Home > Korean Grammar / Beginner Level
안녕하세요? 😊 어떻게 지내요? Hello, how are you doing? 저는 잘 지내요. I'm doing good! Today, you will learn how to express your intention in Korean. For example, at the end of the lesson, you will say "I'll eat pizza for dinner." or "I'll study Korean hard!" I'll provide you with my lesson material (the free worksheet) as well. I usually give these materials to my students, but you can also access them for free on my website!
<Table of Contents>
0. Words
피자 pizza
햄버거 hamburger
커피 coffee
빵 bread
산 mountain
비빔밥 bibimbap - It is a Korean dish. You put assorted vegetables on the rice. You mix the ingredients with a spoon. 비빔 came from 비비다 which means mix.
1. The Intention Ending: V(으)ㄹ래요
1) -(으)ㄹ래요 [eul-lae-yo] attaches to a verb stem and shows the intention or will, meaning "would like to" or "want to". In a statement, it indicates the speaker's intention. In a question, it can be used to ask the listener's intention.
젠 씨, 뭐 먹을래요? Jen, what would you like to eat?
저는 피자를 먹을래요. I'd like to eat pizza.
2) It can only attach with verbs(V). It doesn't attach to an adjective.
(X) 예쁠래요. - I would like to pretty.
3) In a statement, you can only use the first-person pronouns. It is because (으)ㄹ래요 meant to show the speaker's intention. The first-person pronouns are like below.
반말 (non-polite) | 존댓말 (polite) | |
단수 (Singular) I | 나 [na] | 저 [jeo] |
복수 (Plural) We | 우리 [u-li] | 저희 [jeo-hui] |
(O) 저는 피자를 먹을래요. I'd like to eat pizza.
(O) 저희는 피자를 먹을래요. We'd like to eat pizza.
(X) 너는 피자를 먹을래요. You'd like to eat pizza.
(X) 젠 씨는 피자를 먹을래요. Jen would like to eat pizza.
↪ You can not express someone else's intention using this ending.
4) In a question, you can use the second-person pronoun; you. You are asking about the listener's intention or will in this case.
반말 (non-polite) | 존댓말 (polite) | |
단수 (Singular) You | 너 [neo] | Use titles |
복수 (Plural) You | 너희 [neo-hui] | Use titles |
When you call someone else politely, you can use appropriate titles or names with the calling words. There is the word 당신 [dang-sin] that is politer than 너 [neo]. However, in the modern Korean language, it is not that polite anymore. Unless he or she is your boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse. Then you can call them 당신.
(O) 젠 씨, 뭐 먹을래요? Hey Jen, what would you like to eat?
5) It ends with "요 [yo]" which means it is a conversational expression that is polite enough and friendly. However this (으)ㄹ래요 [eul-lae-yo] is not appropriate to use for someone older than you or who has a higher social status. It sounds a bit too direct and forward. When you want to express your intention to those people, you have to use an indirect, asking permission tone sentence. Then when can you use this "(으)ㄹ래요?" You can use it with your colleagues, classmates, and your friends.
☆ To express an adjective like "want to be adj." or someone else's intentions or ask permission from older people, you must use other expressions than (으)ㄹ래요. You are going to learn about it in the future. For now, just to know you can express your intention with "V(으)ㄹ래요." and ask the listener's intention with "V(으)ㄹ래요?"
2. Regular Conjugation Rules
I wrote this ending (으)ㄹ래요 using parenthesis. It is because there are two conjugate forms; 을래요 [eul-lae-yo] and ㄹ래요 [l-lae-yo]. To decide which form to use, you must pay attention to the last syllable of the stem. The existence of the final consonant (받침[ba-chim]) will decide which one to use. First, I will show you each step and then you will have a chance to conjugate forms yourself!
1) When the stem has 받침, add 을래요.
읽다 to read → Get rid of 다 and leave only the stem. → 읽 → The last (and only) syllable is 읽 with the final consonant ㄺ. → So, we add 을래요. → 읽을래요. [il-geul-lae-yo] I'd like to read.
먹다 to eat → 먹 → It has the final consonant ㄱ so add 을래요. → 먹을래요. [meo-geul-lae-yo] I want to eat.
2) When the stem has no 받침, add ㄹ래요.
So, we are supposed to add ㄹ래요. The first part only has the consonant ㄹ because this ㄹ will go under the end of the stem and take the final consonant spot! (So as if you are adding 받침 to the stem!)
가다 to go → 가 → It doesn't have the final consonant, so please attach ㄹ래요. See where this ㄹ goes. → 갈래요. [gal-lae-yo] I'd like to go.
보다 to see → 보 → It doesn't have the final consonant. Add ㄹ래요. The first ㄹ will be the final consonant of the stem now.→ 볼래요. [bol-aae-yo] I'd like to see.
드시다 (honorific) eat/drink → 드시 → It doesn't have the final consonant. Add ㄹ래요? → 드실래요? [deu-sil-lae-yo?] Would you like to eat(drink?)
