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Grammar / Level 4 / Lesson 97

ㄹ까 싶다, 나 싶다, 다 싶다: 싶다 beyond want

By Daniel Buckley · 15 minute read · TOPIK 5

Vocabulary

  1. 심하다 - to be too much, to be severe
  2. 이상하다 - to be strange
  3. 괜히 - for no good reason, needlessly
  4. 혹시 - by any chance
  5. 그치다 - to stop (of rain)
  6. 쏟아지다 - to pour down
  7. 낫다 - to get better
  8. 충분하다 - to be enough
  9. 지나치다 - to go too far
  10. 사과하다 - to apologise

You've used 고 싶다 since your first month, as in 가고 싶어요. Then a Korean friend tells you about a row and says 제가 너무 심했나 싶어요, and there's no wanting in that at all. Did I go too far? That's the thought going round their head.

Outside 고 싶다, 싶다 means that a thought is in your mind. You say the thought, you finish it with 싶다, and the ending on the thought tells the listener what sort of thought it is.

The sentence in front is the thought

English keeps changing verbs here: "I wonder", "I'm thinking of", "it struck me", "I'm afraid". Korean uses 싶다 for all of them and lets the ending do the work. Most of these are as common in speech as in writing.

Five kinds of thought

  • A plan or a guess: ㄹ/을까 싶다.잘까 싶어요
  • A doubt: 나 싶다.심했나 싶어요
  • A verdict: 다 싶다.이상하다 싶었어요
  • What seemed to be happening: ㄴ/는가 싶다.그치는가 싶더니
  • A soft wish: 았/었으면 싶다.쉬었으면 싶어요

싶다 behaves like any adjective, so you get 싶어요, 싶었어요, 싶어서, 싶으면 and 싶더니. In conversation the person thinking is nearly always you, while a novel can say it of any character.

ㄹ/을까 싶다: a plan, a guess, a worry

The thought here is the "shall I?" or "might it?" of ㄹ/을까, and that gives three uses. About your own actions, it's a loose plan, much like ㄹ/을까 하다. With 혹시 and usually 싶어서, it's a worry, close to ㄹ/을까 봐.

Pick a verb

가다가갈까 싶어요

  1. 오늘은 일찍 잘까 싶어요.

    I'm thinking of having an early night.

  2. 주말에 머리나 자를까 싶어요.

    I might get my hair cut at the weekend.

  3. 혹시 늦을까 싶어서 일찍 나왔어요.

    I was worried I'd be late, so I left early.

The third use is the one I'd learn first. 지 않을까 싶어요 is literally "won't it be so, I'm thinking", and it's how Koreans give an opinion without pressing it on you. You'll hear it in meetings and interviews.

  1. 이 정도면 충분하지 않을까 싶어요.

    I'd have thought this is enough.

  2. 내일쯤 결과가 나오지 않을까 싶어요.

    I expect the results will be out around tomorrow.

  3. 그게 가장 큰 이유가 아닐까 싶습니다.

    I suspect that's the main reason.

  1. 올해는 운동을 좀 해 볼까 싶어요.

  2. 혹시 비가 올까 싶어서 우산을 가져왔어요.

  3. 이 방법이 더 좋지 않을까 싶습니다.

  4. 아이가 넘어질까 싶어서 손을 꼭 잡았어요.

  5. 다음 달쯤 이사할까 싶어요.

  6. 그분은 벌써 알고 계시지 않을까 싶어요.

나 싶다: did I, is it?

나 is the question in 나요 with no 요. You put the question to yourself and leave it open. It goes straight on a verb stem or on 았/었, and it's the natural way to voice second thoughts.

Pick a verb

하다했어요했나 싶어요

  1. 제가 너무 심했나 싶어요.

    I'm wondering if I went too far.

  2. 괜히 말했나 싶어요.

    I'm starting to think I shouldn't have said anything.

  3. 혹시 여기 있나 싶어서 와 봤어요.

    I came to see if it might be here.

  4. 제가 뭘 잘못했나 싶어서 걱정했어요.

    I was worried I might have done something wrong.

  5. 언제 끝나나 싶었는데 벌써 마지막 날이에요.

    I wondered if it would ever end, and now it's the last day.

다 싶다: it struck me that

Here the thought is a plain statement in 한다체, as if you'd said it flatly to yourself. It's the moment you reach a verdict, and 싶어서 or 싶었어요 often follows. 다 싶으면 means "once it seems so", which is handy in recipes and advice.

The thought in 한다체

  • Adjectives: the dictionary form.이상하다 싶었어요비싸다 싶으면
  • Verbs: ㄴ/는다.온다 싶더니늦는다 싶어서
  • Past and 겠: 았/었다, 겠다.됐다 싶으면안 되겠다 싶어서
  • Nouns: (이)다.무리다 싶었어요

Pick a verb

오다오온다 싶었어요

  1. 뭔가 이상하다 싶었어요.

    Something struck me as odd.

  2. 이대로는 안 되겠다 싶어서 회사를 그만뒀어요.

    I decided this couldn't go on, so I quit.

  3. 됐다 싶으면 불을 끄세요.

    When it looks done, turn off the heat.

  4. 너무 비싸다 싶으면 사지 마세요.

    If it seems too expensive, don't buy it.

  5. 어디서 봤다 싶었는데 민수 씨 동생이었어요.

    I thought I'd seen him somewhere, and he turned out to be Minsu's brother.

  6. 좀 지나치다 싶을 정도로 친절했어요.

    He was kind to the point where it felt a bit much.

