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Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 1 · expression

-는 척하다

-는 척하다: Pretend To… — Acting As If

Auxiliary 척하다 「001」: falsely dress up the named action or state as if true.

Before this, make sure you know: -은 채로 , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When Form Example
Verb + -는 척하다 -는 척하다 아는 척하다 / 자는 척하다
Adjective / past + -(으)ㄴ 척하다 -(으)ㄴ 척하다 바쁜 척하다 / 못한 척하다

-는 척하다 means pretend to… — acting as if.

Why this is hard

It is performance, not soft seeming. Learners mix it with -는 듯하다 (seems). If you only read signs, use 듯하다; if someone is putting on an act, use 척하다.

What it does

You mark a fake display of a state or action.

아는 척하지 마세요.
자는 척했어요.
바쁜 척했어요.
모르는 척했어요.

Forms

Adnominal + 척하다 — -는 척하다, -(으)ㄴ 척하다.

When not to use it

Do not use it for honest soft guesses. Do not confuse it with -는 듯하다. Do not skip the adnominal.

Neighbours — and why they differ

FormWhy it is not this slot
-는 듯하다Seems — reading signs, not faking.
-는 듯As if — related family, check the chunk.
-잖아요You know — not pretence.

Conflict talk and comedy love this pattern. Soften upward; calling out pretence can sting.

Classroom examples should keep the meaning concrete: one clear scene beats three vague glosses. If a neighbour form already says the same thing more lightly, prefer the lighter tool unless register demands this one.

Ask: is someone faking a state? If yes, -는 척하다. If you only guess from signs, use -는 듯하다.

Keep one concrete scene in examples; do not pad with conjugation lists or translation filler.

Do not confuse it with

-은 채로

while still… — leaving it in the state it already has

-는 듯하다

seems to… — a soft guess from appearance

-을 것 같다

I think, it seems — the hedge Koreans put on almost everything

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 표현 (expression) — Advanced Korean 1, Unit 4, on the theme of expression. These come with it:

-는다니1 what are they telling me to…? — asking what the order was -었던 that had been… — past modifier with a lingering sense 에 관하여 regarding, about — the written 에 관하여 / 관한 -자기에 because one decides to… — contracted -자고 하기에 (청유 인용 + 이유), pair of -는다기에 -게 마련이다 bound to be — naturally so (-기/게 마련이다) -게 생겼다 have ended up (badly)… — negative predicament with -게 생기다 -기 나름이다 depends on how you… — the outcome varies with the method -기가 바쁘게 as soon as — barely finishing one thing before the next -기가 쉽다 easy to… / prone to — a tendency that comes naturally -기만 하다 only does… — limiting the action to just that -기에 따라 depending on… — outcomes that change with the condition -기에 앞서(서) before doing… — prior to the step you name -은 나머지 as a result of… — the outcome that follows from that act -는 데다가 and on top of that — stacking one fact onto another -는 동시에 at the same time as — two things in the same moment -는 듯하다 seems to… — a soft guess from appearance -는 법이다 it is natural that… — a general rule of how things go -는 이상 now that / given that — already being in that state -은 채로 while still… — leaving it in the state it already has -는 가운데 in the midst of — while that situation continues 는 말할 것도 없고 not to mention — A goes without saying, and B too (는/은 말할 것도 없고) -을 만하다 worth doing / decent enough — worth the effort or acceptable -을 법하다 likely to… — a reasonable prediction -을 테다 will (for sure) — a strong expectation about what follows -을 테면 if you are going to… — setting a condition for a plan -을 테지만 will, but… — expecting one thing and contrasting another -으려나 보다 I guess they mean to… — reading someone's likely intention 를 가지고 with, using — taking that as the means or topic -으면 몰라도 only if… — the following holds only under that (unreal / opposite) condition 에도 불구하고 despite — in spite of that noun situation -는데도 even though — contrast after a clause, softer than 지만 -어 내다 manage to… — pushing through until it is done -는다기에 because they say… — the reported claim is the reason -는다는 것이 meant to…, but — intention (-는다고 하는 것이) whose result diverged -는데도 불구하고 even so — despite the whole preceding clause

Words used above

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-는 척하다-neun cheokhadapretend to…
척하다cheokhadato pretend
알다aldato know
자다jadato sleep
모르다moreudato not know

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. At the meeting someone faked knowledge they did not have. Which line reports that pretence?

2. Which line uses the adjective past-adnominal shape -(으)ㄴ 척하다 from the forms table on 바쁘다?

3. From the hallway noise you only guess they are busy — that is -는 듯하다. They are faking busy to dodge your call. Which line fits the act?

Common questions

Dictionary?

우리말샘 척하다 「001」: in -은 척하다 / -는 척하다 — falsely make it look so.

체하다?

Same pretend family (못 본 체). Teach 척하다 as the clear verb form.

Vs -은 채로?

채 keeps a real state. 척 fakes one.

Vs -는 듯하다?

-는 듯하다 is a soft guess. 척하다 is deliberate acting.