↪ 드시다 is an honorific version of eat/drink. When you ask very politely, you need to use this verb instead of 먹다 or 마시다. You can't use this verb to talk about your intention. Honoring yourself is considered rude in Korean. That is why I show this example with the question mark!
3) When the final consonant is ㄹ, add 래요.
Even though the stem has the final consonant, if it is ㄹ, you add 래요 not 을래요 because ㄹ is already there! Here are some examples.
놀다 to play → 놀 → The final consonant of the stem is ㄹ so add 래요. → 놀래요. [nol-lae-yo] I'd like to play.
만들다 to make → 만들 → Attach 래요 because it already has ㄹ at the end. → 만들래요. [man-deul-lae-yo] I'd like to make.
3. Irregular Conjugation Rules
Since (으)ㄹ래요 only conjugates with verbs, you don't have to worry about irregular adjectives... We will see the (commonly show up) irregular ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅂ verbs here. Let's see how the Korean intention ending changes for the irregular verbs!
1) ㄷ 받침: ㄷ → ㄹ + 을래요
When the stem ends with the final consonant ㄷ, change that ㄷ to ㄹ and add 을래요.
듣다 to listen → 듣 → The last (and only) syllable is 듣 with the final consonant ㄷ. → So, let's change that ㄷ to ㄹ. → 들 → Now add 을래요. → 들을래요. [deu-leul-lae-yo] I'd like to listen.
⚠️ Not only this rule but when the conjugation is matter, the irregular ㄷ ones always change to ㄹ.
2) ㅅ 받침: Erase ㅅ + 을래요
When the stem ends with the final consonant ㅅ. erase that ㅅ and add 을래요.
긋다 to draw lines → 긋 → Since it has ㅅ, let's erase it. → 그 → Let's add 을래요. → 그을래요. [geu-eul-lae-yo] I'd like to draw (lines).
3) ㅂ 받침: Erase ㅂ + 울래요
When the stem ends with the final consonant ㅂ, erase that ㅂ and add 울래요. Watch out! It is 울래요 with the vowel ㅜ not 을래요 like other rules. ㅂ is always the more special one!
굽다 to bake/pan-fry → 굽 → Drop ㅂ → 구 → ㅂ always has its own wired conjugation form. At this time, we need 울래요, not 을래요 like others. → 구울래요. [gu-wul-lae-yo] I'd like to bake.
4. Examples
Let's ask the listener's intention and express your intention as well!
1
(식당에서 In the restaurant)
가: 뭐 먹을래요? What you would like to eat?
나: 저는 햄버거를 먹을래요. I'd like to eat a hamburger.
↪ Try to use this V(으)래요 to ask about the intentions of the listener. 햄버거 [ham-beo-geo] is a hamburger and it is the object of the answer. Since it ends with 거 [geo] and doesn't have the final consonant, we will add the object marker 를.
2
(카페에서 In the cafe)
다: 뭐 마실래요? What would you like to drink?
라: 커피를 마실래요. I'd like to drink coffee.
↪ You can say the full sentence "저는 커피를 마실래요." but it is obvious the person 라 is talking about his/her own intention, so we can skip the "저는(I)" part.
3
(식당에서 In a restaurant)
마: 뭐 드실래요? (polite) What would you like to eat(drink)?
바: 비빔밥을 먹을래요. I will eat bibimbap.
↪ When you ask "What would you like to eat/drink?" polite than "뭐 먹을래요?" or "뭐 마실래요?" you have to use "뭐 드실래요?" 드시다 [deu-si-da] is the honorific version of the word eat or drink. (The honorific version means it is more polite!) If you ask your boss what he or she wants to eat, you must use this expression!
4
사: 빵 먹을래요? Would you like to eat some bread?
아: 아니요, 안 먹을래요. No, I don't want to eat.
↪ 안 [an] comes in front of the verb and makes the negative sentence.
5
자: 내일 산에 갈래요? Would you like to go to the mountain tomorrow?
차: 네, 좋아요. Yes, that sounds good.
↪ We can use this "V(으)ㄹ래요" expression to suggest doing something together. 산 [san] is a mountain, and since it is a place we attach the place marker 에. "N에 가요 is the one expression to say "go N." 좋아요 [jo-ah-yo] came from 좋다 [jo-ta] meaning to be good.
5. Wrap-up: Korean intention ending
(으)ㄹ래요 is attached to a verb stem and it shows the intention.
In a statement, you can express your intention.
In a question, you can ask the listener's intention.
The final consonant is important to decide the form 을래요 or ㄹ래요.
Then how can you say "I'll study Korean hard!" Try to use 공부하다 (study) and 열심히 (hard). Yes, you can say "한국어를 열심히 공부할래요!" And I hope I can help you in your Korean studies!
You can download the free printable PDF worksheet to practice this intention ending 을래요 grammar. The answer sheet is also included!
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