-(으)려고 하다 does two jobs that English keeps apart but Korean folds together: it expresses a deliberate intention ("I'm planning to…") and an imminent event ("it's about to…"). Both readings share one core idea — an action poised to happen but not yet begun. Whether that poised action is your own plan or a bus on the point of pulling away, 려고 하다 is the frame that captures the moment just before. The single most important thing to get straight is that the little purpose clause -(으)려고 on its own means "in order to," and it is only the addition of 하다 that turns it into this intention-and-imminence expression.
The shape
-(으)려고 하다 attaches to a verb stem. The modifier splits by 받침 like other -(으) endings:
| Stem ends in… | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a vowel | -려고 하다 | 가다 → 가려고 하다 |
| ㄹ (already) | -려고 하다 | 만들다 → 만들려고 하다 |
| any other consonant | -으려고 하다 | 먹다 → 먹으려고 하다 |
하다 verbs behave like vowel stems: 공부하다 → 공부하려고 하다.
Job 1 — Intention ("plan to")
With a first-person subject, 려고 하다 announces what you have set your mind on. It is softer and more provisional than a flat declaration — it frames the plan as your current intention rather than a fixed fact, which is exactly why it feels natural for still-forming plans.
내년에 유학을 가려고 해요.
naenyeone yuhageul garyeogo haeyo
I'm planning to study abroad next year.
주말에는 집에서 좀 쉬려고 해요.
jumareneun jibeseo jom swiryeogo haeyo
I'm thinking of just resting at home this weekend.
The past form -(으)려고 했다 is especially useful: it reports an intention you had — very often one that didn't pan out.
원래 일찍 자려고 했는데 못 잤어요.
wollae iljjik jaryeogo haenneunde mot jasseoyo
I'd meant to go to bed early, but I couldn't.
Job 2 — Imminence ("about to")
Point 려고 하다 at an event on the very edge of happening and it means "be about to / be on the point of." Here the subject need not be a person at all — this is where 려고 하다 breaks free of the first-person limits that hem in its cousins.
막 자려고 하는데 전화가 왔어요.
mak jaryeogo haneunde jeonhwaga wasseoyo
I was just about to fall asleep when the phone rang.
버스가 출발하려고 해요. 빨리 타세요!
beoseuga chulbalharyeogo haeyo. ppalli taseyo!
The bus is about to leave. Get on quick!
해가 지려고 해요.
haega jiryeogo haeyo
The sun is about to set.
꽃이 피려고 해요.
kkochi piryeogo haeyo
The flowers are about to bloom.
동생이 유학을 가려고 해요.
dongsaeng-i yuhageul garyeogo haeyo
My younger sibling is planning to study abroad.
The colloquial 하려고 그래요
In casual speech the 하다 of 려고 하다 is very often replaced by 그러다 ("do so"): 자려고 그래요, 가려고 그래. It means exactly the same thing and just sounds more relaxed and spoken.
이제 막 나가려고 그래요.
ije mak nagaryeogo geuraeyo
I'm just about to head out now.
The trap: -(으)려고 하다 vs. the bare purpose -(으)려고
This is the error English speakers most need to hear. The clause -(으)려고 by itself — with no 하다 — is a purpose connective meaning "in order to / so as to." It links two clauses that share a subject: you do the second thing for the purpose of the first.
책을 사려고 서점에 갔어요.
chaegeul saryeogo seojeome gasseoyo
I went to the bookstore (in order) to buy a book.
Here 사려고 is not "about to buy" — it is "in order to buy," setting up the purpose of going. The intention/imminence meaning appears only when 하다 (or 그러다) closes the clause. Same six letters, two grammatical lives:
- 사려고 갔어요 = "went in order to buy" (purpose)
- 사려고 해요 = "am planning to buy" / "am about to buy" (intention/imminence)
If your sentence continues into another verb, 려고 is a purpose clause; if 하다 ends it, it is this modal frame.
-(으)려고 하다 vs. -기로 하다: my intention vs. a settled decision
The commonest meaning-level mistake is using 려고 하다 for a firmly settled plan or a mutual agreement, where -기로 하다 ("decide to / resolve to") is the right tool. 려고 하다 reports an intention that is still, in principle, just an intention; -기로 하다 reports a decision that has been made — often jointly, often the outcome of talking it over.
