안녕하세요? Welcome back! Are you ready for the next Korean lesson with "My Korean Lesson?" 😊 As always, I'll try to help you understand this grammar!
How can we ask a listener to do something together? Let's learn the Korean suggestion ending and conjugation rules. I'll also provide you with a comparison with a similar rule.
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1. Korean Suggestion Ending
V(으)ㄹ까요?
"(으)ㄹ까요?" is an ending that you can use to ask a listener to do something together. It is attached to a verb stem. You can translate it into "Shall we?" in English.
It is only used as a question. So please always attach the question mark at the end. When you ask, the intonation goes up. Please take a look and listen to these examples first.
What time shall we meet? | |
Shall we go over there? |
Meanings
There is actually another meaning for this (으)ㄹ까요. By using this ending, you can also ask the listener's opinion or idea. In this case, you can attach not only to a verb stem but also to an adjective stem!
예쁠까요?
(X) Shall we be pretty? - Wrong
(O) Do you think it will be pretty?
예쁘다 means to be pretty. This sentence is used to ask for an opinion. It is not to suggest. "Let's be pretty" or "Shall we be pretty?" don't make sense. Our target grammar (으)ㄹ까요 today is to suggest. You are going to learn the other meaning in the future.
Subject
Since "을까요?" is to suggest doing something together, "우리(we)" can be used as a subject. But it is often omitted since it is already implied in the ending.
우리 몇 시에 만날까요? What time shall we meet? =몇 시에 만날까요? What time shall (we) meet?
Useful words
Even though the subject "우리" can be easily omitted, the adverb 같이 or 함께 are commonly used with this ending! They both mean "together". They are used to emphasize the meaning. Without those adverbs, you can still deliver the same meaning.
Shall we go (together)?
같이 갈까요?
= 함께 갈까요?
= 갈까요?
2. Conjugation Rules
"(으)ㄹ까요?" has two conjugate forms, "을까요?" and "ㄹ까요?" The final consonant (받침) of a stem will decide which one to use! When you use this ending to suggest, you can attach it only to a verb stem. I'll show you examples! You can download the free printable worksheet and follow my lesson here.
A. Regular Rules
1) 받침 O: Add "을까요?"
When the stem has 받침(the final consonant), add "을까요?" to it.
먹다 to eat
The stem is 먹. → It has the final consonant ㄱ. → Add 을까요? → 먹을까요? Shall we eat?
The basic form | The conjugated form |
앉다 to sit
The stem is 앉. → It has the final consonant ㄵ. → We need "을까요?" → 앉을까요? Shall we sit?
2) 받침 X: Add "ㄹ까요?"
When the stem has no final consonant, we add ㄹ까요. The first ㄹ goes to the final consonant spot of the stem.
공부하다 to study
The stem is 공부하. → We need to see the last syllable which is 하. → It doesn't have the final consonant, so please attach "ㄹ까요." Write ㄹ under the 하. → 공부할까요? Shall we study?
보다 to see/watch/look
The stem is 보. → Add ㄹ under it. Attach 까요? → 볼까요? Shall we watch it?
3) ㄹ받침: Add "까요?"
Even if there is the final consonant, if the final consonant is ㄹ, you can simply add 까요. Well, it already has ㄹ after all.
놀다 to play/to hang out
The stem is 놀. → It has ㄹ 받침. So, just add 까요 with a question mark. → 놀까요? Shall we play?
만들다 to make
The stem is 만들, but we always focus on the last syllable. It is 들. → Attach 까요? because it already has ㄹ at the end. → 만들까요? Shall we make it?
B. Irregular Conjugation Rules
You can't attach adjectives to suggest with this ending. So, let's take a look at the irregular verb rules.
1) ㄷ 받침: Change ㄷ → ㄹ, add "을까요?"
Just like other rules, when the final consonants matter, ㄷ always becomes ㄹ. Change that ㄷ to ㄹ and add "을까요?"
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 을까요? → 들을까요? Shall we listen?
2) ㅅ 받침: Erase ㅅ, add "을까요?"
When the final consonants matter, ㅅ will be erased first. Then you can add "을까요?"
잇다 to connect
잇 → Since it has ㅅ, let's erase it. → 이 → Let's add 을까요? → 이을까요? Shall we connect?
3) ㅂ받침: Erase ㅂ, add "울까요?"
When the final consonants matter to conjugate, ㅂ is erased. And ㅂ always need some special form. Instead of "을까요?" with the vowel "ㅡ", you need to add "울까요?" with the vowel "ㅜ".
