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Grammar / Level 2 / Lesson 54

았/었으면 좋겠다 and 기 바라다: wishes

By Daniel Buckley · 12 minute read · TOPIK 2

Vocabulary

  1. 바라다 - to hope, to wish
  2. 봄 - spring
  3. 합격하다 - to pass (an exam)
  4. 보내다 - to spend (time)
  5. 무섭다 - to be scary
  6. 슬프다 - to be sad
  7. 기쁘다 - to be glad
  8. 귀엽다 - to be cute
  9. 싫다 - to be disliked, to not want
  10. 힘들다 - to be hard, to be tiring

English wishes in the past tense: "I wish I had more money". Korean does something similar. 돈이 많았으면 좋겠어요 is literally "if (I) had a lot of money, (it) would be good", and the 았 isn't about the past at all.

A wish is a feeling, and Korean is careful with feelings. You can state your own, but other people's you normally report from the outside. That's why this lesson also needs 고 싶어 하다 and 아/어하다.

았/었으면 좋겠다: I wish

The first half is 았/었으면, which you met in (으)면. The second is 좋다 plus the guessing 겠: "would be good". I read the 았/었 as picturing the thing already done.

Making 았/었으면 좋겠다

  • Verbs and adjectives: take the 았/었 stem, add 으면 좋겠어요.오다 → 왔으면 좋겠어요많다 → 많았으면 좋겠어요하다 → 했으면 좋겠어요
  • Not wanting it: put 안 in front.안 왔으면 좋겠어요

Pick a verb

오다왔어요왔으면 좋겠어요

  1. 봄이 빨리 왔으면 좋겠어요.

    Spring quickly if came, would be good.

  2. 돈이 많았으면 좋겠어요.

    Money if were a lot, would be good.

  3. 내일은 날씨가 좋았으면 좋겠어요.

    Tomorrow weather if were good, would be good.

  4. 시험에 합격했으면 좋겠어요.

    If passed exam, would be good.

  5. 키가 조금 더 컸으면 좋겠어요.

    Height a little more if were tall, would be good.

  6. 내일은 비가 안 왔으면 좋겠어요.

    Tomorrow rain if didn't come, would be good.

※ Plain (으)면 좋겠어요 also works: 봄이 빨리 오면 좋겠어요. 았/었으면 tends to sound a little more like a wish and less like a remark, but both are everyday Korean.

고 싶다, or 았/었으면 좋겠다?

고 싶다 needs someone who wants to do the action, and that's nearly always you. 았/었으면 좋겠다 has no such limit, so it's the form for weather, luck and what other people do.

  1. 제가 가고 싶어요.

    I want to go.

  2. 친구가 갔으면 좋겠어요.

    Friend if went, would be good.

That second use gives you a polite way to ask for something without giving an order. Add 아/어 주다, and you're saying what you'd like the other person to do. It can still carry an edge, depending on your tone.

  1. 같이 가 줬으면 좋겠어요.

    Together if went (for me), would be good.

  2. 조금만 조용히 해 줬으면 좋겠어요.

    Just a little if were quiet (for me), would be good.

기 바라다: formal hopes

기 turns the verb into a noun, as in 기 시작하다, and 바라다 means to hope. The result is formal, so it usually appears as 기 바랍니다, with the honorific 시 inside it: 시기 바랍니다. You'll meet it in speeches and letters.

Pick a verb

가다가가시기 바랍니다

  1. 좋은 하루 보내시기 바랍니다.

    (I) hope (you) spend good day.

  2. 새해 복 많이 받으시기 바랍니다.

    (I) hope (you) receive much luck in new year.

  3. 시험에 꼭 합격하시기 바랍니다.

    (I) hope (you) pass exam for sure.

  4. 잠시만 기다려 주시기 바랍니다.

    (I) hope (you) wait for just a moment.

  5. 휴대폰을 꺼 주시기 바랍니다.

    (I) hope (you) turn off mobile phone.

Examples 4 and 5 aren't really hopes. They're instructions, phrased as hopes, of the kind you hear in cinemas and on trains. In everyday speech, 았/었으면 좋겠어요 is the form for a hope.

※ The 해요 form is 바라요. Nearly everyone says 바래요, but the dictionary keeps that for a different verb, 바래다, to fade.

고 싶어 하다: what someone else wants

Lesson 19 pointed out that 친구가 가고 싶어요 sounds as if you've read your friend's mind. 고 싶어 하다 fixes that by reporting what you can see: they show signs of wanting. Since it ends in 하다, it's a verb, and it takes every ending a verb can.

  1. 동생이 한국에 가고 싶어 해요.

    Younger sibling wants to go to Korea.

  2. 아이가 밖에서 놀고 싶어 해요.

    Child wants to play outside.