우리 내일 만나기로 했어요.
uri naeil mannagiro haesseoyo
We've decided to meet tomorrow. (a settled plan)
Compare that firm, agreed arrangement with a loose personal intention: 내일 만나려고 해요 would mean "I'm thinking of meeting up tomorrow" — no agreement implied. For a wedding date the two of you have fixed, you say 결혼하기로 했어요, not 결혼하려고 해요.
-(으)려고 하다 vs. -(으)ㄹ 거예요 vs. -(으)ㄹ 참이다
Three neighbors on the "future plan" shelf, each with its own flavor:
| Form | Nuance |
|---|---|
| -(으)려고 하다 | current intention / on the point of — poised, still provisional |
| -(으)ㄹ 거예요 | neutral will/plan or prediction — flatter, more settled |
| -(으)ㄹ 참이다 | on the very verge — "just this second about to" |
저도 막 나가려던 참이었어요.
jeodo mak nagaryeodeon chamieosseoyo
I was just on the verge of heading out myself.
For the neutral future, see -(으)ㄹ 거예요; for the volitional -겠-, see -겠-: intention and conjecture.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping 하다 and expecting the intention meaning.
❌ 저는 내년에 유학을 가려고.
Incomplete — a bare -(으)려고 is a purpose clause; without 하다 the sentence has no main verb.
✅ 저는 내년에 유학을 가려고 해요.
jeoneun naenyeone yuhageul garyeogo haeyo
I'm planning to study abroad next year.
2. Using 려고 하다 for a jointly-settled decision. Use -기로 하다 for agreements.
❌ 우리 다음 달에 이사하려고 해요.
Off for a fixed, agreed move — for a decision you've settled on together, use -기로 하다.
✅ 우리 다음 달에 이사하기로 했어요.
uri daeum dare isahagiro haesseoyo
We've decided to move next month.
3. Attaching it to an adjective. 려고 하다 is for intentions and actions, so it takes verbs, not adjectives. You can't "intend to be tall."
❌ 날씨가 추우려고 해요.
Wrong — 춥다 is an adjective; for 'it's getting cold' use 추워지려고 해요 (become-cold verb) or 추워질 것 같아요.
✅ 날씨가 추워지려고 해요.
nalssiga chuwojiryeogo haeyo
The weather is about to turn cold.
4. Reaching for 려고 하다 to make a promise. To commit an action to your listener, you want -(으)ㄹ게요, not 려고 하다. 도와주려고 해요 = "I'm intending to help"; 도와줄게요 = "I'll help you (count on it)."
Key Takeaways
- -(으)려고 하다 = intention ("plan to") + imminence ("about to") — an action poised but not yet begun.
- It takes verbs, splits -려고 / -으려고 by 받침, and colloquially swaps 하다 → 그러다.
- Unlike -(으)ㄹ게요/-(으)ㄹ래요, it accepts third-person and non-human subjects (버스가 출발하려고 해요).
- The bare -(으)려고 (no 하다) is a different beast: a purpose clause, "in order to."
- For a settled or mutual decision, use -기로 하다; for the neutral future, -(으)ㄹ 거예요; for the very brink, -(으)ㄹ 참이다.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- -(으)ㄹ 것이다: Will / Intend To / ProbablyTOPIK 2 — One future form, two readings — a first-person plan ('I'm going to…') or a third-person guess ('probably will…') — sorted entirely by who the subject is.
- -기로 하다: Decide / Agree ToTOPIK 3 — The ending of a settled decision — 'decide to / agree to / resolve to' — and why Korean parks a future action in the past tense (했어요) once the decision has been concluded.
- -(으)ㄹ 참이다 / -(으)려던 참이다: Just About ToTOPIK 4 — The bound noun 참 pinpoints the exact juncture of an action on the verge of happening — and -(으)려던 참이다 adds that this imminent intention happens to coincide with the moment.
- -(으)ㄹ게(요): I'll (a Promise to You)TOPIK 2 — The interactive commitment ending -(으)ㄹ게요 — 'I'll do it (for you, so count on it)' — and its two hard limits: first-person only, and never a question.
- -(으)ㄹ래(요): I'd Rather / Wanna …?TOPIK 2 — The volition ending -(으)ㄹ래요 — voicing your own preference as a statement and consulting the listener's wish as a question — and how it differs from the commitment -(으)ㄹ게요.