Overview
The sentence ending -아/어 보이다 is used to express an impression or observation about someone or something's state, feeling, or quality, based on what is visible or perceivable. It allows the speaker to make an inference based on outward appearance, rather than stating a known fact. This expression conveys a subjective judgment or a guess about how something looks or seems.
Usage
-아/어 보이다 primarily attaches to descriptive verbs (adjectives) to indicate that the subject appears to have a certain quality or looks a certain way. For example, if someone looks tired, you would say "피곤해 보이다." If a dish looks delicious, you would say "맛있어 보이다." It is used when you are forming an opinion or making a conjecture based on visual cues, rather than having direct information or certainty. It's a way of saying "it gives the impression of being..." or "from what I can see, it is...".
Conjugation Rules
The conjugation of -아/어 보이다 depends on the last vowel of the descriptive verb (adjective) stem:
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If the adjective stem ends in ㅏ or ㅗ: attach -아 보이다.
- 예) 작다 (to be small) -> 작아 보이다 (looks small)
- 예) 좋다 (to be good) -> 좋아 보이다 (looks good)
- 예) 많다 (to be many/much) -> 많아 보이다 (looks like a lot)
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If the adjective stem ends in any other vowel or a consonant: attach -어 보이다.
- 예) 예쁘다 (to be pretty) -> 예뻐 보이다 (looks pretty)
- 예) 길다 (to be long) -> 길어 보이다 (looks long)
- 예) 어렵다 (to be difficult) -> 어려워 보이다 (looks difficult)
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For 하다 verbs (adjectives ending in -하다): change -하다 to -해 보이다.
- 예) 피곤하다 (to be tired) -> 피곤해 보이다 (looks tired)
- 예) 행복하다 (to be happy) -> 행복해 보이다 (looks happy)
Knowledge Plus
- Distinction from -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다: While both expressions convey conjecture, -아/어 보이다 specifically emphasizes that the speaker's inference is based on visual evidence or outward appearance. -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다 can be used for conjectures based on any kind of information, feeling, or general impression, not just visual. For instance, "그가 아픈 것 같아요" (I think he's sick) could be based on a phone call, while "그가 아파 보여요" (He looks sick) is based on seeing him.
- Distinction from -아/어 하다: -아/어 하다 is used to describe someone else's internal feeling or state by observing their actions or expressions (e.g., 슬퍼하다 - to act sad, to show sadness). In contrast, -아/어 보이다 describes how someone appears to be feeling or what state they seem to be in (e.g., 슬퍼 보이다 - looks sad). The former describes the manifestation of a feeling, the latter describes the appearance of a state.
- Action Verbs: When you want to express that someone looks like they are doing something (an action), it's more common to use -는 것 같다 or -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 rather than directly attaching -아/어 보이다 to an action verb stem. For example, "그는 공부하는 것 같아요" (He seems to be studying) or "그는 공부하고 있는 것 같아 보여요" (He looks like he is studying).