Korean -는 척하다: How to Say "Pretend To" in Your Diary

Someone you'd rather avoid walked past you on the street, so you stared at your phone and acted like you didn't see them. Or you were exhausted at the office but smiled and said you were fine. English says "pretend to" or "act like." Korean uses -는 척하다 (and its variants), and it is a very natural way to describe small social moments in a diary.

How to form it

The form of 척 depends on the word before it and on the tense.

Word type	Form	Example
Verb, present	-는 척하다	자는 척했다. — I pretended to be asleep.
Verb, past	-(으)ㄴ 척하다	먹은 척했다. — I pretended to have eaten.
Adjective	-(으)ㄴ 척하다	아픈 척했다. — I pretended to be sick.
Noun	인 척하다	학생인 척했다. — I pretended to be a student.

For -(으)ㄴ, use -ㄴ after a vowel and -은 after a consonant. Stems ending in ㄹ drop the ㄹ: 만들다 → 만드는 척 / 만든 척.

Adjectives ending in 있다 or 없다 take -는 instead: 멋있는 척, 재미없는 척.

Word	Form with 척
자다 (sleep)	자는 척 / 잔 척
먹다 (eat)	먹는 척 / 먹은 척
아프다 (be sick)	아픈 척
바쁘다 (be busy)	바쁜 척
괜찮다 (be okay)	괜찮은 척

척 is normally written with a space before it (writing it joined, as in 자는척했다, is also officially allowed, but the spaced form is the standard choice), and the whole thing is then conjugated like any 하다 verb: 척하다, 척했다, 척해요.

What it means: acting as if something is true

-는 척하다 describes behavior that is meant to make others believe something that isn't actually the case. The speaker knows the truth and acts differently on purpose.

• 선생님이 부르는 소리를 못 들은 척했다. — I pretended not to hear the teacher calling me.
• 피곤했지만 괜찮은 척했다. — I was tired, but I pretended to be okay.
• 일이 없는데도 바쁜 척했다. — Even though I had no work, I pretended to be busy.
• 동생이 깨우는데 자는 척했다. — My younger sibling tried to wake me, but I pretended to be asleep.

You will see a few set phrases again and again: 못 본 척하다 (pretend not to have seen), 못 들은 척하다 (pretend not to have heard), 모르는 척하다 (pretend not to know), and 아는 척하다 (act like you know, or acknowledge someone you know). 모른 척하다 is also commonly heard for "pretend not to know."

The past form -(으)ㄴ 척 is used when the pretended thing is something that would already have happened, so "pretend not to have seen" is usually 못 본 척하다. The present form -는 척 fits something happening right now, like 자는 척하다 (pretend to be sleeping).

척하다 vs 체하다

척하다 and 체하다 have the same meaning, so 모르는 척하다 and 모르는 체하다 are both fine. 체하다 may feel a little more written or formal to some speakers, but in everyday diary writing you can pick either one. Just be aware that 체하다 is also a separate verb that means "to have an upset stomach" (급하게 먹어서 체했다), so the meaning depends on context.

-는 척하다 vs -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다

Both can appear after the same word, but they say very different things.

Pattern	Meaning	Example
-(으)ㄴ/는 척하다	Pretends, but the truth may be different	친구가 아픈 척했다. — My friend pretended to be sick.
-(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다	Seems, based on what the speaker sees	친구가 아픈 것 같다. — My friend seems to be sick.

척하다 suggests that the person is not actually in that state, or at least is acting for effect. 것 같다 is the speaker's guess about what is true. Mixing them up changes the meaning completely.

친구가 아픈 척한다. — My friend is pretending to be sick. 친구가 아픈 것 같다. — My friend seems to be sick.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Fix	Why
먹었는 척했다 ✗	먹은 척했다 / 먹는 척했다 ✓	Don't combine -았/었- with -는. Use -(으)ㄴ for past or -는 for present.
아프는 척했다 ✗	아픈 척했다 ✓	Adjectives take -(으)ㄴ, not -는 (except 있다/없다 adjectives: 멋있는 척).
바쁘는 척했다 ✗	바쁜 척했다 ✓	Same rule: 바쁘다 is an adjective.
학생 척했다 ✗	학생인 척했다 ✓	After a noun, you need 인 (from 이다).

Try it in tonight's entry

Think of a moment today when you acted a little differently from how you really felt:

• 아침에 늦잠을 잤지만 일찍 일어난 척했다.
• 회의 중에 이해한 척했다.
• 길에서 아는 사람을 봤지만 못 본 척했다.
• 사실은 서운했는데 괜찮은 척했다.

Little social white lies make honest diary lines because they show what was really going on inside. Want to check that your -는 척하다 sentences sound natural? Write your diary at kdiaryai.com and get instant corrections.