-(으)ᄂ/는 척하다 means "pretend to," "act like," or "feign." It expresses pretending to be in a certain state or pretending to do an action.
Structure
Verb/Adjective stem + -(으)ᄂ/는 척하다
Breakdown:
- -(으)ᄂ/는: Modifier ending
- 척: Pretense, appearance (bound noun)
- 하다: To do
- Combined meaning: "Do the pretense of [verb/adjective]"
Literal meaning: "Act as if [doing/being X]"
Formation Rules
Action Verbs (Present)
Verb stem + -는 척하다:
- 자다 → 자는 척하다 (pretend to sleep)
- 모르다 → 모르는 척하다 (pretend not to know)
- 듣다 → 듣는 척하다 (pretend to listen)
- 공부하다 → 공부하는 척하다 (pretend to study)
Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives)
No final consonant: -ᄂ 척하다
- 크다 → 큰 척하다 (pretend to be big)
- 아프다 → 아픈 척하다 (pretend to be sick)
With final consonant: -은 척하다
- 좋다 → 좋은 척하다 (pretend to be good)
- 없다 → 없는 척하다 (pretend not to exist/have)
- 있다 → 있는 척하다 (pretend to exist/have)
Past Tense
All verbs + -(으)ᄂ 척하다:
- 잤다 → 잔 척하다 (pretend to have slept)
- 먹었다 → 먹은 척하다 (pretend to have eaten)
- 몰랐다 → 몰랐던 척하다 (pretend not to have known)
With 이다
Noun + 인 척하다:
- 학생인 척하다 (pretend to be a student)
- 친구인 척하다 (pretend to be a friend)
- 부자인 척하다 (pretend to be rich)
Core Meaning: Pretending
Faking an Action
Pretending to do something:
- 자는 척했어요 (I pretended to sleep)
- 듣는 척만 했어요 (I only pretended to listen)
- 공부하는 척하고 게임했어요 (I pretended to study but played games)
- 아는 척했어요 (I pretended to know)
Pretending a State
Acting like being in a state:
- 아픈 척했어요 (I pretended to be sick)
- 바쁜 척했어요 (I pretended to be busy)
- 모르는 척했어요 (I pretended not to know)
- 없는 척했어요 (I pretended not to be there)
Feigning Ignorance
Especially common with 모르다:
- 모르는 척하다 (pretend not to know / play dumb)
- 못 본 척하다 (pretend not to have seen)
- 못 들은 척하다 (pretend not to have heard)
Common Usage Patterns
Common Pretenses
Frequently pretended states/actions:
- 자는 척하다 (pretend to sleep)
- 모르는 척하다 (pretend not to know)
- 못 본 척하다 (pretend not to see)
- 안 들은 척하다 (pretend not to hear)
- 괜찮은 척하다 (pretend to be okay)
- 안 아픈 척하다 (pretend not to be sick)
Social Pretending
Pretending for social reasons:
- 관심 없는 척했어요 (I pretended not to be interested)
- 모르는 척 지나갔어요 (I passed by pretending not to know)
- 안 본 척했어요 (I pretended not to see)
Emotional Pretending
Hiding true feelings:
- 슬프지 않은 척했어요 (I pretended not to be sad)
- 괜찮은 척했어요 (I pretended to be okay)
- 화나지 않은 척했어요 (I pretended not to be angry)
- 무서워하지 않는 척했어요 (I pretended not to be scared)
Conjugation
Present Tense
척하다 + endings:
- 자는 척해요 (pretend to sleep - polite)
- 자는 척합니다 (pretend to sleep - formal)
- 자는 척해 (pretend to sleep - casual)
Past Tense
척했다:
- 자는 척했어요 (pretended to sleep - polite)
- 자는 척했습니다 (pretended to sleep - formal)
- 자는 척했어 (pretended to sleep - casual)
Progressive
척하고 있다:
- 자는 척하고 있어요 (is pretending to sleep)
- 모르는 척하고 있었어요 (was pretending not to know)
Negative Forms
Pretending Not To
안/못 + Verb + -는 척하다:
- 안 아는 척하다 (pretend not to know)
- 못 본 척하다 (pretend not to see)
- 안 들은 척하다 (pretend not to hear)
Not Pretending
척하지 않다:
- 척하지 않았어요 (didn't pretend)
- 척하지 마세요 (don't pretend)
Common Expressions
Ignorance Pretense
- 모르는 척하다 (pretend not to know / play dumb)
- 못 본 척하다 (pretend not to see)
