TOPIK II · LEVEL 5
-(느)ㄴ다고 치다
-(느)ㄴ다고 치다 means 'let's suppose/grant that ~' and treats something as true for the sake of argument, a calculation, or a concession, even if it may not really be so.
조건·가정Conditions & what-ifsHan: 비싸다 is an adjective, so it takes plain 다고; ㄴ/는다고 is only for verbs.
Examples
그 사람이 정말 바빴다고 쳐도 연락 한 번은 할 수 있었잖아요.Even granting that he really was busy, he could have called at least once.
지금 비행기 표를 산다고 쳐도 숙소를 구하는 게 문제예요.Even if we suppose we buy plane tickets now, finding a place to stay is the problem.
좋아, 네 말이 맞다고 치자. 그럼 이제 어떻게 할 건데?Fine, let's say you're right. So what are you going to do now?
한 달에 50만 원씩 저축한다고 치면 1년에 600만 원이 모여요.If we suppose you save 500,000 won a month, you'll have 6 million won in a year.
Don’t mix up
-(느)ㄴ다고 치다vs-(느)ㄴ다면-ㄴ다면 is a plain 'if' condition; -ㄴ다고 치면 stresses a deliberate assumption for argument or calculation: 복권에 당첨된다면 집을 살 거예요 (a real 'if') vs 하루에 두 시간 공부한다고 치면 한 달에 60시간이에요 (just for the count).-(느)ㄴ다고 치다vs-(으)ㄴ/는 셈 치다셈 치다 means 'to treat a situation as if it were something else' (often to accept a loss), attached to a modifier form; 다고 치다 supposes a statement is true: 기부한 셈 치고 잊어버리자 'let's just consider it a donation and forget it.'
-(느)ㄴ다고 치다vs-아/어도-아/어도 concedes a real or likely fact; -다고 쳐도 concedes something only hypothetically, often doubting it: 비가 와도 갈 거예요 vs 비가 온다고 쳐도 우산이 있잖아요.How to build it
V+ㄴ/는다고 치다
A+다고 치다
N+(이)라고 치다
past: V/A+았/었다고 치다 (usually as 치자, 치고, 치면, 쳐도)
가다 → 간다고 치자; 먹다 → 먹는다고 치면; 비싸다 → 비싸다고 쳐도; 학생 → 학생이라고 치고
- It is usually not the end of the thought: it typically appears as 치자, 치고, 치면 or 쳐도, followed by the real point (a question, conclusion or objection).
- Follow the quotation rules: verbs take ㄴ/는다고, adjectives take plain 다고, nouns take (이)라고.
- Mark the tense of the supposed event inside the quote (갔다고 치자 'suppose he went'), not on 치다.
- With 쳐도 it often sounds like the speaker doesn't fully believe the point but grants it in order to argue against it.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 그 가방이 비싼다고 쳐도 너무 마음에 들어요.
Right: 그 가방이 비싸다고 쳐도 너무 마음에 들어요.
비싸다 is an adjective, so it takes plain 다고; ㄴ/는다고 is only for verbs.
Practise -(느)ㄴ다고 치다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 테면From -(으)ㄹ 터이면 'if you intend to': makes someone's intention the condition. Mostly met in the blunt set phrase -(으)ㄹ 테면 -아/어 봐(라) 'go ahead, if you dare' or the indifferent -(으)ㄹ 테면 -아/어라 'do it if you want, I don't care'; plain-style speech.
- -(으)면 몰라도'If it were …, maybe, but (not otherwise)': names the one case in which something might be possible or acceptable, then denies it for the real situation. The second clause is usually negative.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 이상Treats a fact as already settled, so the second clause states what must, will, or inevitably has to follow: 'since (it's a given that) ~'.
- -(이)라야N(이)라야 says that being N is the required condition for what follows ("only if it is N / it has to be N"); it can also downplay something as "merely N".
- -지 않고서는'Unless you (first) do X, Y is impossible': it stresses that X is an indispensable condition.
- -았/었더라면-았/었더라면 means 'if (something) had happened', imagining a past that did not happen, usually with regret or relief.
- -느니 (차라리)-느니 (차라리) means that both options are bad, but the speaker would sooner do the second one than the first.
- -기에 따라(서)'Depending on how one …': the result or judgment changes with the way something is done, seen or thought about. Common in set phrases such as 보기에 따라, 생각하기에 따라, 하기에 따라.
- -(이)란N(이)란 picks out a concept that you are about to define or explain the essence of: "N is (by its nature)…", "what we call N is…".