TOPIK II · LEVEL 4
-답시고
-답시고 sarcastically repeats someone's claimed reason or purpose ("supposedly to…"), hinting that the action was pointless, clumsy or made things worse.
인용·전달Quoting & reportingHan: The sentence expresses gratitude toward a teacher, but -답시고 mocks the person's intention, so it sounds rude; use the neutral -ㄴ/는다고.
Examples
그 사람은 팀장이랍시고 회의 때마다 혼자만 이야기해요.Acting important because he's the team leader, he's the only one who talks at every meeting.
동생이 요리를 한답시고 부엌을 엉망으로 만들어 놓았어요.My younger sibling made a mess of the kitchen, supposedly cooking.
친구가 다이어트를 한답시고 저녁을 굶더니 밤에 라면을 두 개나 끓여 먹었어요.My friend skipped dinner, claiming to be on a diet, and then cooked and ate two packs of ramyeon at night.
남편이 도와주겠답시고 나섰다가 일을 더 크게 만들었어요.My husband stepped in, saying he would help, and only made things worse.
Don’t mix up
-답시고vs-ㄴ/는다고 (reason/purpose)-ㄴ/는다고 states the reason neutrally; -답시고 adds mockery of that reason. 시험 공부를 한다고 밤을 새웠어요 (neutral) vs 시험 공부를 한답시고 책만 펴 놓고 잤어요 (critical).
-답시고vs-느라고-느라고 explains that an activity took time or caused a problem, with no judgment of the person; -답시고 doubts or ridicules the stated purpose. 이사하느라고 바빴어요 vs 이사한답시고 일주일 내내 회사에 안 나왔어요.How to build it
V+-ㄴ/는답시고 (past: -았/었답시고, intention: -겠답시고)
A+-답시고
N+-(이)랍시고
하다 → 한답시고, 돕다 → 돕겠답시고, 바쁘다 → 바쁘답시고, 팀장 → 팀장이랍시고
- It carries criticism or mockery, so do not use it for a neutral reason or when you are grateful; about yourself it sounds self-deprecating ("I tried to help, but…").
- The second clause usually describes what actually happened (often a bad result), so it is normally not followed by a command or suggestion.
- Choose the form by word class: verbs take -ㄴ/는답시고, adjectives take -답시고 (바쁘답시고), nouns -(이)랍시고; use -겠답시고 for a declared intention.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 선생님께서 저를 도와주신답시고 바쁘신데도 시간을 내 주셨어요.
Right: 선생님께서 저를 도와주신다고 바쁘신데도 시간을 내 주셨어요.
The sentence expresses gratitude toward a teacher, but -답시고 mocks the person's intention, so it sounds rude; use the neutral -ㄴ/는다고.
Practise -답시고 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄴ/는 양Describes someone acting or looking as if something were true when it really isn't: 'as if / pretending that'.
- -(느)ㄴ다니 (전달 의문)A casual plain-style question asking what a third person said: short for -다고 하니?, as in 언제 온다니? 'When does he say he's coming?'
- -(느)ㄴ다는 것이Use it when you meant to do one thing but by mistake ended up doing something else.
- -노라고-노라고 (usually followed by 했는데 or 했지만) means "I really did try to do it," often said modestly when the result was not as good as hoped.
- -(느)ㄴ다는 + N-(느)ㄴ다는 + N gives the content of news, rumours, ideas or claims: 'the news that …'.
- -(으)나-(으)나 is a formal written 'but / however', linking two contrasting clauses.
- -(으)되-(으)되 states or allows a first action and then adds a condition or limit to it, in a formal or written style.
- -(이)면 (조사)Attaches to a noun to mean 'if it is N / whenever it is N'; repeated as N(이)면 N, it means 'in every field, whatever you name'.
- -(으)ㄹ 게 아니라Use it to say that doing X is not the right move, so you should do Y instead: "rather than doing X, do Y."