Lesson-2-(으)ㄹ래요

If you have studied with Talk To Me In Korean until this point, you are already familiar with the future tense verb ending -(으)ㄹ 거예요. Do you remember how to use it? In case it has slipped your mind, here’s a quick refresher:

-(으)ㄹ 거예요 can be used to express plain future tense sentences.

Ex)
내일 갈 거예요. = I am going to go tomorrow.

Now that it is starting to come back to you, take the opportunity to build upon that knowledge and continue this lesson on -(으)ㄹ래요.

Meaning

-(으)ㄹ래요 is used when expressing the intent or the will to do something. If you place a question mark at the end of the sentence, you can ask about someone else’s will or intention to do something, such as in “Do you want to…?” When used as a statement, it can mean “I want to…” or “I am going to…”.

Conjugation:
Verb stems ending with a consonant + -을래요
Ex) 먹다 (to eat) becomes 먹을래요.

Verb stems ending with the consonant ㄹ + -래요
Ex) 팔다 (to sell) becomes 팔래요.

Verb stems ending with a vowel + -ㄹ래요
Ex) 사다 (to buy) becomes 살래요.

Sample Sentences

집에 갈래요.
= I want to go home. / I am going to go home.

* Comparison
집에 가고 싶어요. - the most general and vague way
= I want to go home.

집에 갈게요. - looking for feedback / reacting to the situation
= (If so) I will go home. (Implying that you wonder what the other person thinks about it.)

집에 갈 거예요. - most direct
= I am going to go home. (Implying that it is your plan to go home.)

혼자 할래요.
= I will do it alone. / I want to do it alone.

* However, if you say “혼자 할게요” (“I will do it alone (if you do not mind)”), it sounds much nicer.

저는 안 갈래요.
= I do not want to go.
= I am not going to go.

* “저는 안 가고 싶어요” also means “I do not want to go”, but it has some room for change, so it can mean “If you really insist, I might go”.

뭐 마실래요?
= What do you want to drink?
= What are you going to drink?

* Although you can ask a person what he/she wants by using the ending “-고 싶어요?” in Korean, it is unnatural and sounds a bit like a textbook. By using the “-(으)ㄹ래요?” ending, you are asking another person what he/she wants to do in such a way that it lets him/her know that he/she is not obligated to answer because of you or in your favor.

커피 마실래요, 차 마실래요?
= Do you want to drink coffee or tea?

* This can be very similar to “커피 마시고 싶어요, 차 마시고 싶어요?”, but “커피 마실래요, 차 마실래요?” is more natural way to ask.

이거 볼래?
= Do you want to see this?

언제 만날래?
= When do you want to meet?

* Here, you are talking about “we” or “us”, so you can add the word 우리 and say “우리 언제 만날래?” to make the meaning clearer.

** Note
The -(으)ㄹ래요 ending is typically used only in casual settings. You cannot use this verb ending if you are talking to someone with whom you must use formal language.