-는 셈이다
-는 셈이다: Amounts To / Counts As — Result Framing
Bound noun 셈 「009」: treat the situation as that result / equivalent. 「010」 -을 셈이다 marks intention separately.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present / ongoing adnominal (셈 「009」) | -는 셈이다 | 다 된 셈이다 / 이긴 셈이다 |
| Past adnominal (셈 「009」) | -(으)ㄴ 셈이다 | 끝난 셈이다 / 한 셈이다 |
| Intention (셈 「010」) — different sense | -(으)ㄹ 셈이다 | 갈 셈이다 / 살 셈으로 |
-는 셈이다 frames a situation as that result — it amounts to / counts as….
우리말샘 셈 「009」. Not pretend theatre. Not the intention seat.
Why this is hard
English basically and intend to both map onto 셈 for learners. Korean splits them: -는/ㄴ 셈이다 evaluates the result (「009」); -을 셈이다 marks intention (「010」). Mixing the adnominal seats collapses two dictionary senses.
What it does
You treat the facts as already equalling that outcome.
이 정도면 다 된 셈이에요.
사실상 이긴 셈이죠.
오늘 일은 끝난 셈입니다.
그 말도 양보한 셈이에요.The speaker is not staging a play. They are reckoning.
Forms
Adnominal + 셈이다.
하다 → 하는 셈이다 / 한 셈이다
가다 → 가는 셈이다 / 간 셈이다
되다 → 되는 셈이다 / 된 셈이다Intention readings take -(으)ㄹ 셈이다 (「010」) — keep that line separate on purpose.
When not to use it
Do not use -는 셈이다 when you mean pretend — that is -는 척하다.
Do not glue intention onto -는 by habit — intention wants -을 셈이다.
Do not force it for a soft almost when 거의 alone is enough and clearer.
Neighbours — and why they differ
| Form | Why it is not this slot |
|---|---|
| -는 척하다 | Act as if — performance, not reckoning. |
| 치고 | Category judgment on a noun — different frame. |
| -는 셈치고 | Provisional let’s count it as… (셈 「011」) — separate slot. |
Ask: am I saying the situation already counts as that result? If yes, -는 셈이다. If you are only pretending, use 척하다. If you are planning, check -을 셈이다.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
On the jabi learning path, this appears in 교재·표준 교육과정 밖의 문법 (Grammar outside of textbooks and standard curriculum) — Advanced Grammar Supplement, Unit 1, on the theme of Curriculum gap. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. You finished 99% of a project and the last piece won't change the outcome. Which sentence says the situation already counts as done?
2. 이기다 — the result is in the past (other team disqualified; win awarded). Which form from the forms table frames a completed past result?
3. Today's work is effectively done — which line uses 셈이다 (reckoning), not 척하다 (pretending)?
Common questions
Dictionary?
우리말샘 셈 「009」: mainly -은/는 셈이다 / 셈으로 — situation or result. 「010」 is -을 셈이다 intention.
Vs -는 척하다?
-는 척하다 is pretend behaviour. 셈이다 evaluates the outcome as equivalent.
Vs -는 셈치고?
-는 셈치고 (셈 「011」) is provisional assumption. -는 셈이다 states the reckoning as current.
Café soft paraphrase?
거의 …이다 / …나 마찬가지다 often. Keep 셈이다 when you want the reckoning flavour.