TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-(으)ㄴ/는 감이 있다
Used to say, softly, that something strikes you as a bit too much or not quite enough: 'it feels somewhat ~'.
추측·판단Guessing & judgingHan: 비싸다 is an adjective, so it takes -(으)ㄴ before 감이 있다; -는 is only for verbs.
Examples
그 영화는 결말이 다소 급하게 끝난 감이 있어요.That film's ending feels somewhat rushed.
이번 정책은 시민들의 의견을 충분히 반영하지 못한 감이 있다.There is a sense that this policy did not fully reflect citizens' opinions.
지금 시작하기에는 좀 늦은 감이 있지만 포기하지 않을 거예요.It feels a bit late to start now, but I'm not going to give up.
가격에 비해 양이 좀 적은 감이 있네요.The portion seems a little small for the price.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄴ/는 감이 있다vs-(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다것 같다 guesses facts or gives any opinion; 감이 있다 only evaluates a degree as slightly off: 밖에 비가 오는 것 같아요 (not 오는 감이 있어요).-(으)ㄴ/는 감이 있다vs-(으)ㄴ/는 편이다편이다 places something in a general category without criticism; 감이 있다 is an impression of slight excess in a specific case: 그는 키가 큰 편이다 vs 이 옷은 나한테 좀 큰 감이 있다.-(으)ㄴ/는 감이 있다vs-(으)ㄴ/는 느낌이 들다느낌이 들다 is conversational and covers any feeling or sensation; 감이 있다 is more formal and limited to evaluation: 누가 나를 보는 느낌이 들어요 (not 보는 감이 있어요).
How to build it
A+(으)ㄴ 감이 있다
V+는 감이 있다 (ongoing)
V+(으)ㄴ 감이 있다 (completed)
늦다 → 늦은 감이 있다; 서두르다 → 서두른 감이 있다
- Adjectives take -(으)ㄴ (비싼 감이 있다); verbs take -는 for an ongoing impression and -(으)ㄴ for something already done (서두른 감이 있다). The future form -(으)ㄹ 감이 있다 is not used.
- It is a subjective evaluation, usually of a slight excess or shortfall, so it often comes with 좀, 다소, 약간 and words like 늦다, 지나치다, 부족하다. It is not used for guessing facts such as the weather.
- It sounds formal and is common in reviews, news and meetings; to soften it further, Koreans often say -(으)ㄴ 감이 없지 않다 ('there is a sense of ~ after all').
Classic mistake
Wrong: 이 식당은 음식이 좀 비싸는 감이 있어요.
Right: 이 식당은 음식이 좀 비싼 감이 있어요.
비싸다 is an adjective, so it takes -(으)ㄴ before 감이 있다; -는 is only for verbs.
Practise -(으)ㄴ/는 감이 있다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 리 만무하다A formal, emphatic way to say "there is absolutely no way that ~", based on the speaker's firm reasoning.
- -(으)ㄹ 소지가 있다Something has a flaw or condition in it that could lead to an undesirable result, such as a misunderstanding, dispute or abuse.
- -(으)ㄹ라A casual sentence ending used to warn someone close that something bad might happen if they are not careful.
- -(으)ㄹ세라-(으)ㄹ세라 means someone quickly or carefully does something out of anxiety that an unwanted event might happen ("for fear that", "lest").
- -(으)리라고-(으)리라 + quotative 고 before a verb of thinking or expecting: '(think/believe/expect) that … will …'. Literary; very common in -(으)리라고는 생각하지 못했다 'never imagined that …'.
- -지 싶다-지 싶다 expresses the speaker's own fairly confident guess, like 'I suppose / I'd say it's probably ~'.
- -(으)리라는 + NA literary noun modifier giving the content of an expectation, belief or resolve: 'the expectation/belief that … will …'. It is -(으)리라 + -는 (from -고 하는) and is typical of news, essays and narratives.
- -(으)매-(으)매 is a bookish, literary way to say 'because' or 'as', linking a cause to its natural result in formal writing.
- -(으)나 -(으)나Two paired or opposite verbs/adjectives, each with -(으)나, mean 'whichever of these is the case, the following stays the same', which often amounts to 'regardless' or 'all the time'.