Korean grammar patterns › Level 4
-듯(이)
as if, like; just as
Level 4 · TOPIK II · intermediate
How to use it
V-듯(이) means 'just as, like' (doing it the same way): 다들 알듯이 'as everyone knows', 물 쓰듯 'like (spending) water'. -(으)ㄴ/는 듯(이) means 'as if' (it looks so, but isn't really): 죽은 듯이 자다.
Forming it
| 쓰다 | → 쓰듯이 |
| 알다 | → 알듯이 |
| 죽다 | → 죽은 듯이 |
Spacing: attached directly to a stem (알듯이), but written as a separate word after a modifier (죽은 듯이).
Examples
다들 알듯이 이번 주에 시험이 있어요.
As everyone knows, there's an exam this week.
아이가 너무 피곤했는지 죽은 듯이 자고 있어요.
The child must have been really tired — he's sleeping like the dead.
Compared with similar patterns
-(으)ㄴ/는 듯하다 (G4-012) ends a sentence with 'seems'; -듯(이) connects clauses. -다시피 (G5-007) means 'as (you know/see)' and is used with verbs of knowing and perceiving.