I Want to…: -고 싶어요
Say what you want to do with -고 싶어요, talk about other people’s wishes with -고 싶어 해요, and say you miss someone.
Mr. Gaon · Grammar, vocabulary & TOPIKWhat you will learn in this lesson
- Make -고 싶어요 from any verb
- Ask what someone wants to do
- Use -고 싶어 해요 for a third person
- Say "I miss you" and "I don’t want to" naturally
Hello! Today’s grammar is a learner’s favorite, because it lets you share your dreams. "I want to go to Jeju." "I want to eat tteokbokki." Good news: it has no irregular verbs at all.
The easiest ending you will learn
To say "I want to do something", take the verb stem and add -고 싶어요. The stem does not change, so there are no special rules for ㄷ, ㅂ or ㄹ verbs. 듣다 → 듣고 싶어요. 살다 → 살고 싶어요. Wonderful, isn’t it?
The sound of 고 often becomes tense after a final consonant: 먹고 싶어요 is pronounced [먹꼬 시퍼요]. After a vowel it stays soft: 가고 싶어요 [가고 시퍼요].
-고 싶어요 attaches to verbs (actions). To say "I want a thing", the simplest way is to use a verb: 커피를 마시고 싶어요 (I want to drink coffee), 새 휴대폰을 사고 싶어요 (I want to buy a new phone).
I want to (do)
- Add -고 싶어요 to any verb stem. The stem never changes.
- Question: -고 싶어요? (Do you want to …?) — 뭐 하고 싶어요? (What do you want to do?)
- Past: -고 싶었어요 (I wanted to).
- Negative: 안 -고 싶어요 or -고 싶지 않아요 (I don’t want to).
- 제주도에 가고 싶어요. jejudoe gago sipeoyo.I want to go to Jeju Island.
- 떡볶이를 먹고 싶어요. [떡뽀끼를 먹꼬 시퍼요] tteokbokkireul meokgo sipeoyo.I want to eat tteokbokki.
- 한국 친구를 사귀고 싶어요. hanguk chingureul sagwigo sipeoyo.I want to make Korean friends.
- 이 노래를 다시 듣고 싶어요. [이 노래를 다시 듣꼬 시퍼요] i noraereul dasi deutgo sipeoyo.I want to listen to this song again.
- 어렸을 때 가수가 되고 싶었어요. [어려쓸 때 가수가 되고 시퍼써요] eoryeosseul ttae gasuga doego sipeosseoyo.When I was young, I wanted to become a singer.
No changes to the stem
| Dictionary form | Meaning | Want to |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 | to go | 가고 싶어요 |
| 먹다 | to eat | 먹고 싶어요 |
| 듣다 | to listen | 듣고 싶어요 |
| 돕다 | to help | 돕고 싶어요 |
| 살다 | to live | 살고 싶어요 |
| 쉬다 | to rest | 쉬고 싶어요 |
| 배우다 | to learn | 배우고 싶어요 |
| 여행하다 | to travel | 여행하고 싶어요 |
Irregular verbs like 듣다, 돕다 and 살다 keep their stem before -고.
Here is one small trap. In Korean you cannot directly say what is inside another person’s heart. So for "he wants" or "my sister wants", we use a slightly different form. Let’s look at it.
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(someone else) wants to
- Use -고 싶어 해요 when you describe the wish of a third person: he, she, my friend.
- Use -고 싶어요 for yourself, and in questions to the person you are talking to.
- Past: -고 싶어 했어요.
- 동생이 고양이를 키우고 싶어 해요. dongsaengi goyangireul kiugo sipeo haeyo.My younger sibling wants to raise a cat.
- 친구가 한국어를 배우고 싶어 해요. chinguga hangugeoreul baeugo sipeo haeyo.My friend wants to learn Korean.
- 아이들이 바다에 가고 싶어 했어요. [아이드리 바다에 가고 시퍼 해써요] aideuri badae gago sipeo haesseoyo.The children wanted to go to the sea.
Me, you, and other people
- 저는 쉬고 싶어요. jeoneun swigo sipeoyo. I want to rest. Your own wish: -고 싶어요.
