-는답시고
Claiming to, Pretending to
-는답시고 is used to express disapproval or skepticism towards an action someone claims to be doing for a good reason, which often results in a negative outcome.
How It Works
-는답시고 is an advanced grammar pattern used to express a critical or cynical attitude towards the subject's action. The speaker highlights the discrepancy between the subject's stated intention and the actual (usually negative) outcome or the speaker's perception of the action.
Key Nuances:
- Disapproval/Skepticism: The core function is to show that the speaker doubts the sincerity of the stated reason or disapproves of the action and/or its result.
- Negative Consequence: The clause following -는답시고 almost always describes a negative, foolish, or unexpected outcome. It highlights the failure or inadequacy of the action.
- Usage with Verbs: It attaches to the stem of action verbs.
Formation:
This pattern attaches to action verb stems.
Present Tense:
- Action verb stem + -는답시고
예: 가다 → 간답시고 (vowel/ㄹ stem takes -ㄴ답시고), 먹다 → 먹는답시고, 돕다 → 돕는답시고 (consonant stem takes -는답시고)
Past Tense:
- Verb stem + -았/었답시고
예: 공부했다 → 공부했답시고, 만들었다 → 만들었답시고
This pattern is common in spoken Korean and informal writing to convey a critical or sarcastic tone.
Examples (4)
- 아들을 돕는답시고 나섰다가 오히려 일을 망쳐 놓았다.
She stepped in, claiming to help her son, but ended up making things worse.
Word by Word: Son help-claiming-to stepped-in-but rather work ruined.
The stated intention was 'to help her son', but the result was negative ('making things worse'). The speaker uses -는답시고 to criticize this outcome.
- 공부한답시고 도서관에 가더니 하루 종일 잠만 잤대.
He said he was going to the library to study, but I heard he just slept all day.
Word by Word: Study-claiming-to library-to went-and-then all day only slept-they-say.
This implies skepticism about the person's real intention. The claim was 'studying', but the actual action was 'sleeping'.
- 다이어트 한답시고 샐러드만 먹더니 밤에 몰래 치킨을 시켜 먹었다.
Claiming to be on a diet, she only ate salad, but then secretly ordered and ate chicken at night.
Word by Word: Diet do-claiming-to salad-only ate-and-then at-night secretly chicken ordered-and ate.
The action of 'dieting' is presented as insincere because it was contradicted by a later action.
- 요리한답시고 주방을 온통 어지럽히기만 했다.
Under the pretext of cooking, he just made a complete mess of the kitchen.
Word by Word: Cook-claiming-to kitchen entirely only-messed-up.
The speaker is focusing on the negative side effect ('messing up the kitchen') of the claimed positive action ('cooking').
Common Mistakes
Using -는답시고 for situations with positive or neutral outcomes.
Not Quite열심히 일한답시고 승진했어요.Better열심히 일해서 승진했어요.-는답시고 has an inherent negative or critical nuance. It cannot be used when the outcome is positive, like getting a promotion. In such cases, a simple reason-based connector like -아/어서 is appropriate.
Confusing it with a simple statement of purpose.
Different Meaning친구를 만난답시고 강남에 갔어요.Better친구를 만나러 강남에 갔어요.If you are just stating a neutral purpose (going to Gangnam to meet a friend) without any criticism, you should use a pattern like -러 (in order to). Using -는답시고 here would incorrectly imply that something went wrong or that your reason for going was just an excuse.
Learn This First
To express pretense 'claiming to/pretending to', you need reported speech and verb modification.
Related Patterns
- -ㄴ/는 척하다Pretend to
Means 'to pretend to'. Both patterns involve insincerity. However, -ㄴ/는 척하다 focuses on the act of pretending itself (e.g., 자는 척하다 - to pretend to be asleep), while -는답시고 focuses on an action done under a false pretext that leads to a negative result.
- -랍시고Claiming to Be, Under the Pretense of
This is the equivalent of -는답시고 for nouns (used with 이다). It's used to criticize someone 'claiming to be a [Noun]'. For example, '의사랍시고 환자를 제대로 돌보지도 않아' (Claiming to be a doctor, he doesn't even take proper care of his patients).
- -느라고Because of -ing
Means 'because of doing X' and is often followed by a negative consequence. It's similar in that it connects an action to a negative result, but -느라고 gives a legitimate (though perhaps regrettable) reason, while -는답시고 criticizes the stated reason as a poor excuse.
- -다가는If You Keep Doing
Means 'if one keeps doing X...' and warns of a future negative consequence. Both patterns are associated with negative outcomes, but -다가는 is a warning about a continued action, whereas -는답시고 is a critique of a specific past or ongoing action and its stated purpose.