- 못 들은 척하다 (pretend not to hear)
- 처음 보는 척하다 (pretend to see for the first time)
Emotional Facade
- 괜찮은 척하다 (pretend to be okay)
- 안 아픈 척하다 (pretend not to be sick/hurt)
- 행복한 척하다 (pretend to be happy)
- 강한 척하다 (pretend to be strong)
Knowledge/Ability
- 아는 척하다 (pretend to know / act like you know)
- 할 줄 아는 척하다 (pretend to know how to do)
- 똑똑한 척하다 (pretend to be smart / act smart)
- 잘난 척하다 (act superior / pretend to be great)
Status/Identity
- 부자인 척하다 (pretend to be rich)
- 바쁜 척하다 (pretend to be busy)
- 친한 척하다 (pretend to be close/friendly)
Politeness Levels
Formal (합니다체)
- 모르는 척합니다 (I pretend not to know)
- 자는 척했습니다 (I pretended to sleep)
Polite (해요체)
- 모르는 척해요 (I pretend not to know)
- 자는 척했어요 (I pretended to sleep)
Casual (반말)
- 모르는 척해 (I pretend not to know)
- 자는 척했어 (I pretended to sleep)
Related Patterns
-는 체하다
More literary/formal version:
- 아는 체하다 (pretend to know - literary)
- Same meaning as 척하다
- More common in writing
-는 듯하다
Appear to, seem to (different meaning):
- 자는 듯해요 (seems to be sleeping)
- Not pretending, but appearing to others
Comparison with Similar Patterns
-는 척하다 vs -는 것 같다
-는 척하다: Intentionally pretending
- 자는 척했어요 (I pretended to sleep)
- Deliberate deception
-는 것 같다: Seeming/appearing
- 자는 것 같아요 (They seem to be sleeping)
- Observation, not pretense
-는 척하다 vs -는 듯하다
-는 척하다: Pretending (deliberate)
- 아는 척해요 (I pretend to know)
-는 듯하다: Appearing (observation)
- 아는 듯해요 (They seem to know)
Common Mistakes
❌ Incorrect: 좋는 척하다
Wrong modifier for adjective
✅ Correct: 좋은 척하다
Use -(으)ᄂ for adjectives
❌ Incorrect: 안 모르는 척하다
Double negative confusion
✅ Correct: 아는 척하다
Use positive form to pretend to know
❌ Incorrect: 학생척하다
Missing modifier
✅ Correct: 학생인 척하다
Use 인 with nouns
Summary Table
| Type | Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Action verb | -는 척하다 | 자는 척하다 | Pretend to sleep |
| Adjective (vowel) | -ᄂ 척하다 | 아픈 척하다 | Pretend to be sick |
| Adjective (cons.) | -은 척하다 | 좋은 척하다 | Pretend to be good |
| Past | -(으)ᄂ 척하다 | 잔 척하다 | Pretend to have slept |
| With 이다 | 인 척하다 | 학생인 척하다 | Pretend to be a student |
| Negative | 안/못 V-는 척하다 | 모르는 척하다 | Pretend not to know |
Cultural Note
Common in Korean Culture
Social harmony and face-saving:
- 모르는 척하다 is very common (tactfully ignoring)
- 못 본 척하다 for awkward encounters
- Pretending to avoid embarrassment for self or others
Usage Context Guide
Use -(으)ᄂ/는 척하다 when:
- Faking an action or state
- Hiding true knowledge or feelings
- Describing deceptive behavior
- Avoiding awkward situations
- Acting differently than reality
Common contexts:
- Social situations (못 본 척)
- Hiding emotions (괜찮은 척)
- Avoiding responsibility (모르는 척)
- Deception (아는 척)
Key Takeaways
- ✅ Pretending/acting: Deliberate deception or facade
- ✅ Modifier forms: -는/-ᄂ/-은 depending on type
- ✅ Very common: Especially 모르는 척하다
- ✅ Conjugates normally: 척하다 conjugates like regular 하다
- ✅ Literary form: 체하다 (more formal)
- ✅ Cultural importance: Common in social interactions
-(으)ᄂ/는 척하다 is essential for describing pretense and deception in Korean, particularly common in social situations where face-saving or tact is important.