V+기는(요)

Table of content

Gentle refutation Partial Acknowledgment Shortened form Other uses of 긴

Gentle refutation

Expression is used to politely refute or disagree with the other person's statement. Used in response to a compliment to show modesty. Can also be used lightly criticize or scold someone.

Example

잘하기는요. 저보다 잘하는 사람이 많아요.

I'm not that good. There are many people who are better than me.

Partial Acknowledgment

In the form 기는/긴 하다, the speaker acknowledges that something is true or is indeed the case. It is often followed by -지만 or -는데/ㄴ데 grammar to form a partial acknowledgment with an objection.

Example

니 말대로 이 라면이 맛이 좀 없긴 하네.

Like you said, this ramen really is kind of bad.
우리 아이가 시끄럽게 하기는 해도 말썽을 부리지는 않아. 그러니까 걱정하지 마.

Even though my child can be noisy, they don't cause trouble. So don't worry.
한국어를 5년 전부터 공부해왔어요. 아직까진 잘 못하긴 하지만요.

I've studied Korean for 5 years. Although I must admit I'm still not very good.

Some of the pattern(s) used in this grammar

V+기

N+은/는

Shortened form

Instead of the full version V+기는(요) (Gentle refutation) can be shortened to 긴(요).

Other uses of 긴

긴 can also be used in reduplicative expressions such as -긴 -구나 (좋긴 좋구나) or -긴 -ㄴ가/나 보다 (힘들긴 힘든가 보다). The former adds emphasis to a -구나 expression, and the latter adds emphasis to a -ㄴ가/나 보다 expression, with the added nuance that the speaker has experienced or noticed several things that have confirmed their impression of a situation being a certain way.

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