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SUGGESTION IN KOREAN
In Korean, there are a few different ways to express suggestion, depending on the level of formality.
The following structures are equivalent to the use of “Let’s~” in English.
FORMAL SUGGESTION
For making a formal suggestion, the structure verb + ᄇ/읍시다 is used.
PATTERN
Verb + ᄇ / 읍시다
Verb + ᄇ시다 is used when the verb ends with a vowel.
It is used with verbs such as 하다 (do), 달리다 (run), 가다 (go), 자다 (sleep).
Verb + 읍시다 is used when the verb ends with a consonant.
It is used with verbs such as 먹다 (eat), 팔다 (sell), 썰다 (cut).
내일 서울에 갑시다.
Let’s go to Seoul tomorrow.오늘 저녁을 같이 먹읍시다.
Let’s have dinner together today.View More Phrases
| 다음주에 영화를 봅시다. | Let’s go to see a movie next week. |
| 비가 오기 전 빨래를 마칩시다. | Let’s finish the laundry before it starts raining. |
| 빨리 과제를 제출합시다. | Let’s submit the assignment soon. |
NEGATING FORMAL SUGGESTIONS
For negating a formal suggestion in Korean, following expression can be used:
PATTERN
Verb + 지 맙시다
내일 서울에 가지 맙시다.
Let’s not go to Seoul tomorrow.오늘 저녁을 같이 먹지 맙시다.
Let’s not have dinner together today.View More Phrases
| 다음주에 영화를 보지 맙시다. | Let’s not go to see a movie next week. |
| 비가오기전빨래를마치지맙시다. | Let’s not finish the laundry before it starts raining. |
| 빨리 과제를 제출하지 맙시다. | Let’s not submit the assignment soon. |
CASUAL SUGGESTIONS
For making a colloquial or casual suggestion, the structure “Verb + 해요 / 요” is used. This structure is considered formal, but is less formal than the above structure.
PATTERN
Verb + 해요 / 요
When the verb is “하다 (to do)”, “Verb + 해요” is used.
For other verbs, “Verb + 요” is used, and the conjugation of 요 is an irregular form that depends on the last syllable of the verb.
내일 서울에 가요.
Let’s go to Seoul tomorrow.오늘 저녁을 같이 먹어요.
Let’s have dinner together today.View More Phrases
| 다음주에 영화를 봐요. | Let’s go to see a movie next week. |
| 비가오기전빨래를마쳐요. | Let’s finish the laundry before it starts raining. |
| 빨리 과제를 제출해요. | Let’s submit the assignment soon. |
NEGATION OF CASUAL SUGGESTIONS
For negating a colloquial suggestion in Korean, following structure can be used:
PATTERN
Verb + 지마요
내일 서울에 가지 마요.
Let’s not go to Seoul tomorrow.오늘저녁을같이먹지마요.
Let’s not have dinner together today.View More Phrases
| 다음주에 영화를 보지 마요. | Let’s not go to see a movie next week. |
| 비가오기전빨래를마치지마요. | Let’s not finish the laundry before it starts raining. |
| 빨리 과제를 제출하지 마요. | Let’s not submit the assignment soon. |
INFORMAL SUGGESTIONS
For making an informal suggestion, the structure “Verb + 하자/자” is used.
PATTERN
Verb + 하자 / 자
내일 서울에 가자.
Let’s go to Seoul tomorrow.오늘 저녁을 같이 먹자.
Let’s have dinner together today.View More Phrases
| 다음주에 영화를 보자. | Let’s go to see a movie next week. |
| 비가오기전빨래를마치자. | Let’s finish the laundry before it starts raining. |
| 빨리 과제를 제출하자. | Let’s submit the assignment soon. |
NEGATION OF INFORMAL SUGGESTIONS
For negate an informal suggestion, the structure “Verb + 지말자” is used.
PATTERN
Verb + 지말자
내일 서울에 가지 말자.
Let’s not go to Seoul tomorrow.오늘저녁을같이먹지말자.
Let’s not have dinner together today.View More Phrases
| 다음주에 영화를 보지 말자. | Let’s not go to see a movie next week. |
| 비가오기전빨래를마치지말자. | Let’s not finish the laundry before it starts raining. |
| 빨리 과제를 제출하지 말자. | Let’s not submit the assignment soon. |
SUGGESTION TO TRY SOMETHING
In Korean, the structure “verb + 보다 (to see)” can be used to make a suggestion for trying something out.
PATTERN
Verb + 보다
This expression can also take three different forms depending on the level of formality.
- Verb + 봅시다 – making a formal suggestion for trying something out
- Verb + 봐요 – making a casual suggestion for trying something out
- Verb + 봐 – making an informal suggestion for trying something out
Let’s see a few examples:
Let’s try to go to Seoul tomorrow
| formal | colloquial | informal |
|---|---|---|
| 내일 서울에 가봅시다 | 내일 서울에 가봐요 | 내일 서울에 가봐 |
Let’s try to have dinner together tomorrow
| formal | colloquial | informal |
|---|---|---|
| 오늘 저녁을 같이 먹어 봅시다 | 오늘저녁을같이먹어봐요 | 오늘 저녁을 같이 먹어봐 |
View More Phrases
Let’s try to go to see a movie next week.
| formal | colloquial | informal |
|---|---|---|
| 다음주에 영화를 보러 가봅시다 | 다음주에 영화를 보러 가봐요 | 다음주에 영화를 보러 가봐 |
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FAQs
How to make a formal suggestion in Korean?
To make a formal suggestion in Korean we use the structure Verb + ᄇ / 읍시다
다음주에 영화를 봅시다. Let’s go to see a movie next week.
오늘 저녁을 같이 먹읍시다. Let’s have dinner together today.
How to make a casual suggestion in Korean?
To make a casual suggestion in Korean we use the structure verb + 해요 / 요.
This structure is considered formal, but is less formal than the above structure.
내일 서울에 가요. Let’s go to Seoul tomorrow.
다음주에 영화를 봐요.Let’s go to see a movie next week.
How to make a negative suggestion in Korean?
To negate a formal suggestion, use the structure Verb + 지 맙시다.
빨리 과제를 제출하지 맙시다. Let’s not submit the assignment soon.
—
To negate a casual or colloquial suggestion, use the structure Verb + 지마요.
내일 서울에 가지 마요. Let’s not go to Seoul tomorrow.
—
To negate an informal suggestion, the structure Verb + 지말자 is used.
다음주에 영화를 보지 말자. Let’s not go to see a movie next week.
—
Learn more about negation in Korean here.
How to say “in order to” in Korean?
There are 3 sentence structures to express purpose in Korean, all meaning “in order to” in Korean.
#1 Verb + 려고 / 러
#2 Verb + 기 위해 / 기 위해서
#3 Noun + 을 / 를 + 위해 / 위해서
—
Learn more about purpose in Korean here.
How to say “might be” in Korean?
In Korean, following expression can be used to express “might be/seem to”.
This expression is generally used in future tense.
Verb + ᄅ것 같다
—
Learn more about might be in Korean here.
Where to find more lessons like this?
You can visit our Korean Grammar Bank for more lessons on levels A1, A2 and B1.