LEARN + KOREAN / 78 of 125 TOPIK II

You Look Well -아/어 보이다

You meet a friend after the holidays. “How have you been?” can be a casual question, “Let’s eat” can be a casual suggestion, and “You look well” can stay an impression rather than a claim about how they feel.

Ask and Suggest Casually

Verb stem + -니? makes a familiar question: 가니?, 먹니? Past questions use -았/었니? Adjectives can use -(으)니?, with shorter -니? forms also heard. Verb stem + -자 suggests doing something together: 먹자, 걷자. These endings belong with close friends or someone younger in an established relationship.

banghak jal bonaesseoyo?

Did you have a good holiday?

uri gachi jeomsim meogeoyo.

Let’s have lunch together.

Give a Visual Impression

Adjective -아/어 form + 보이다 means look or seem that way: 피곤해 보이다, 좋아 보이다. Irregular adjectives follow their -아/어 forms: 바쁘다 → 바빠 보여요, 춥다 → 추워 보여요. For a noun comparison, use noun + 처럼 보여요.

oneul gibuni joa boyeoyo.

You look happy today.

i sopaneun pyeonanhae boyeoyo.

This sofa looks comfortable.

Hint · 힌트

맛있어 보여요 is your impression from appearance. 맛있어요 gives the judgement directly. With someone’s health or feelings, the impression form lets them tell you how things actually are.

Vocabulary

Korean	English
방학 banghak	school holiday
점심 jeomsim	lunch
기분 gibun	mood
소파 sopa	sofa
편안하다 pyeonanhada	to be comfortable
피곤하다 pigonhada	to be tired
외모 oemo	appearance
머리 meori	hair or head
키 ki	height
얼굴 eolgul	face
길다 gilda	to be long
짧다 jjalda	to be short
크다 keuda	to be tall or big
작다 jakda	to be short or small
예쁘다 yeppeuda	to be pretty
귀엽다 gwiyeopda	to be cute
멋있다 meositda	to be stylish or impressive
잘생기다 jalsaenggida	to be handsome
마르다 mareuda	to be thin
통통하다 tongtonghada	to be plump

YOUR PROGRESS

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