Korean

Alternative forms

• 듯이 (deusi)

Noun

듯 • ‎(deut)

1. (dependent) as if; in a manner suggesting that

   저 사람, 어디서 본 듯도 한데...‎

   Jeo saram, eodiseo bon deutdo hande...

   I suppose I might have seen him somewhere...

   강아지도 좋다는 듯 꼬리를 살랑인다.‎

   Gang-ajido jotaneun deut kkorireul sallang-inda.

   The dog gently wags his tail as if saying he's fine with it, too.

2. (in the form of -'~는 듯 마는 듯' and such) leaving it ambiguous whether or not

   비가 내릴 듯 말 듯 우중충한 날씨‎ ― biga naeril deut mal deut ujungchunghan nalssi ― a gloomy weather which threatens to rain

Usage notes

The dependent noun 듯 (deut) is used along with adjectival suffixes ㄴ (n), ㄹ (l), and 는 (neun).

Etymology 2

Contraction of —듯이 (-deusi, “as, like”). First attested in the Seokbo sangjeol (釋譜詳節 / 석보상절), 1447, as ᄃᆞᆺ (Yale: tos).

Suffix

듯 • ‎(deut)

1. as, like, in the same way that

   불 보듯 뻔한 일이다.‎

   Bul bodeut ppeonhan irida.

   It's as bright as seeing a fire. (It's very obvious.)

Usage notes

The suffix 듯 (deut) is directly appended to the suffix of a verb, an adjective, or 이다 (ida, “to be”), and if the stem ends in the consonant ㄹ (l), it does not drop out.