-기는 하다

Build it

When to use it

Attach -기는 to any stem and conjugate 하다. The tense goes on 하다: 가기는 했어요, not 갔기는 해요. In speech it contracts to -긴 하다.

The concession is the point. 맛있기는 해요 admits the food is tasty while leaving a reservation hanging, and the listener hears it even if you stop there.

A variant repeats the word itself: 가기는 가요, 좋기는 좋아요. This is common in speech and slightly more emphatic.

Spelling the reservation out gives -기는 하지만. This entry is the same construction with the second half left implied.

How to attach it

In use

1. 맛있기는 해요. 좀 비싸지만요.

   It is tasty. A bit pricey, though.

2. 가기는 했는데 아무도 없었어요.

   I did go, but there was nobody there.

3. 읽긴 읽었는데 무슨 말인지 모르겠어요.

   I read it, all right, but I’ve no idea what it means.

4. 직접 만들기는 했지만 시간이 오래 걸렸어요.

   I did make it myself, though it took a long time.

5. A: 어때요?   B: 좋기는 좋아요…

   A: What do you think?   B: It’s good, I suppose…

6. 알기는 아는데 설명하기가 어렵네요.

   I do know it, but it’s hard to explain.

Compared with

• -기는 하지만

  The same concession with the contrast stated. -기는 하다 leaves it implied, which can be more tactful.

  맛있기는 해요. (and there’s a but)  /  맛있기는 하지만 비싸요. (the but, stated)

• -지만

  -지만 simply contrasts two facts; -기는 하다 first concedes the other person’s point, then qualifies it.

  맛있지만 비싸요. (tasty but pricey)  /  맛있기는 해요. (it is tasty, mind you)

• Repetition form

  Repeating the word — 가기는 가요, 좋기는 좋아요 — is a spoken variant that stresses the concession before the reservation lands.

  가기는 해요.  /  가기는 가요.

Watch out

• 어제 갔기는 해요.

  어제 가기는 했어요.

  The tense belongs on 하다. -기 never carries it.

• 맛있기는 해요. 정말 훌륭해요.

  맛있기는 해요. 좀 비싸지만요.

  The construction sets up a reservation. Following it with unqualified praise contradicts the concession.

• 가기는 갔기는 했어요.

  가기는 갔어요.

  In the repetition variant, the second word carries the tense on its own. 하다 is not added as well.

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