-다시피: As You Know / Almost to the Point of...

The connective verbal ending -다시피 is a high-utility Korean structure that serves two distinct, highly expressive linguistic functions in modern Korean:

1. The Shared-Ground Discourse Function (Sense 「001」): Attaching to perception and cognition verbs to politely introduce information that the speaker and listener both know or perceive: “As you know / As you can see / As you have heard…”
2. The Hyperbolic Approximation Function (Sense 「002」): Attaching to extreme action and condition verbs to describe a state that is practically or virtually equivalent to an extreme threshold: “Almost / Practically to the point of doing X.”

1. Sense 「001」: The Shared-Ground Discourse Marker

When opening an explanation, giving a speech, or negotiating, you often need to refer to facts that your listener is already familiar with. Rather than patronizingly explaining the fact as if it were brand new, Korean speakers use -다시피 to acknowledge mutual knowledge:

1. 알다시피 / 아시다시피 (As You Know)

This is by far the most famous and widely used collocation:

여러분도 잘 아시다시피, 이번 프로젝트의 마감 기한이 얼마 남지 않았습니다.
As you all well know, there is not much time left until this project's deadline.

너도 알다시피 내가 매운 음식을 전혀 못 먹잖아.
As you already know, I can't eat spicy food at all.

2. 보다시피 / 보시다시피 (As You Can See)

Used when visual evidence is directly present in front of the participants:

보시다시피 현재 사무실 리모델링 공사가 진행 중이라 조금 어수선합니다.
As you can see, because the office remodeling is currently in progress, it's a bit cluttered.

사진에서 보다시피 이 제품은 크기가 아주 작고 가볍습니다.
As you can see in the photograph, this product is very compact and lightweight.

3. 듣다시피 / 들으시다시피 (As You Heard) & 짐작하시다시피 (As You Can Guess)

뉴스에서 이미 들으셨다시피 다음 주부터 대중교통 요금이 인상됩니다.
As you have already heard on the news, public transit fares will increase starting next week.

상황을 보아 짐작하시다시피 이번 회의는 매우 긴박하게 진행될 예정입니다.
As you can guess from the situation, this meeting is expected to proceed under great urgency.

2. Sense 「002」: The Hyperbolic “Almost / Practically” Suffix

When paired with verbs depicting physical strain, exhaustion, or obsession—and followed by the auxiliary verb 하다 (-다시피 하다)—-다시피 creates vivid figures of speech indicating that the subject’s reality was virtually identical to an extreme condition:

$$ \text{Extreme Verb Stem} + \text{-다시피 하다} \longrightarrow \text{“Practically / Virtually did X”}$$

High-Frequency Hyperbolic Formulas:

Real-World Examples:

마감 일주일 전부터는 연구실에서 살다시피 하면서 논문을 완성했습니다.
From a week before the deadline, I practically lived in the laboratory while finishing my thesis.

독감에 심하게 걸려서 주말 내내 방에서 죽다시피 누워만 있었어요.
I caught a severe flu and lay in my room practically dead the entire weekend.

너무 바빠서 점심도 거르고 하루 종일 굶다시피 일했습니다.
I was so busy that I skipped lunch and worked practically starving all day long.

마라톤 마지막 구간에서는 탈진해서 결승선까지 기다시피 통과했다.
In the final stretch of the marathon, I was so dehydrated and exhausted that I practically crawled across the finish line.

3. ‘-다시피 하다’ vs. ‘-을 뻔하다’ (Critical Distinction)

Learners frequently confuse -다시피 하다 (practically did) with -을 뻔하다 (almost did). They express completely opposing counterfactual realities:

4. Honorific Etiquette in the Workplace

Because Sense 1 explicitly describes what another person knows, failing to apply subject honorifics (-시-) when addressing superiors is a major socio-pragmatic error:

• ❌ 부장님도 알다시피… (Extremely blunt and disrespectful; sounds like you are talking down to your department head).
• ✅ 부장님께서도 아시다시피… (Polite, polished, and professional).
• ✅ 고객님께서도 이미 보셨다시피… (As you, valued customer, have already seen…)

5. Summary Diagnostic Checklist

To correctly apply -다시피:

1. Are you invoking shared mutual background knowledge? Attach -다시피 to perception verbs (알다, 보다, 듣다, 짐작하다).
2. Are you addressing a customer, boss, or elder? Always insert honorific -시- (e.g. 아시다시피, 보시다시피).
3. Are you describing hyperbolic, near-extreme effort or exhaustion? Attach -다시피 하다 to extreme verbs (e.g. 살다시피 하다, 굶다시피 하다).
4. Did the event never happen at all? Do NOT use -다시피 하다; use -을 뻔하다 instead.