-(으)려고: Intending To / In Order To

Korean has a cluster of "in order to" endings, and -(으)려고 is the one that puts the subject's intention at the center. Where -(으)러 only labels why you went somewhere, -(으)려고 attaches to almost any action and says "so as to / with the aim of." If you want to talk about the purpose behind exercising, saving money, staying up all night — anything that isn't literally a trip — this is the ending you reach for. English has no dedicated word for it; we bolt "in order to" or "so as to" onto an infinitive, and Korean packs the same idea into a single clause-final ending.

Forming it

Attach -(으)려고 to a verb stem, choosing the allomorph by the final sound of the stem:

• Stem ends in a consonant (batchim) → -으려고: 먹다 → 먹으려고, 찾다 → 찾으려고, 붙다 → 붙으려고
• Stem ends in a vowel → -려고: 가다 → 가려고, 사다 → 사려고, 빼다 → 빼려고
• ㄹ-stem → -려고 (the ㄹ stays): 만들다 → 만들려고, 벌다 → 벌려고

Notice that in every case the intention clause comes first and stays tenseless — the time is carried by the main verb (운동해요, 왔어요, 공부했어요). You never mark past or future on the -(으)려고 clause itself.

The core meaning: your purpose, not your destination

The whole point of -(으)려고 is that it foregrounds the agent's deliberate goal. It answers "what were you trying to accomplish?" rather than "where did you go and why?" That is why it isn't restricted to motion verbs the way -(으)러 is: the main clause can be any action the subject performs toward the goal.

In each of these the main verb — working, running, turning off the light — is not a trip. Swap in -(으)러 and the sentences collapse, because -(으)러 needs the main verb to be 가다/오다/다니다. That single fact is the most useful thing to remember: -(으)려고 goes anywhere -(으)러 can't.

Two hard requirements

1. Same subject in both clauses

The person who holds the intention must also be the one who performs the main action. You cannot use -(으)려고 to say "I did X so that someone else would do Y" — that job belongs to -도록 / -게.

Here the same "I" both intends to meet the friend and comes downtown. If the subjects split — say, the students are the ones who should understand, but I am the one explaining — -(으)려고 breaks and you must switch to 학생들이 이해하도록 설명했어요.

2. The main clause is what the subject deliberately does

Because -(으)려고 reports your own intention, it resists commands and suggestions in the main clause. You don't order someone else around by citing your intention, and you don't propose a plan that way either. So while 살을 빼려고 운동해요 ("I exercise to lose weight") is perfect, ×살을 빼려고 운동하세요 is not — a command like "please exercise" can't hang off the speaker's private goal. For advice and instructions with a purpose, restructure with -도록 (살이 빠지도록 운동하세요) or a different frame.

The essential derived pattern: -(으)려고 하다

By far the most common thing built on this ending is -(으)려고 하다, "to intend to / to be about to." Instead of leading into a second clause, the intention becomes the whole predicate: 자려고 해요 = "I'm about to sleep / I plan to sleep." This one pattern earns -(으)려고 its keep at every level.

There's a subtle, useful wrinkle here worth stating plainly, because textbooks often skip it. With a volitional subject, -(으)려고 하다 means "intend to." But with a non-volitional or natural subject — weather, plants, an object — it shifts to "be on the verge of," because a raincloud can't literally "intend" anything.

This "about to" reading, and the modal life of -(으)려고 하다 more generally, is developed on the -(으)려고 하다 page.

Colloquial reductions

In fast speech -(으)려고 gets squeezed. You'll hear the whole 고 dropped, leaving trailing -(으)려, and — very commonly but nonstandard in writing — an extra ㄹ inserted, giving -(으)ㄹ려고: 가려고 → 갈려고, 하려고 → 할려고.

Why English speakers get this wrong

English collapses "went to the store to buy milk" and "saved money so as to travel" into one "to + verb" pattern, giving no hint that Korean sorts them by whether the main verb is motion. The result is a predictable set of transfer errors: reaching for -(으)러 when the main clause isn't a trip, silently switching subjects mid-sentence the way English lets you ("I turned off the light so the baby would sleep"), and trying to glue -(으)려고 onto an adjective. Korean adjectives (which behave like stative verbs) don't have intentions, so ×예쁘려고 is impossible; to say "in order to become pretty" you first turn the adjective into a change-of-state verb with -아/어지다 — 예뻐지려고.

Common Mistakes

1. Using -(으)러 for a non-motion goal. If the main verb isn't 가다/오다/다니다, only -(으)려고 works.

2. Switching subjects across the clauses. The intender and the doer must be the same person; otherwise use -도록/-게.

3. Putting a command or suggestion in the main clause. -(으)려고 reports a plan, not an order.

4. Attaching -(으)려고 to an adjective. Adjectives are stative and have no intention; verbalize first.

5. Marking tense on the -(으)려고 clause. The intention clause stays tenseless; time lives on the main verb.

Key Takeaways

• -(으)려고 = "with the intention of / so as to." It foregrounds the subject's deliberate purpose and works with any action verb, not just motion — that's its edge over -(으)러.
• Allomorphy: consonant stem → -으려고 (먹으려고), vowel/ㄹ stem → -려고 (가려고, 만들려고). Never mark tense on this clause.
• Two hard rules: the same subject appears in both clauses, and the main clause is something the subject deliberately does (so no commands or suggestions — use -도록 for those).
• Learn -(으)려고 하다 ("intend to / be about to") as a unit; with a natural subject it means "on the verge of" (비가 오려고 해요).
• Colloquial 할려고 / 갈려고 (inserted ㄹ) are common in speech but nonstandard in writing.