Can I say "보여지? "to express "don't you see?"
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Answers · 4
1
I think you want to say "보이지?" not "보여지?". It literally means "Do you see it?". But it means "You see it, don't you?", so yes, you can say it.
But if you mean "to understand" by "see" in your sentence then it might be wrong.
In Korean, "보다"(to see) seldom translates to "to understand".
(It translates to "to understand" in some contexts, but it's a little tricky to explain)
So you have some options to choose.
1. "알겠어?" - Do you understand?
2. "모르겠어?" - Don't you understand?
3. "보이지?" - You see it (with your eyes), don't you?
It would be better if I knew the context of your conversation,
but the option 1 is safe to say in most cases.
Option 2 might be taken as offensive or sarcastic depending on context.
Option 3 have a chance that it is not what you want to say.
1
It should be either "보이지?" (You see it, don't you?) or "보여?" (Do you see it). The two are very close, but 보여? is more direct while 보이지? is used to ask for confirmation.
보이지? is using the -지 ending with 보이다, and 보여 the more plain -아/어 ending. -지 has a softer sense than -아/어.
- 보다 = see, look.
- 보이다 = 1) be/become visible (멀리에 다리가 보였다), 2) show (그는 가진 돈을 꺼내 보였다 = He pulled out the money he had in view).
#1 is the passive(intransitive) verb, while #2 is causative(transitive). "-이" can make both these forms for some verbs, but because of their distinctive usage (like 가 and 을 in the above examples), it is not confusing.
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