  3. 친구는 의사가 되고 싶어 했어요.

    Friend wanted to become doctor.

  4. 동생은 학교에 가고 싶어 하지 않아요.

    Younger sibling doesn't want to go to school.

  5. 언니가 먹고 싶어 하는 음식을 샀어요.

    (I) bought food older sister wants to eat.

In a direct question you can stay with 고 싶어요, since you're asking the person who knows: 뭐 먹고 싶어요?

아/어하다: feelings seen from outside

고 싶어 하다 is one case of a bigger rule. Feeling adjectives describe the inside: 무섭다 is "is scary (to me)". Put 하다 on the 아/어 form and you get a verb for what shows on the outside.

So 무서워하다 is to act afraid. You already know one of these, because 좋아하다 is 좋다 turned the same way.

Making 아/어하다

  • Feeling adjectives: take the 해요 form, drop 요, add 하다, with no space.무서워요 → 무서워하다슬퍼요 → 슬퍼하다좋아요 → 좋아하다
  • The thing felt changes particle: 이/가 becomes 을/를, because the result is a verb.저는 개가 무서워요동생은 개를 무서워해요

Pick a verb

무섭다무서워요무서워해요

  1. 저는 개가 무서워요.

    I am scared of dog.

  2. 동생은 개를 무서워해요.

    Younger sibling acts scared of dog.

  3. 할머니가 아이를 귀여워하세요.

    Grandmother dotes on child.

  4. 친구가 시험 때문에 힘들어해요.

    Friend is having a hard time because of exam.

  5. 그 소식을 듣고 모두 슬퍼했어요.

    (We) heard that news and all were sad.

  6. 아이가 추워해요.

    Child seems cold.

Telling someone not to feel something usually takes the verb too: 무서워하지 마세요, don't be scared.

※ Spacing differs in the two patterns. On an adjective, 하다 attaches: 슬퍼하다. After 고 싶어, the standard spelling has a space: 가고 싶어 하다.

  1. 저는 거미___ 무서워요.

    I'm scared of spiders.

  2. 동생은 거미를 ___.

    My younger sibling is scared of spiders.

  3. 내일 친구가 ___.

    I hope my friend comes tomorrow.

  4. 동생이 집에 ___.

    My sibling wants to go home.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

In a conversation

A

올해 소원이 뭐예요?

This year wish is what?

B

시험에 합격했으면 좋겠어요.

Exam if passed, would be good.

A

동생은요?

Younger sibling?

B

동생은 일본에 가고 싶어 해요. 그런데 비행기를 무서워해요.

Younger sibling wants to go to Japan. But plane acts scared of.

A

그럼 배를 타면 어때요?

Then if takes boat, how is?

B

배도 싫어해요.

Boat too dislikes.

Common mistakes

  1. 봄이 빨리 오고 싶어요.

    봄이 빨리 왔으면 좋겠어요.

    고 싶다 says the subject wants something, and this makes spring want to arrive.

  2. 동생은 개가 무서워해요.

    동생은 개를 무서워해요.

    아/어하다 makes a verb, so the thing feared takes 을/를.

  3. 건강하시기 바래요.

    건강하시기 바라요.

    바라다 has no ㅐ in it. 바래다 means to fade. 바래요 is far more common than the correct form, but it's still marked wrong in writing.

One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

봄이 빨리 ___. (오다) I wish spring would come soon. Use 았/었으면.

The 았/었 stem, then 으면 좋겠어요.

Summary

았/었으면 좋겠어요 forms
DictionaryPast았/었으면 좋겠어요
오다왔어요왔으면 좋겠어요
가다갔어요갔으면 좋겠어요
먹다먹었어요먹었으면 좋겠어요
많다많았어요많았으면 좋겠어요
좋다좋았어요좋았으면 좋겠어요
하다했어요했으면 좋겠어요
아/어해요 forms
Dictionary해요아/어해요
무섭다무서워요무서워해요
슬프다슬퍼요슬퍼해요
기쁘다기뻐요기뻐해요
좋다좋아요좋아해요
힘들다힘들어요힘들어해요
피곤하다피곤해요피곤해해요

Who wants it?

  • I want to do it: 고 싶어요.가고 싶어요
  • I wish, about anything: 았/었으면 좋겠어요.봄이 왔으면 좋겠어요
  • Formal hopes for you: 시기 바랍니다.좋은 하루 보내시기 바랍니다
  • Someone else wants to: 고 싶어 해요.동생이 가고 싶어 해요

Now you can say

  1. 내일은 날씨가 좋았으면 좋겠어요.

    Tomorrow weather if were good, would be good.

  2. 좋은 하루 보내시기 바랍니다.

    (I) hope (you) spend good day.

  3. 동생이 한국에 가고 싶어 해요.

    Younger sibling wants to go to Korea.

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