High School - Grade 11
Lesson 5: Expressing Guesses
-아/어 보이다 & -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다
Sharing Your Thoughts & Observations
How do you say "It looks like..." or "I think..." in Korean? This lesson covers two essential grammar patterns for expressing your guesses, assumptions, and opinions. They are used incredibly frequently in daily conversation.
Guessing by Appearance: -아/어 보이다
This pattern attaches to adjectives and is used when you are making a guess based on visual evidence. It translates to "looks...", "seems...", or "appears...".
Conjugation Rule
Follows standard vowel harmony (like `-아요/어요`).
- Stem ends in 아/오 + 아 보이다
- Stem ends in anything else + 어 보이다
- 하다 adjectives 해 보이다
맛있다 맛있어 보여요.
("It looks delicious.")
피곤하다 피곤해 보여요.
("You look tired.")
General Guessing/Opinion: -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다
This is an extremely versatile and common pattern used for general guesses, opinions, or expressing uncertainty. It can be attached to verbs, adjectives, and nouns and translates roughly to "I think...", "It seems like...", or "It appears that...".
Adjectives (Present)
Follows adjective modifying rule `-(으)ㄴ`.
Adj. Stem + (으)ㄴ 것 같다
예쁘다 (vowel) 예쁜 것 같아요.
("I think she is pretty." / "She seems pretty.")
작다 (consonant) 작은 것 같아요.
("I think it's small." / "It seems small.")
Action Verbs (Present)
Attach `-는` regardless of ending.
Verb Stem + 는 것 같다
비가 오다 비가 오는 것 같아요.
("I think it's raining." / "It seems like it's raining.")
사람들이 많다 사람들이 많는 것 같아요.
("I think there are many people." / "It seems like there are many people.")
Action Verbs (Past)
Follows past tense modifying rule `-(으)ㄴ`.
Verb Stem + (으)ㄴ 것 같다
친구가 가다 친구가 간 것 같아요.
("I think my friend left." / "It seems my friend left.")
어제 비가 오다 어제 비가 온 것 같아요.
("I think it rained yesterday." / "It seems like it rained yesterday.")
Nouns
Attach `-인` directly.
Noun + 인 것 같다
한국 사람 한국 사람인 것 같아요.
("I think that person is Korean." / "They seem Korean.")
Key Difference:
- Use -아/어 보이다 when your guess is primarily based on visual appearance ("looks like").
- Use -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다 for more general guesses, opinions, or feelings ("seems like," "I think").
Example: 음식이 맛있어 보여요 (Looks delicious - based on sight) vs 음식이 맛있는 것 같아요 (Seems delicious / I think it's delicious - general opinion, maybe based on smell or what you heard).
Coming Up Next...
Great job learning how to express your thoughts and observations! Next, we'll jump to Grade 12 and learn how to talk about actions that happen immediately one after another using `-자마자`.