Daily Korean lesson

N(으)로 보다

No. 015 · · TOPIK 5-6
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문형 해설

PATTERNS
TOPIK 5-6

N(으)로 보다

judging by…, from the standpoint of…

Sets out the basis for a judgement first — price, ability, time, circumstances — then delivers the verdict from that angle. In practice it almost never appears in its plain form; you meet it as -(으)로 볼 때, -(으)로 보면 or -(으)로 봐서. A staple of formal speech and written reports.

지금까지 보유한 자료로 볼 때 보조금 신청은 무리가 없어 보입니다.
Judging by the material we hold so far, the subsidy application should be straightforward.
이 그늘 크기로 봐서 나무가 꽤 오래된 것 같네요.
Judging by the size of this shade, the tree must be quite old.
지금 상황으로 보면 다리 공사는 내년까지 이어지겠어요.
The way things stand, the bridge work looks set to run into next year.

※Compare this with -에 의하면: -(으)로 보다 is you judging from that angle, -에 의하면 is you relaying what someone else said. 조사 결과로 볼 때 인상 폭이 큽니다 (your judgement) / 조사 결과에 의하면 인상 폭이 크다고 합니다 (what the survey says).

접속 conjugation
  • Nouns ending in a vowel or ㄹ take 로, those ending in a consonant take 으로
    • 결과로 보면 / 실력으로 보면
  • The usual shapes are -(으)로 볼 때, -(으)로 보면, -(으)로 봐서; written Korean also has -(으)로 보아
  • What follows has to be a judgement or an assessment, not a plain statement of fact

비즈니스 회화

BUSINESS

추가 요구와 범위 조정　Extra requests and adjusting the scope——An insurance-finance system is halfway through development when Section Chief Seo, on the client side, asks to add pension and premium calculators. Assistant Manager Nam, on the vendor side, spells out what is feasible with the people and the contract they have, and what it would cost. They settle on building the pension feature first.（서 과장＝Section Chief Seo (client side) ／ 남 대리＝Assistant Manager Nam (vendor side)）

서 과장남 대리님, 이번 범위에 연금하고 보험료 산정 기능을 넣고 싶은데요. 지금 일정으로는 많이 빠듯한가요?
Mr. Nam, we'd like to add the pension and insurance premium calculators to this scope. Would that be very tight on the current schedule?
남 대리솔직히 말씀드리면 빠듯합니다. 지금 보유한 인력으로는 두 기능을 동시에 개발하기 어렵습니다.
Honestly, it would be tight. With the staff we currently have, we can't develop both features at once.
서 과장인력을 더 투입하면 가능할까요?
Would it be possible if we put more people on it?
남 대리가능은 합니다. 다만 계약서에 의하면 범위가 바뀌면 견적을 다시 산정하게 되어 있습니다.
It would be possible. But according to the contract, a change of scope means the quote has to be recalculated.
서 과장추가 비용이 얼마나 되는지 먼저 알아야 내부 결재를 올릴 수 있을 것 같아요.
I need to know roughly what the extra cost is before I can put it through internal approval.
남 대리두 기능을 다 넣으시면 시간과 비용이 막대하게 늘어나서, 한 번에 목돈을 지출하셔야 합니다.
If you include both features, the time and cost will go up dramatically, and you'd have to spend a large lump sum all at once.
서 과장그럼 보조금 심사 일정으로 볼 때, 연금 기능만 먼저 넣는 게 낫겠네요.
Then judging by the subsidy review schedule, it'd be better to put in just the pension feature first.
남 대리저도 그게 안전하다고 봅니다. 오늘 중으로 범위를 줄인 견적을 다시 보내 드리겠습니다.
I think that's the safer option too. I'll send you a revised quote with the reduced scope by the end of today.
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