- 뭐 먹고 싶어요? mwo meokgo sipeoyo? What do you want to eat? Asking the listener directly: -고 싶어요?
- 제 친구는 쉬고 싶어 해요. je chinguneun swigo sipeo haeyo. My friend wants to rest. Another person’s wish: -고 싶어 해요. 제 친구는 쉬고 싶어요 sounds unnatural.
"I miss you": 보고 싶어요
보고 싶어요 literally means "I want to see". When the object is a person or a place you love, it means "I miss…". 엄마가 보고 싶어요 means "I miss my mom." Notice that people often use 이/가 here instead of 을/를: 친구가 보고 싶어요. Both 친구를 and 친구가 are heard, but 이/가 is very common when the feeling is strong.
You will hear 보고 싶어요 in songs, dramas and phone calls. It is warm and sincere. Between close friends or family, the casual form is 보고 싶어.
Wishes in daily life
- 가족이 너무 보고 싶어요. [가조기 너무 보고 시퍼요] gajogi neomu bogo sipeoyo. I miss my family so much.
- 오늘은 아무것도 하고 싶지 않아요. [오느른 아무걷또 하고 십찌 아나요] oneureun amugeotdo hago sipji anayo. Today I don’t want to do anything.
- 피곤해서 일찍 자고 싶어요. pigonhaeseo iljjik jago sipeoyo. I’m tired, so I want to go to bed early.
- 주말에 뭐 하고 싶어요? jumare mwo hago sipeoyo? What do you want to do on the weekend?
- 한강에서 라면을 먹어 보고 싶어요. hangangeseo ramyeoneul meogeo bogo sipeoyo. I want to try eating ramyeon by the Han River. -아/어 보고 싶어요 = want to try doing
- 저도 같이 가고 싶어요. [저도 가치 가고 시퍼요] jeodo gachi gago sipeoyo. I want to go together too.
- 그 영화는 별로 보고 싶지 않아요. geu yeonghwaneun byeollo bogo sipji anayo. I don’t really want to see that movie. 별로 + negative = not really
- 언니가 새 옷을 사고 싶어 해요. [언니가 새 오슬 사고 시퍼 해요] eonniga sae oseul sago sipeo haeyo. My older sister wants to buy new clothes.
Planning a trip
Saying "I don’t want to" politely
Both 안 가고 싶어요 and 가고 싶지 않아요 mean "I don’t want to go." The long form 가고 싶지 않아요 is very common and sounds smooth. The short form is fine in conversation too.
Be a little careful: saying "I don’t want to" directly to an older person or a host can sound strong. A softer way is to give a reason and use 못: 오늘은 좀 피곤해서 못 갈 것 같아요. You will learn -(으)ㄹ 것 같아요 later, but this sentence is useful to remember as a whole.
Verbs for dreams and wishes
- 여행하다 yeohaenghada to travel
- 배우다 baeuda to learn
- 사귀다 sagwida to make (friends), to date
- 되다 doeda to become
- 쉬다 swida to rest
- 키우다 kiuda to raise (a pet, a plant)
- 보고 싶다 [보고 십따] bogo sipda to miss (someone)
Check quiz
Q1. "I want to listen to music." Choose the correct sentence.
Q2. "My friend wants to go to Korea." Which is natural?
Q3. What does 엄마가 보고 싶어요 usually mean?
Q4. How is 먹고 싶어요 pronounced?
Q5. "I wanted to become a doctor." Choose the past form.
Excellent work! Make a small list of five things you want to do in Korea, using -고 싶어요. I hope every one of them comes true.
Key points
- Verb stem + -고 싶어요 = I want to. The stem never changes.
- For other people’s wishes, use -고 싶어 해요.
- 보고 싶어요 with a person means "I miss…".
- Negative: 가고 싶지 않아요 or 안 가고 싶어요; past: -고 싶었어요.
Recommended official free resources
- Korean Basic Dictionary (multilingual) — National Institute of Korean Language
- Everyone’s Korean (모두의 한국어) — Ministry of Education
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