TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-지 싶다
-지 싶다 expresses the speaker's own fairly confident guess, like 'I suppose / I'd say it's probably ~'.
추측·판단Guessing & judgingHan: The guess is about something that has already happened, so the past marker -았/었- must go before 지; 벌써 also requires a completed action.
Examples
이 정도 준비했으면 충분하지 싶어요.If we've prepared this much, I'd say it's probably enough.
하늘을 보니 오후에는 비가 오지 싶어요.Judging by the sky, I'd say it will rain in the afternoon.
처음에는 농담이지 싶었는데 진짜였어요.At first I figured it was a joke, but it turned out to be true.
지금쯤이면 민수도 집에 도착했지 싶어요.I suppose Minsu has got home by now too.
Don’t mix up
-지 싶다vs-나 싶다-나 싶다 is a hesitant 'I wonder if', often with worry or self-doubt; -지 싶다 leans toward 'probably yes': 내가 말을 너무 심하게 했나 싶다 vs 그 사람이 범인이지 싶다.
-지 싶다vs-고 싶다-고 싶다 expresses a wish and attaches to verbs; -지 싶다 expresses a guess: 집에 가고 싶어요 (I want to go home) vs 벌써 집에 갔지 싶어요 (I suppose he's already gone home).-지 싶다vs-(으)ㄹ 것 같다-(으)ㄹ 것 같다 is the neutral everyday guess and also works in questions (비가 올 것 같아요?); -지 싶다 sounds like a personal inner conclusion and stays in statements (비가 오지 싶어요).
How to build it
V/A+지 싶다
N+(이)지 싶다
past: V/A+았/었지 싶다
바쁘다 → 바쁘지 싶어요; 떠나다 → 떠났지 싶어요; 농담 → 농담이지 싶어요
- It voices the speaker's own guess, so it usually appears in statements, not questions; to ask for someone's guess, use -(으)ㄹ까요? instead.
- Despite 싶다, it has nothing to do with wanting: it attaches to verbs, adjectives and nouns, and the subject can be any person.
- Mark a past event before 지 (떠났지 싶다); putting the past on 싶다 (떠나지 싶었다) means the guessing itself happened in the past: 'I had figured'.
- It sounds personal and conversational; in reports or formal writing, -(으)ㄹ 것으로 보인다 is usually more suitable.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 민수는 벌써 떠나지 싶어요.
Right: 민수는 벌써 떠났지 싶어요.
The guess is about something that has already happened, so the past marker -았/었- must go before 지; 벌써 also requires a completed action.
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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)ㄴ/는 감이 있다Used to say, softly, that something strikes you as a bit too much or not quite enough: 'it feels somewhat ~'.
- -(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 …'.
- -(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'.