Level 6

척하다

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Meaning and Usage

The verb '척하다' means 'to pretend' or 'to act as if'. It is used when someone wants to give a false impression about their feelings, knowledge, or situation. This verb often implies that the action or state is not genuine.

Common Contexts

'척하다' is frequently used in everyday conversations to describe pretending in social situations, such as pretending to know something, pretending to be sick, or pretending to be busy.

Collocations and Patterns

  • '아는 척하다': to pretend to know something
  • '아픈 척하다': to pretend to be sick
  • '바쁜 척하다': to pretend to be busy

These collocations are very common and help express the idea of faking or feigning a particular state.

Register and Politeness

'척하다' is neutral in formality and can be used in both casual and polite speech depending on the sentence ending.

Common Mistakes

Learners sometimes confuse '척하다' with simply stating a fact. Remember, '척하다' always implies that the preceding verb or adjective is not true, but only pretended. For example, '아는 척하다' means 'pretend to know', not 'know'.

Example Sentences

그는 아는 척했지만 사실 아무것도 몰랐다.

Geuneun aneun cheokhaetjiman sasir amugeotdo mollatda.

He pretended to know, but in fact, he didn't know anything.

아픈 척하지 말고 병원에 가야 해요.

Apeun cheokhaji malgo byeongwone gaya haeyo.

Don't pretend to be sick; you should go to the hospital.

그는 바쁜 척하면서 사실은 쉬고 있었다.

Geuneun bappeun cheokhamyeonseo sasireun swigo isseotda.

He was pretending to be busy but was actually resting.