Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 6 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #1 (Lessons 151 to 180) ᚛ Lesson 175 - Observation and supposition in Korean [모양이다]
Observation and supposition in Korean [모양이다]
Observing and supposing with 모양이다
The noun 모양 literally means "a shape" or "an appearance". Combined with 이다, it allows us to express a hypothesis about a situation or an event right after having seen or heard it.
모양이다 is used in the following manner:
[Present / past / future adjectival form] 모양이다
Reminder: the adjectival form
Since 모양 is generally used after having seen something, it is often combined with 보니 / 보니까, that is, the verb 보다 (= to see) followed by the cause suffix 니 / 니까.
강아지가 문을 긁는 걸 보니 산책을 가고 싶어하는 모양이에요.
→ Seeing the dog scratching at the door, it looks like he wants to go for a walk.
동민이 기분이 안 좋아 보이는 걸 보니 나쁜 일을 겪은 모양이야.
→ Seeing that Dongmin doesn’t look well, it seems something bad happened to him.
눈이 부은 걸 보니까 라면을 먹고 잔 모양이야.
→ Seeing your swollen eyes, it looks like you ate ramyeon before going to sleep.
보라 씨가 갑자기 그만둔 걸 보니 일이 많이 힘들었던 모양입니다.
→ Seeing how Bora suddenly quit, her work must have been really hard.
내일은 다른 학생들이 수업에 늦을 모양이에요.
→ It looks like the other students will be late for class tomorrow.
그 식당 앞에만 줄이 긴 걸 보니까 꽤나 유명한 식당인 모양이야.
→ Seeing how long the line is only in front of that restaurant, it must be quite a famous restaurant.
Differences between 모양이다 and 것 같다
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