[Korean grammar] -는 셈치다 Expressing Hypothetical Situations

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가: 태민 씨가 보고서에 들어갈 통계 자료 분석을 부탁 했다면서요?
Is it true that Taemin asked you to do the statistical analysis for the report?
나: 네，중요한 일 때문에 시간이 없다면서 도와 달라고 사정사정하는데 거절할 수가 있어야지요. 저도 통계 쪽은 잘 모르지만 이번에 공부하는 셈치고 해 주기로 했어요.
Yes, he said he didn’t have time to do it beca니se of something important he had to do, so he begged me to do it, so I couldn’t say no. I don’t know much about statistics, but I considered this a learning opportunity and decided to do it.
가: 중요한 일이요? 또 친구들이랑 술 마시러 가는 거겠죠. 지난번에도 그런 적이 있잖아요.
Something important? I bet he’s just going out drinking with his friends again. He did that the last time, too. Remember?
나: 에이, 확실한 것도 아닌데 사람을 의심하는 건 안 좋아요. 그 이야기는 안 들은 셈칠 테니까 그런 얘긴 앞으로 하지 마세요.
Hey, it’s not good to doubt someone when it’s not even clear what happened. I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear what you said, so don’t talk like that anymore. 

This expression is used to hypothesize doing some action or to regard some state of affairs as being true. It is mainly used in the form -는 셈치고 to mean hypothetically doing the action in the preceding clause or to consider such a scenario and then actually to do the action in the following clause. It only attaches to verbs.



가: 좋아하지도 않으면서 무슨 군고구마를 열 개나 사요? 싸게 파는 것도 아닌데요.
Why are you buying 10 of those roasted sweet potatoes when you don’t even like them? And they’re not even cheap.
나: 어려운 학생들 도와주는 셈치고 사는 거예요. 학생들이 추운데 팔고 있으니까 안됐잖아요.
I'm buying them because I consider it to be helping out poor students. They’re selling them out in the cold weather.

가: 지금은 유명한 연주가가 됐지만 그 당시에는 성공한다는 보장도 없는 청년을 어떻게 후원하실 생각을 하셨나요?
Now he has become a famous musician, but how did you originally decide to help out a young man back when there was no guarantee of access?
나: 어느 날 갑자기 찾아와서 자기를 후원해 주면 꼭 훌륭한 연주자가 되어 보답하겠다고 하더군요. 그 용기와 자신감이 기특해서 속는 셈치고 후원해 주기로 했지요.
One day, he visited me out of the blue and said that if I supported him, then one day, when he had become famous, he would return the favor. Thinking I had nothing to lose, I decided to help him out.

가: 커피 맛은 좋은데 이 케이크는 괜히 시켰네요. 비싸기만 하고 맛도 없고 말이에요.
coffee is good, but we ordered this cake for nothing. I mean that it’s just expensive with no taste.
나: 벌써 손을 댔으니까 그냥 먹어야죠, 뭐. 그냥 비싼 커피 마신 셈칩시다.
Since we’ve already touched it, we’ve got to eat it. Let’s just say we bought some expensive coffee.

This expression is used in a manner similar to ‘-(느)ㄴ다고 치다’ in that they both posit a hypothetical situation, but they have the following differences. 

>> You can click on the title of each grammar below to see other grammars which also express 'Hypothetical Situations'

1. -더라도
2. -(으)ㄹ지라도
3. -(으)ㄴ들
4. -(으)ㄹ망정
5. -(느)ㄴ다고 치다
6. -는 셈치다

>> Full of 'Korean grammar in use - Advanced': Click here
>> Full of 'Korean grammar in use - Intermediate': Click here

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