Unit 28: To Pretend To (-(으)ㄴ/는 척하다)

In Easy Korean, when you want to say someone is "acting like" or "pretending to" do something or be a certain way, you use 척하다.

Structure

• Present Action: Verb + -는 척하다
• 자다 -> 자는 척해요 (pretends to sleep)
• Present State (Adj): Adjective + -(으)ㄴ 척하다
• 예쁘다 -> 예쁜 척해요 (pretends to be pretty)
• 바쁘다 -> 바쁜 척해요 (pretends to be busy)
• Past Action: Verb + -(으)ㄴ 척하다
• 알다 -> 안 척해요 (pretends to have known)

Examples

• 친구가 저를 보고 못 본 척했어요. (My friend saw me and pretended not to see me.)
• 안 아픈 척하지 마세요. (Don't pretend it doesn't hurt.)
• 돈이 많은 척했어요. (They pretended to have a lot of money.)