-기는(요)
gineunyo
Grammar · 2 senses
Gentle refutation
Examples
잘하기는요. 저보다 잘하는 사람이 많아요.
I'm not that good. There are many people who are better than me.
When you'd hear it
Mostly used in polite conversation when responding modestly to praise or a favorable comment. It is common among acquaintances, at work, and in dramas; the 요 ending keeps it courteous rather than casual.
What learners get wrong
Learners may confuse it with -기는 하다 or -기는 하지만, which introduce an acknowledgment or concession and usually continue the sentence. -기는요 can stand alone as a polite response, as in 잘하기는요.
Partial Acknowledgment
Examples
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.
When you'd hear it
This is common in spoken Korean, especially in polite conversation, dramas, and reassuring or qualifying comments. The 요 ending suits conversations with people who are not intimate; casual speech often uses -기는(요) without honorific endings elsewhere in the sentence.
What learners get wrong
With a following clause, -기는(요) can resemble -지만, but it first concedes the point and then qualifies it. At the end of a reply, -기는요 often lightly pushes back on a compliment or claim, so it should not always be translated simply as “although.”
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