-나 보다/-(으)ㄴ가 보다 in Korean: “it seems, must be (judging from)”
-나 보다/-(으)ㄴ가 보다
-na boda / -(eu)n-ga boda
it seems, must be (judging from)
Intermediate · Saying what you think and feel
-나 보다 and -(으)ㄴ가 보다 (-na boda / -(eu)n-ga boda) mean "it seems" or "it must be", a guess you make from something you just noticed. If you see wet umbrellas, you might say 비가 오나 봐요 ("it must be raining"). In conversation it almost always appears as 나 봐요 or 나 봐.
How to form it
| When | Add | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action verb, and 있다/없다 | + 나 보다 | 자다 → 자나 봐요, 없다 → 없나 봐요 |
| Past (verb or adjective) | + 았/었나 보다 | 오다 → 왔나 봐요 |
| Adjective, vowel stem | + ㄴ가 보다 | 바쁘다 → 바쁜가 봐요 |
| Adjective, consonant stem | + 은가 보다 | 작다 → 작은가 봐요 |
| Noun | + 인가 보다 | 휴일 → 휴일인가 봐요 |
How to use it
Use it when you have a clue: something you saw, heard or noticed. You are drawing a conclusion, like a small detective: "the lights are off, so nobody must be home."
It is mostly about other people and situations. You usually can't use it for your own feelings, because you already know them. You can use it about yourself when you only just realized something, like 제가 피곤했나 봐요 ("I guess I was tired").
Say 나 봐요 to people you speak politely to and 나 봐 with friends. In casual speech many people also use 나 봐 with adjectives (바쁘나 봐), but ㄴ가 보다 is the textbook form.
Examples
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Seeing people with wet umbrellas
When a friend doesn't text back
Knocking and getting no answer
Noticing a coworker yawning
Don’t mix it up with
-는 것 같다: -는 것 같다 can be a guess or your own opinion ("I think it's good"). -나 보다 is only a guess based on a clue, so you can't use it to give your opinion.
-겠-: -겠- is an instant reaction to what's right in front of you (맛있겠다, "looks tasty"). -나 보다 is a conclusion drawn from evidence (맛있나 봐요, "it must be good, everyone's ordering it").
Common mistakes
Using it for your own current feelings: 저는 배고픈가 봐요 sounds strange. Say 배고파요 or 배고픈 것 같아요.
Writing 보아요 or 보요. The polite form is contracted to 봐요.
Questions learners ask
What is the difference between 나 봐요 and 것 같아요?
나 봐요 is a guess based on something you noticed, mostly about others. 것 같아요 is broader: it works for guesses and for your own opinions.
Why does 보다 (to see) mean "it seems" here?
Here 보다 is used as a helper word meaning roughly "to judge from what I see". The whole pattern is learned as one unit meaning "it seems".
When do I use 나 보다 and when ㄴ가 보다?
Use 나 보다 with action verbs, 있다/없다 words and past tense. Use (으)ㄴ가 보다 with adjectives and 인가 보다 with nouns.