듯하다, 는 듯, 척하다, 체하다: seeming and pretending
By Daniel Buckley · 10 minute read · TOPIK 3
Vocabulary
- 듯하다 - to seem
- 척하다 - to pretend
- 체하다 - to pretend; to have indigestion
- 날아가다 - to fly away
- 미치다 - to go mad
- 깨지다 - to break, to split
- 지나가다 - to go past
- 휴대폰 - mobile phone
- 표정 - facial expression
- 해결되다 - to be solved
Your phone is ringing, it's someone you're avoiding, and you carry on as if you hadn't heard a thing. Korean has a short way to confess to that: 못 들은 척했어요.
척 and 듯 are two small nouns that sit after a modifier, the way 것 does. 듯 is about how things look. 척 is about how someone makes them look, and that one word is the difference between "he seems ill" and "he's faking it".
듯하다: 것 같다 in a suit
듯하다 does the job of 것 같다, and it's built the same way, with the modifier saying when. What changes is the register. You'll see it in writing, news and formal speech, and in conversation 것 같다 is the usual choice.
Making 듯하다
- Hasn't happened yet: ㄹ/을 듯하다.오다 → 올 듯합니다먹다 → 먹을 듯합니다
- Happening now, verbs: 는 듯하다.오다 → 오는 듯합니다
- Already happened, verbs: ㄴ/은 듯하다.오다 → 온 듯합니다
- Adjectives: ㄴ/은 듯하다.좋다 → 좋은 듯합니다
- Nouns: 인 듯하다.학생 → 학생인 듯합니다
Pick a verb
오다오올 듯합니다
오후에 비가 올 듯합니다.
It looks like it will rain this afternoon.
이번 회의는 길어질 듯합니다.
It looks as though this meeting will run long.
이 방법이 더 좋은 듯합니다.
This method seems better.
문제가 해결된 듯합니다.
The problem seems to have been solved.
두 사람은 서로 아는 듯합니다.
The two of them seem to know each other.
※ Oddly, the same word turns up at the other extreme. In comments and text messages people stop dead on 듯: 이거 맛있는 듯, 내일 못 갈 듯. That's casual, and only for friends.
는 듯: as if
In Degree and likeness, 듯이 went straight on a stem and meant "just as", comparing two things that work the same way. After a modifier and a space, it means "as if". The thing isn't actually so, or you don't claim it is, but that's how it looks. The 이 often drops.
민수 씨는 아무것도 모르는 듯 웃었어요.
Minsu smiled as if he knew nothing about it.
그 사람은 저를 모르는 듯이 지나갔어요.
He walked past me as if he didn't know me.
아이가 죽은 듯이 자고 있어요.
The child is sleeping like the dead.
미친 듯이 뛰었어요.
I ran like mad.
머리가 깨질 듯이 아파요.
My head hurts as if it's going to split.
The last three are stock phrases, and most of this pattern's everyday use is exaggeration of that kind. Before a noun, it becomes 듯한: 꿈을 꾸는 듯한 기분이에요, I feel as if I'm dreaming. It also ends sentences as 듯했어요.
너무 기뻐서 날아갈 듯했어요.
I was so happy I felt as if I could fly.
눈물이 날 듯했어요.
I felt as if I was about to cry.
척하다: pretending
척 says the appearance is put on. It takes the same modifiers, but people use it about what's happening or has happened, so you won't usually need the ㄹ/을 form. The sentence tells the listener the thing isn't true, or that the speaker doubts it.
Making 척하다
- Verbs, pretending to be doing it: 는 척하다.자다 → 자는 척하다알다 → 아는 척하다
- Verbs, pretending to have done it: ㄴ/은 척하다.먹다 → 먹은 척하다듣다 → 들은 척하다
- Adjectives: ㄴ/은 척하다.아프다 → 아픈 척하다괜찮다 → 괜찮은 척하다
- 있다 and 없다 words: 는 척하다.돈이 없다 → 돈이 없는 척하다
- Nouns: 인 척하다.학생 → 학생인 척하다
Pick a verb
자다자자는 척했어요
Pick a verb
자다자잔 척했어요
Pick a verb
아프다아프아픈 척했어요
동생이 자는 척해요.
My little brother is pretending to be asleep.
