Learn Korean: Noun + 가 보다

Let’s take a look at the Korean sentence pattern Noun + 가 보다. We use this to make speculations or assumptions based on what we see or hear. It is similar to the following expressions in English: He must be a rich person, She must be a transgender, He must be his younger brother. We say someone must be a rich person based on his manners or his looks. We say someone must be a transgender when her voice doesn’t match her body. We say someone must be a younger brother of a friend because they have physical similarities. The main nouns are *rich person, *transgender, and *younger brother. In Korean, they are 부자, 트랜스젠더, and 동생 respectively. We attach 인가 보다 to all of them. The actual sentences are 부자인가 봐(요), 트랜스젠더인가 봐(요), and 동생인가 봐(요). Here's an example in negative: They must not be siblings. There are new tenants next door. At first, I thought they were siblings. One time, I got on the elevator car with them and looking their demeanor, they seem more like lovers. So I speculated that maybe they were not siblings after all. The main noun is *siblings. In Korean, it is 남매 (brother and sister). We attach the subject particle 가 to it. If the word ends in a consonant, use 이. Then, we add 아닌가 보다. The actual sentence is 남매가 아닌가 보다(봐/요). Aside from the plain form, we can attach certain verb endings to express a suitable nuance.

미국 사람 아닌가 보다.

He musn't be American.

부부인 가 봐.

They must be couples.

 

학생인가 봐요.

He must be a student.