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INTENTION IN KOREAN
Do you plan to do something this weekend? Are you attempting to achieve new goals?
We will teach you all sentence structures to express your intentions and plans in Korean.
INTRODUCTION
There are several ways to express plan or intension in Korean.
The sentence structure usually uses ‘하려고 있다’ or ‘~ 하는 중 이다’ which means ‘in the middle of attempting’.
This structure is used with several different verbs, including:
- 하다 (to do)
- 생각하다 (to think)
- 고려하다 (to consider)
- 계획하다 (to plan)
- 의도하다 (to intend)
As usual, for the object being intended/planned, the article ‘를’ is used if the noun ends with a vowel, and an article ‘을’ is used if the noun ends with a consonant.
WITH 하다 (to do)
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 하다 (to do) is done by following one of the structures:
PATTERN
Subject + Object + 를/을 하려고 하다
Subject + Object + 를/을 하려는 중 이다
Let’s take the sentence “I am attempting to start exercising from today” as an example:
| 나는 오늘부터 운동을 하려고 한다. |
| 나는 오늘부터 운동을 하려는 중 이다. |
WITH 생각하다 (to think)
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 생각하다 (to think) is done by following one of the structures:
PATTERN
Subject + Object + 를/을 (하려고) 생각하고 있다
Subject + Object + 를/을 생각하고 있는 중 이다
Let’s take the sentence “She is thinking about starting her trip tomorrow” as an example:
| 그녀는 내일부터 여행을 시작하려고 생각하고 있다. |
| 그녀는 내일부터 여행을 시작하려는 중 이다. |
WITH 고려하다 (to consider)
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 고려하다 (to consider) is done by following one of the structures:
PATTERN
Subject + Object + 를/을 (하려고) 고려하고 있다
Subject + Object + 를/을 고려하고 있는 중 이다
Let’s take the sentence “The teacher is considering to end the class soon” as an example:
| 선생님은 곧 수업을 끝내려고 고려하고 있다. |
| 선생님은 곧 수업을 끝내려고 고려하는 중 이다. |
WITH 계획하다 (to plan)
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 계획하다 (to plan) is done by following one of the structures:
PATTERN
Subject + Object + 를/을 (하려고) 계획하고 있다
Subject + Object + 를/을 계획하고 있는 중 이다
Let’s take the sentence “Young Hee is planning on attending Cheol Su’s birthday party” as an example:
| 영희는 철수의 생일파티에 참석하려고 계획하고 있다. |
| 영희는 철수의 생일파티에 참석하려고 계획하는 중 이다. |
WITH 의도하다 (to intend)
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 의도하다 (to intend) is done by following one of the structures:
PATTERN
Subject + Object + 를/을 (하려고) 의도하고 있다
Subject + Object + 를/을 의도하고 있는 중 이다
Let’s take the sentence “He is intending to propose to her” as an example:
| 그는 그녀에게 프로포즈를 하려고 의도하고 있다. |
| 그는 그녀에게 프로포즈를 하려고 의도하는 중 이다. |
USING ~부터
When expressing plan/intention in Korean, the start of the plan will often be indicated in the sentence by the use of ‘~부터 (bu teo)’.
If the plan is about to start, words such as ‘곧 (got), 지금 (jigeum), 당장 (dang jang), 바로 (baro)’ adverbs are also used.
| KOREAN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| ~ 부터 (~ buteo) | From ~ |
| 곧 (got) | Soon |
| 지금 (ji geum) | Now |
| 당장 (dang jang) | Right away |
| 바로 (ba ro) | Right away |
Let’s have a look at these words in sentence examples:
| KOREAN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| 그녀는 다음 주부터새로운 학기를 시작하려고 계획 중 이다. | She is planning to start a new semester from next week. |
| 삼촌은곧미국으로 떠나려고 생각하고 있다. | My uncle is thinking about leaving for the U.S. soon. |
| 나는지금식사를 하려고 고려하는 중 이다. | I am considering to eat my meal now. |
| 영희는당장철수를 찾아가려고 하고 있다. | Young Hee is attempting to visit Cheul Su right away. |
| 미진은바로기차표를 사려고 의도하는 중 이다. | Mi Jin is intending to buy a train ticket right away. |
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MORE RESOURCES
Want to learn more? Check out these other free resources:
- Learn how to express intentions in Japanese
- Learn how to express intentions in Vietnamese
FAQs
How to say “plan to” do something in Korean?
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 계획하다 (to plan) is done by following one of the structures:
Subject + Object + 를/을 (하려고) 계획하고 있다
Subject + Object + 를/을 계획하고 있는 중 이다
Example:
영희는 철수의 생일파티에 참석하려고 계획하고 있다.
Young Hee is planning on attending Cheol Su’s birthday party
How to say “consider to” do something?
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 고려하다 (to consider) is done by following one of the structures:
Subject + Object + 를/을 (하려고) 고려하고 있다
Subject + Object + 를/을 고려하고 있는 중 이다.
Example:
선생님은 곧 수업을 끝내려고 고려하고 있다.
The teacher is considering to end the class soon
How to say “think to” do something?
Expressing intention in Korean with the verb 생각하다 (to think) is done by following one of the structures:
Subject + Object + 를/을 (하려고) 생각하고 있다
Subject + Object + 를/을 생각하고 있는 중 이다..
Example:
그녀는 내일부터 여행을 시작하려고 생각하고 있다.
She is thinking about starting her trip tomorrow
How to use 부터?
When expressing plan/intention in Korean, the start of the plan will often be indicated in the sentence by the use of ‘~부터 (bu teo)’.
Example:
그녀는 다음 주 부터 새로운 학기를 시작하려고 계획 중 이다.
She is planning to start a new semester from next week.
Where to learn more Korean grammar?
You can learn more about the Korean language in our Korean Grammar Bank.
Where to take Korean classes?
We offer courses abroad in Seoul with both group and individual classes, as well as online on our Flexi Classes platform.
Get in touch today!