Learn Hangul Grammer 14

🟩 Expressing Guess and Intention in Korean

-(으)ㄹ 것 같다 / -(으)려고 하다

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🔹 1. Overview

In Korean, there are special grammatical forms to express:

• What you think will happen (guess, assumption)
• What you intend or plan to do (intention)

We’ll focus on two useful forms:

• -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 = It seems like / I think it will ~
• -(으)려고 하다 = I plan to / I'm about to ~

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🔸 2. -(으)ㄹ 것 같다: Expressing Guess

✅ Meaning

This form expresses guess, assumption, or possibility.
Like “It looks like”, “I think it will”, or “might” in English.

✅ Structure

Verb/Adj. stem + -(으)ㄹ 것 같다

• 가다 → 갈 것 같다
• 먹다 → 먹을 것 같다
• 하다 → 할 것 같다

✅ Examples

• 비가 올 것 같아요. = I think it’s going to rain.
• 시험을 잘 본 것 같아요. = I think I did well on the test.
• 그는 선생님인 것 같아요. = He seems to be a teacher.
• 어제 피곤했을 것 같아요. = You must have been tired yesterday.

⚠ Used when speaker is not 100% sure

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🔸 3. -(으)려고 하다: Expressing Intention

✅ Meaning

Used to show intention, plan, or upcoming action.
Equivalent to “I plan to ~” or “I’m going to ~”

✅ Structure

Verb stem + -(으)려고 하다

• 가다 → 가려고 하다
• 읽다 → 읽으려고 하다
• 하다 → 하려고 하다

✅ Examples

• 저는 지금 나가려고 해요. = I’m about to go out.
• 내일 등산을 가려고 해요. = I plan to go hiking tomorrow.
• 공부를 하려고 했어요. = I was planning to study.
• 친구를 도우려고 해요. = I want to help my friend.

⚠ Can also mean “just about to do something”

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🔸 4. Comparing the Two Forms

Form	Use	Example
-(으)ㄹ 것 같다	Guess, assumption	비가 올 것 같아요. = It looks like rain.
-(으)려고 하다	Plan, intention	일찍 자려고 해요. = I plan to sleep early.

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🔸 5. Side-by-Side Practice

Base:

• 그는 공부한다.

➤ Guess:

• 그는 공부할 것 같아요.
  (You guess he's going to study.)

➤ Intention:

• 그는 공부하려고 해요.
  (He plans or intends to study.)