Korean has no single will. -(으)ㄹ 거예요 = a plan or prediction, any subject (내일 갈 거예요). -(으)ㄹ게요 = a promise to the listener, only about yourself (제가 할게요 — I'll do it). -겠- = formal intention, or a guess from what you see (맛있겠어요 — that looks delicious). -(으)ㄹ까요? = shall we? And for schedules, the plain present is enough: 내일 가요.
A colleague says, somebody needs to pick up the cake. You want to volunteer: I'll get it. If you answer 제가 갈 거예요, you are technically correct and oddly distant — you have announced a plan, like reading from your diary. What a Korean says is 제가 갈게요. Same verb, same future — but one is information and the other is a promise to you.
That is the key to the Korean future: the form tells the listener what kind of future it is, and who it is for.
The general future: plans and predictions
After a vowel: -ㄹ 거예요 (가다 → 갈 거예요). After a consonant: -을 거예요 (먹다 → 먹을 거예요). Stems ending in ㄹ just add 거예요 (살다 → 살 거예요). Works with any subject.
A promise to the listener
Use it when you commit to something for or in response to the person in front of you. The subject is always I or we.
거예요 vs 게요: the one-question test
Ask: am I informing, or committing to the person I'm talking to?
Informing → 거예요
토요일에 이사할 거예요.toyoire isahal geoyeyoI'm moving on Saturday.
News about your plans.
Committing → 게요
토요일에 도와줄게요.toyoire dowajulgeyoI'll help you on Saturday.
A promise to them.
✗ 친구가 올게요. ✓ 친구가 올 거예요. — My friend will come.
✗ 내일 비가 올게요. (the weather cannot promise you anything)
A guess from what you can see or hear
This is the -겠- learners use most, and it is not really a future at all. It is your judgement about the present, based on evidence in front of you.
This is the warmest way to react to someone's story — 힘들겠어요, 좋겠어요 (that must be nice), 피곤하겠어요 (you must be tired). It shows you are imagining their experience.
The formal -겠-, and the phrases everyone knows
In formal speech -겠습니다 states the speaker's intention politely: 다시 연락드리겠습니다 — I will contact you again, the line at the end of every business call. And it lives on in fixed phrases you will hear daily:
| Phrase | Romanisation | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 알겠습니다 | algesseumnida | Understood / will do — accepting an instruction. More polite than 알았어요. |
| 잘 먹겠습니다 | jal meokgesseumnida | Said before eating, especially when someone else is treating you. |
| 모르겠어요 | moreugesseoyo | I'm not sure / I don't know — softer than 몰라요. |
| 처음 뵙겠습니다 | cheoeum boepgesseumnida | Nice to meet you (formal first meeting). |
Shall we? / Shall I? / I wonder
The natural answers are 네, 좋아요 (sure) or 네, 열어 주세요 (yes, please open it). The casual invitation -(으)ㄹ래요? is covered in how to say what you want.
When the present tense is enough
Just like English I'm leaving tomorrow, Korean uses the plain present for fixed schedules and near plans whenever a time word makes the future obvious:
Check yourself — which “will”?
Choose the form a Korean speaker would use.
A commitment to the listener → -(으)ㄹ게요.
Another person → only -(으)ㄹ 거예요.
A guess from what you see → -겠어요.
알겠습니다 = understood, will do.
Suggestion / offer → -(으)ㄹ까요?
ㄹ tenses the following ㄱ: [머글 꺼예요].
Say the future the way Koreans do
Hanguljo builds your Korean from Foundation lessons (Hangul, stroke order, native audio) to the TOPIK 1–6 lessons of vocabulary, grammar and particles, with Hanja roots and memory hooks for Sino-Korean words and a 7-stage SRS engine. Speak along in the conversation track with shadowing, sharpen your ear with dictation, turn any Korean video you paste in into a lesson, scan real text with the on-device OCR scanner, and practise all day with home, lock screen and quiz widgets — in a calm, focused design.
Learn Korean with Hanguljo - FreeQuick reference
- -(으)ㄹ 거예요
- Plans and predictions, any subject: 갈 거예요, 비가 올 거예요. Pronounced [갈 꺼예요].
- -(으)ㄹ게요
- Promise to the listener, I/we only: 제가 할게요, 연락할게요, 금방 올게요.
- -겠-
- Guess from evidence: 맛있겠어요, 힘들겠어요. Formal intention: 연락드리겠습니다. Set phrases: 알겠습니다, 잘 먹겠습니다, 모르겠어요.
- -(으)ㄹ까요?
- Shall we / shall I / I wonder: 갈까요?, 열까요?, 좋을까요?
- Present tense
- Schedules and near plans with a time word: 내일 가요, 3시에 출발해요.
- Test
- Informing → 거예요. Committing to the listener → 게요. Reacting to what you see → 겠어요.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “will” in Korean?
Generally -(으)ㄹ 거예요. For a promise to the listener, -(으)ㄹ게요; for a guess from what you see, -겠어요.
거예요 or 게요?
거예요 informs; 게요 commits to the listener and is only for I/we.
What does 맛있겠어요 mean?
“That looks delicious” — a guess from evidence, not a future.
What does 알겠습니다 mean?
“Understood, will do” — polite acceptance of an instruction.
Can the present tense mean the future?
Yes, for schedules and near plans with a time word: 내일 가요.
- National Institute of Korean Language, Standard Korean Language Dictionary (표준국어대사전) — entries for -겠-, -(으)ㄹ게 and -(으)ㄹ까.
- National Institute of Korean Language, Revised Romanization of Korean.
- National Institute for International Education, TOPIK official site.