굽다 to bake
굽 → Drop ㅂ → 구 → ㅂ always has its own wired conjugation form. At this time, we need 울까요? → 구울까요? Shall we bake?
3. How to Answer
There are many ways to answer to the "V(으)ㄹ까요" question. However, I'll show you some patterns you can use.
To answer we can use the "V아/어/여요" form. This form means "Let's V" in this case. Take a look at the chart.
Q: 같이 영화를 볼까요? Shall we watch a movie together?
Positive | Negative | |
Yes/No | 네. (Yes.) + 좋아요 (Sounds good.) | 아니요(No.) 안돼요(No.) 미안해요. (I'm sorry.) |
Addition | V어요. (Let's V) | 이유(reason) / 대안 (alternative) |
Example | 네, 좋아요. 같이 영화를 봐요. Sure, that sounds good. Let's watch a movie together. | 아니요, 책을 읽어요. No, let's read books. 안돼요. 바빠요. No, I can't. I'm busy. 미안해요. 일이 있어요. Sorry. I have things to do. |
"네" is a polite version of yes. 좋아요 means good, so you can translate it as sounds good. You can add a "Let's V" form for a positive answer.
아니요 is a polite version of no. 안돼요 means also "No" but it has a tone of "I can't." You can choose either one to reject the suggestion. You can add the reason why you can't do it together or suggest an alternative action.
4. Sentence Information
There is another ending that can be used to ask the listener's intention. It is (으)래요? Let's compare them. If you want to review (으)ㄹ래요 ending, please click here to read the lesson.
을래요? | 을까요? |
"을래요?" is a question form to ask a listener's intention. With 우리(we), you can use it to suggest. | "을까요?" is a question to suggest doing something together. |
우리 영화 볼래요? Do you want to watch a movie (together)? | 우리 영화 볼까요? Shall we watch a movie? Do you want to watch a movie? |
It is used only to ask a listener. The first person(I) or third person is not attached. | You can use it with the first and third person. In this case, it is used as a guess/asking opinion 을까요? 2 |
민지 씨가 갈까요? Do you think Minji will go? - Guess 제가 갈까요? Do you want me to go? | 민지 씨가 갈래요? Minji, do you want to go? (X) 제가 영화 볼래요? - No first person. |
It works as a statement, "을래요." It is used to express the speaker's intention. | It only works as the question ending. |
저는 영화 볼래요. I want to watch a movie. | 영화 볼까요? Shall we watch a movie? (X) 영화 볼까요. |
5. Examples
같이 예문을 볼까요? (Shall we see some examples?) I prepared them for you!
1
가: 여기 앉을까요? Shall we sit here?
나: 네, 좋아요. Sure, that sounds good.
여기 means here. If you agree to the suggestion, use 네(yes) for a polite answer.
2
다: 같이 점심을 먹을까요? Shall we eat lunch together?
라: 네, 좋아요. 같이 먹어요. Yes. Sounds good. Let's eat together.
Here is one more example with a positive answer. When you agree, you can add the "아/어/여요" ending as an addition.
3
마: 같이 저녁 먹을까요? Shall we eat dinner togther?
바: 미안해요. 벌써 먹었어요. Sorry. I already ate.
벌써 means already. To reject the suggestion politely, you can start the sentence with 미안해요(I'm sorry).
4
사: 몇 시에 만날까요? What time shall we meet?
아: 8시에 만나요. Let's meet at 8.
How will you read that 8시? It is 여덟 시. (Not 팔 시.) If you want to know how to read time in Korean, please click here to read my other lesson.
5
자: 어디에서 만날까요? Where shall we meet?
차: 민수 씨 집이 어때요? How about Minsu's house?
"어때요?" is a question meaning "How about?" in Korean. You can say "민수 씨 집에서 만나요.(Let's meet at Minsu's house.)" but also can use this "어때요" to ask the idea.
6. Wrap-up & Worksheet: Korean suggestion Ending
V(으)ㄹ까요? is a question to suggest doing something together = Shall we V?
Depending on the final consonant of the stem, you have to choose the form from 을까요 or ㄹ까요 and since it is a question, you will always use the question mark.
오늘 수업은 어땠어요? (How was the lesson today?) Here is the free printable PDF worksheet for you. It has an answer sheet as well. Please don't look at the answer sheet and try to solve it on your own first!
(으)ㄹ까요 has another purpose. It can be used to ask for an idea or opinion. So, you will continue to learn about (으)ㄹ까요 grammar next time!