TOPIK II · LEVEL 5
-(으)ㄴ/는 경향이 있다
Says that people or things generally lean toward a certain behavior or state; it describes a tendency, not a fixed rule.
추측·판단Guessing & judgingHan: With verbs the modifier is -는, because a tendency is an ongoing habit; -(으)ㄴ on a verb would mark a completed past action.
Examples
요즘 젊은 세대는 결혼을 늦게 하는 경향이 있습니다.These days the younger generation tends to marry later.
저는 긴장하면 말이 빨라지는 경향이 있어요.I tend to talk faster when I get nervous.
온라인 뉴스는 제목이 자극적인 경향이 있다.Online news tends to have sensational headlines.
사람들은 스트레스를 받으면 단 음식을 찾는 경향이 있다.People tend to crave sweet food when they are stressed.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄴ/는 경향이 있다vs-는 편이다-는 편이다 places a person or thing on a scale compared with average, often for stable traits; 경향이 있다 describes an inclination of behavior or a trend: 저는 키가 큰 편이에요 (not 큰 경향이 있어요).
-(으)ㄴ/는 경향이 있다vs-곤 하다-곤 하다 tells about a concrete repeated habit someone had, often recalled from the past; 경향이 있다 states a general inclination: 주말이면 공원을 산책하곤 했어요.-(으)ㄴ/는 경향이 있다vs-기 마련이다-기 마련이다 says something naturally and inevitably happens; 경향이 있다 only says it often happens: 사람은 누구나 실수하기 마련이다.How to build it
V+는 경향이 있다
A+(으)ㄴ 경향이 있다 (N이다 → N인 경향이 있다)
찾다 → 찾는 경향이 있다; 자극적이다 → 자극적인 경향이 있다
- Verbs take -는 even when talking about the past; the past is shown on 있다: 예전에는 집에서 밥을 먹는 경향이 있었다. Using -(으)ㄴ on the verb (먹은 경향) is wrong.
- It describes a repeated, general pattern, so it does not fit a single one-time event (✗ 어제 늦게 일어나는 경향이 있었다).
- It sounds neutral and somewhat formal, so it is common in essays, reports and news (useful in TOPIK writing); about yourself in speech, it is usually softened with 좀: 제가 좀 ~는 경향이 있어요.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 요즘 사람들은 책을 덜 읽은 경향이 있다.
Right: 요즘 사람들은 책을 덜 읽는 경향이 있다.
With verbs the modifier is -는, because a tendency is an ongoing habit; -(으)ㄴ on a verb would mark a completed past action.
Practise -(으)ㄴ/는 경향이 있다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다Use -(으)ㄹ 게 뻔하다 when the situation makes it plain to you that something, usually something bad, will happen or has happened.
- -(으)ㄹ 턱이 없다Use -(으)ㄹ 턱이 없다 to say firmly that, given what you know, something simply cannot be true or happen: "there's no way that ~".
- -(으)ㄹ 우려가 있다States formally that there is a real risk that something bad or undesirable could happen.
- -(으)ㄹ까 싶다-(으)ㄹ까 싶다 voices a half-formed thought in the speaker's mind: either "I'm thinking I might do ~" or "I suspect, worry or hope that ~ might happen."
- -(으)려나 보다Guesses from a visible sign that something is about to happen or that someone means to do something: 'it looks like … is going to …'. -(으)려나 is short for -(으)려고 하나; conversational.
- -(으)려고(요)? (의심)A rhetorical question voicing doubt that something could be true: 'Surely … wouldn't …?' The speaker expects the answer no. Spoken and a little old-fashioned; the polite form is -(으)려고요?
- -나 싶다 / -(으)ㄴ가 싶다It expresses a tentative thought or doubt in your own mind, like 'I wonder if…' or 'maybe…', often with a touch of worry.
- -는 수가 있다-는 수가 있다 says that something, usually unwanted, can occasionally happen under certain conditions, and it is often used as a warning.
- -는 법이다States that something naturally happens, or is supposed to be done, as a general rule of life or common sense.