Learn Korean: State Verb + 보여

Let’s take a look at the Korean sentence pattern State Verb + 보여. We use this to express how something looks with emphasis on (appearance, texture, size, etc). In English, it is the SVC sentence pattern subject + look + adjective as in It looks expensive and He looks kind. The main state verb s are 비싸다 (to be expensive) and 착하다 (to be kind) respectively.  We take the verb stem (비싸/착하) and conjugate it into its 아/어/여 form. 비싸 remains the same while 착하 becomes 착해. Then, we add 보이다. The actual sentences are 비싸 보여(요) and 착해 보여(요). Aside from the plain form, we can attach certain verb endings to express a suitable nuance.

괜찮아? 지쳐 보여.

Are you okay? You look tired.

다른 거 없어? 재미없어 보이는데.

Don’t you have another one? This one (movie) looks boring.

네 오빠 완전 내 스타일이다. 섹시해 보여.

Your brother is definitely my type. He looks hot.