민수 씨는 항상 아는 척해요.
Minsu always acts as if he knows everything.
전화를 못 들은 척했어요.
I pretended not to have heard the phone.
친구 앞에서 안 아픈 척했어요.
In front of my friend, I pretended it didn't hurt.
그 남자는 의사인 척했어요.
That man pretended to be a doctor.
괜찮은 척하지 마세요.
Don't pretend you're OK.
Like 듯, it can drop 하다 and run straight into another verb: 저를 못 본 척 지나갔어요, she walked past as if she hadn't seen me.
체하다: the same thing
체하다 means what 척하다 means, and the dictionary lists them as synonyms. The forms are identical, so 모르는 체하다 and 모르는 척하다 are the same sentence. I'd learn 척하다 for speaking, and just recognise 체하다 when you meet it.
그는 아무것도 모르는 체했다.
He pretended not to know anything.
저를 못 본 체 지나갔어요.
She walked past as if she hadn't seen me.
잘난 체하지 마세요.
Don't act so superior.
※ There's a separate word spelled the same way. 밥을 빨리 먹어서 체했어요 means I ate too fast and got indigestion. Only the pretending one comes after a modifier, so they're easy to tell apart.
Seeming or pretending?
Ask whether the person is guessing at the truth, or is sure there's a show going on. 아픈 것 같아요 and 아픈 듯해요 are guesses that the person is ill. 아픈 척해요 says they aren't, or at least that you doubt it.
제 동생은 공부하는 ___ 사실은 게임을 해요.
My brother acts like he's studying, but really he's playing games.
친구가 불렀는데 ___ 그냥 갔어요.
My friend called me, but I acted as if I hadn't heard and just kept going.
내일은 눈이 많이 ___.
It looks like we'll get a lot of snow tomorrow. (On the news.)
Listen and type
1 / 3
Play it as often as you like.
In a conversation
- A
어제 왜 전화 안 받았어요?
Yesterday why didn't (you) answer phone?
- B
미안해요. 전화가 온 줄 몰랐어요.
Sorry. (I) didn't know a call had come.
- A
제가 다 봤어요. 휴대폰을 보고 못 본 척했잖아요.
I saw everything. (You) looked at phone and pretended not to have seen, you know.
- B
사실은 너무 피곤했어요. 그래서 자는 척했어요.
Actually (I) was too tired. So (I) pretended to sleep.
- A
다음에는 괜찮은 척하지 말고 그냥 말해 주세요.
Next time don't pretend to be OK, just tell (me).
Common mistakes
민수 씨는 바쁘는 척했어요.
민수 씨는 바쁜 척했어요.
바쁘다 is an adjective, so it takes ㄴ/은, as in 바쁜 사람.
그 남자는 의사 척했어요.
그 남자는 의사인 척했어요.
척 needs a modifier in front, so a noun takes 인.
밥을 먹었는 척했어요.
밥을 먹은 척했어요.
The past modifier for a verb is ㄴ/은, not 았/었는.
One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.
Check yourself
Quick check
1 / 6
동생이 ___. (자다, with 척하다) My little brother is pretending to be asleep.
Pretending to be doing it now: 는.
Summary
| Dictionary | Stem | 는 척하다 (verbs) |
|---|---|---|
| 자다 | 자 | 자는 척하다 |
| 모르다 | 모르 | 모르는 척하다 |
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹는 척하다 |
| 알다 | 알 | 아는 척하다 |
| Dictionary | Stem | ㄴ/은 척하다 (adjectives) |
|---|---|---|
| 아프다 | 아프 | 아픈 척하다 |
| 바쁘다 | 바쁘 | 바쁜 척하다 |
| 괜찮다 | 괜찮 | 괜찮은 척하다 |
| 춥다 | 춥 | 추운 척하다 |
The family
- 듯하다: it seems, in writing and formal speech.비가 올 듯합니다
- 는 듯, 듯이: as if.미친 듯이 뛰었어요
- 척하다, 체하다: to pretend. The same word, in practice.못 들은 척했어요
Now you can say
전화를 못 들은 척했어요.
I pretended not to have heard the phone.
미친 듯이 뛰었어요.
I ran like mad.
괜찮은 척하지 마세요.
Don't pretend you're OK.
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