meomchwosseo.

실수로 means by mistake or accidentally.

It is made from:

• 실수 = mistake
• -로 = by, through, because of, by means of

So 실수로 literally feels like through a mistake or because of a mistake.

In this sentence, it sets up the idea that the speaker was not acting intentionally in a bad way; they were about to do something wrong by accident.

The particle -로 / -으로 has several uses, and one of them is to show means, cause, or manner.

So in 실수로, it marks the reason or manner:

• 실수로 = by mistake
• similar idea: 우연히 = accidentally / by chance, but that word has a slightly different nuance

Here, 실수로 emphasizes that the near-deletion happened because of an error or slip.

Both can be used for delete / erase, but they feel a little different:

• 삭제하다 = delete; more formal, technical, common with files, data, posts, records
• 지우다 = erase, wipe, remove; more everyday and broader

So:

• 파일을 삭제하다 sounds very natural for computer/file language
• 파일을 지우다 is also possible, but a bit less technical

A learner will often see 삭제하다 in menus, apps, and written instructions.

-려다가 means something like:

• was about to do
• was trying to do
• started to do, but then...
• almost did, but something interrupted or changed the course

So 삭제하려다가 means the speaker was about to delete the file or was in the middle of trying to delete it, but then the next event happened instead.

A key point: with -려다가, the first action is usually not completed.

They are very closely related.

• 삭제하려다가
• 삭제하려고 하다가

These are often treated as basically the same in meaning. The shorter -려다가 is very common in everyday speech and writing.

Both express:

1. intention or movement toward doing something
2. interruption or change before it is completed

So here, both versions would work, though 삭제하려다가 is very natural and compact.

Because the file was not actually deleted.

Compare:

• 삭제하려다가 = was about to delete it / tried to delete it, but didn’t finish
• 삭제했다가 = deleted it, and then...

So if you said 파일을 삭제했다가 중요한 메모를 보고..., that would suggest the deletion already happened, which changes the meaning a lot.

Because each one is the direct object of its own verb.

• 파일을 삭제하다 = delete a file
• 메모를 보다 = see a memo

Even though the actions are linked in one sentence, each verb still keeps its own object marking.

So:

• 파일을 goes with 삭제하려다가
• 메모를 goes with 보고

중요한 is the noun-modifying form of 중요하다.

• 중요하다 = to be important
• 중요한 메모 = an important memo

In Korean, when an adjective or descriptive verb comes before a noun, it usually changes form.

So you cannot say 중요하다 메모. You need the modifier form:

• 좋다 → 좋은
• 크다 → 큰
• 중요하다 → 중요한

보고 is the connective form of 보다.

Here it means something like:

• seeing
• after seeing
• when I saw
• saw it and then...

So 중요한 메모를 보고 멈췄어 means the speaker saw the important memo, and that led directly to stopping.

In Korean, tense is often shown mainly on the final verb, so 보고 does not need to be changed to a past form here.

Both are possible, but the nuance is a little different.

• 보고 멈췄어 = saw it and stopped / after seeing it, stopped
  • focuses on sequence of events
• 봐서 멈췄어 = stopped because I saw it
  • focuses more directly on cause/reason

In your sentence, 보고 sounds very natural because it tells the story in order:

1. was about to delete
2. saw an important memo
3. stopped

멈췄어 is the casual past form of 멈추다 (to stop).

The formation is:

• 멈추다
• 멈추었어
• contracted to 멈췄어

So it simply means stopped.

This is a very common contraction pattern in Korean.

It is casual, non-polite speech.

That means this sentence sounds natural in contexts like:

• talking to a friend
• texting
• diary-style writing
• informal narration

If you wanted to make it polite, you could say:

• 실수로 파일을 삭제하려다가 중요한 메모를 보고 멈췄어요.

The subject is omitted because Korean often leaves out subjects when they are obvious from context.

Here, the most natural implied subject is I:

• (나는) 실수로 파일을 삭제하려다가 중요한 메모를 보고 멈췄어.

But depending on context, it could also be he, she, or someone else. Korean relies heavily on context for this.

Very often, yes.

It usually suggests that the speaker was moving toward doing action A, but then action B interrupted, prevented, or replaced it.

So in many situations it has an almost feeling:

• 말하려다가 참았어. = I was about to speak, but held back.
• 전화를 걸려다가 말았어. = I was about to call, but decided not to.

In your sentence, it strongly suggests the file was nearly deleted, but the speaker noticed the memo in time.

You could, but the nuance changes.

• 파일을 삭제할 뻔했어. = I almost deleted the file.
• 파일을 삭제하려다가 중요한 메모를 보고 멈췄어. = I was about to delete the file, but then I saw an important memo and stopped.

So -할 뻔했어 focuses on the near-miss itself.

-려다가 ... 멈췄어 focuses on the interrupted action and the specific thing that made the speaker stop.

It breaks down like this:

• 실수로 = by mistake
• 파일을 삭제하려다가 = while about to delete the file / when I was trying to delete the file
• 중요한 메모를 보고 = seeing an important memo
• 멈췄어 = stopped

So the flow is:

by mistake → was about to delete the file → saw an important memo → stopped

This is a very common Korean storytelling pattern: earlier actions come first, and the final main verb comes at the end.