ㄴ/는가 싶다: it looked as if

To me this form leans more towards narration than 나 싶다 does. Its main work is a turn: something seemed to be happening, then something else did. So it usually comes as 는가 싶더니, with 더니, or as 는가 싶으면, or 는가 싶었는데.

Making ㄴ/는가 싶다

  • Verbs: stem + 는가 싶다.그치다 → 그치는가 싶더니
  • Adjectives: ㄴ/은가 싶다.쉽다 → 쉬운가 싶었는데

  1. 비가 그치는가 싶더니 다시 쏟아졌어요.

    It looked as if the rain was stopping, then it poured again.

  2. 감기가 낫는가 싶으면 또 기침이 나요.

    Just when my cold seems to be getting better, the cough comes back.

  3. 아이가 잠드는가 싶더니 금방 다시 깼어요.

    The baby seemed to be dropping off, but woke again straight away.

  4. 일이 쉬운가 싶었는데 갈수록 어려워졌어요.

    The work seemed easy at first, but it got harder and harder.

  5. 일이 다 끝나는가 싶었는데 또 문제가 생겼어요.

    I thought it was all finishing up, and then another problem came up.

  6. 전화벨이 울리는가 싶더니 금방 끊겼어요.

    The phone started to ring, then cut off straight away.

※ The turn doesn't have to be a let-down: in the last example it's only quick. For a past thought, 았/었나 싶다 is the safer choice. Without a turn, 는가 싶다 is plain wonder, a bookish 나 싶다: 세상에 이런 일도 있는가 싶었어요. I couldn't believe such a thing could happen.

았/었으면 싶다: a soft wish

You know 았/었으면 좋겠다. Swap 좋겠다 for 싶다 and the wish gets quieter, more a thing you've been turning over than a thing you're asking for. It's common, and it suits moments when a stronger wish would feel pushy.

Pick a verb

쉬다쉬었어요쉬었으면 싶어요

  1. 오늘은 좀 쉬었으면 싶어요.

    I'd quite like to rest today.

  2. 방이 조금만 더 넓었으면 싶어요.

    I wish the room were a little bigger.

  3. 아이가 건강하게만 자랐으면 싶어요.

    All I hope is that my child grows up healthy.

  4. 이번 일은 없던 일로 했으면 싶습니다.

    I'd prefer we treated this as if it never happened.

  1. 제가 너무 ___.

    I'm wondering if I went too far.

  2. 비가 ___ 다시 쏟아졌어요.

    It looked as if the rain was stopping, then it poured again.

  3. ___ 불을 끄세요.

    When it looks done, turn off the heat.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

아까 회의 때 제가 너무 심했나 싶어요.

Earlier at the meeting I too much was it, I'm thinking.

B

아니에요. 저도 그 계획은 좀 무리다 싶었어요.

No. I also, that plan a bit is too much, I thought.

A

그래도 민수 씨한테 사과할까 싶은데 어떻게 생각해요?

Still, to Minsu shall I apologise, I'm thinking, how do you think?

B

점심때 커피라도 한잔 사면 되지 않을까 싶어요.

At lunch if you buy even a coffee, won't it do, I'm thinking.

A

그럴게요. 일이 잘 풀렸으면 싶네요.

I'll do that. The thing well if it resolved, I'm feeling.

Common mistakes

  1. 뭔가 이상하다고 싶었어요.

    뭔가 이상하다 싶었어요.

    싶다 takes the thought directly, with no 고. 이상하다고 생각했어요 would need 고.

  2. 눈이 오다 싶더니 금방 그쳤어요.

    눈이 온다 싶더니 금방 그쳤어요.

    The thought is a 한다체 sentence, so a verb needs ㄴ/는다.

  3. 날씨가 좋는가 싶더니 다시 추워졌어요.

    날씨가 좋은가 싶더니 다시 추워졌어요.

    Adjectives take ㄴ/은가. 는가 is for verbs.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

오늘은 일찍 ___. (자다, use ㄹ/을까 싶다, polite) I'm thinking of having an early night.

An open stem takes ㄹ까.

Summary

ㄹ/을까 싶다 forms
DictionaryStemㄹ/을까 싶다
가다가갈까 싶다
먹다먹먹을까 싶다
듣다듣들을까 싶다
만들다만들만들까 싶다
았/었나 싶다 forms
Dictionary해요 past았/었나 싶다
가다갔어요갔나 싶다
먹다먹었어요먹었나 싶다
듣다들었어요들었나 싶다
만들다만들었어요만들었나 싶다
ㄴ/는다 싶다 forms
DictionaryStemㄴ/는다 싶다
오다오온다 싶다
먹다먹먹는다 싶다
살다살산다 싶다
듣다듣듣는다 싶다
는가 싶다 forms
DictionaryStem는가 싶다
오다오오는가 싶다
먹다먹먹는가 싶다
그치다그치그치는가 싶다
낫다낫낫는가 싶다
았/었으면 싶다 forms
Dictionary해요 past았/었으면 싶다
가다갔어요갔으면 싶다
먹다먹었어요먹었으면 싶다
듣다들었어요들었으면 싶다
쉬다쉬었어요쉬었으면 싶다

Now you can say

  1. 이 정도면 충분하지 않을까 싶어요.

    I'd have thought this is enough.

  2. 괜히 말했나 싶어요.

    I'm starting to think I shouldn't have said anything.

  3. 이대로는 안 되겠다 싶어서 회사를 그만뒀어요.

    I decided this couldn't go on, so I quit.

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