-고 싶다 & 싶어 하다: Want To (First/Second vs Third Person) | Korean Grammar

-고 싶다 is how you say "want to (do something)" in Korean — 물을 마시고 싶어요, "I want to drink water." It is one of the first expressions every learner picks up, and it works beautifully for yourself and, in questions, for the person you are talking to. But then Korean does something English never does: for a third person's wanting, it switches to a different word, -고 싶어 하다. English uses one verb — "want" — for me, you, her, them, everyone. Korean grammatically separates the desire you can feel from the inside from the desire you can only see from the outside, and getting that split right is the whole point of this page.

The shape — and why it acts like an adjective

-고 싶다 attaches to a verb stem (the action you desire), and crucially, 싶다 then conjugates like an adjective, not like an action verb. That single fact predicts all its forms:

Form	-고 싶다	Note
present polite	-고 싶어요	NOT ×싶는다 (싶다 conjugates like an adjective)
past	-고 싶었어요	"wanted to"
attributive	-고 싶은	NOT ×싶는 (adjectives take -은)
negative	안 -고 싶다 / -고 싶지 않다	"don't want to"

Because 싶다 is descriptive, its plain present is the bare dictionary form 싶다 (as in "가고 싶다") — never ×싶는다. And its noun-modifying form is 싶은, like other adjectives (see why Korean adjectives are verbs).

물을 마시고 싶어요.

mureul masigo sipeoyo

I want to drink water.

뭐 하고 싶어요?

mwo hago sipeoyo?

What do you want to do?

어렸을 때 가수가 되고 싶었어요.

eoryeosseul ttae gasuga doego sipeosseoyo

When I was little I wanted to be a singer.

먹고 싶은 거 있어요?

meokgo sipeun geo isseoyo?

Is there anything you feel like eating?

First and second person: -고 싶다 (the felt desire)

With yourself as the subject, -고 싶다 simply states your wish. In a question, it asks the listener about theirs — and both work because you have direct access to your own feelings and can ask directly about the listener's.

저는 빨리 집에 가고 싶어요.

jeoneun ppalli jibe gago sipeoyo

I really want to go home.

오늘은 아무것도 안 하고 싶어요.

oneureun amugeotdo an hago sipeoyo

Today I don't want to do anything.

In casual speech it drops to 싶어 (banmal):

우리 뭐 먹고 싶어?

uri mwo meokgo sipeo?

What do we feel like eating?

Third person: -고 싶어 하다 (the shown wanting)

Here is the reframing English speakers most need. To report what someone else wants, you cannot use plain -고 싶다 — you must switch to -고 싶어 하다, literally "to act as if wanting," "to show wanting." The desire becomes something you observe in their behaviour rather than feel in your own chest.

동생이 게임을 하고 싶어 해요.

dongsaeng-i geimeul hago sipeo haeyo

My little brother wants to play games.

아이가 계속 밖에 나가고 싶어 했어요.

aiga gyesok bakke nagago sipeo haesseoyo

The kid kept wanting to go outside.

Why the switch? Because 싶다 is an adjective naming an inner state — and Korean is careful about claiming direct knowledge of someone else's inner states. To turn a felt adjective into an observable verb, Korean adds -어 하다 ("to display X-feeling"). This is a completely regular pattern, not a quirk of 싶다:

Adjective (felt, my state)	-어 하다 verb (shown, their behaviour)
좋다 — "is likable to me"	좋아하다 — "(they) like"
예쁘다 — "is pretty (to me)"	예뻐하다 — "(they) dote on"
-고 싶다 — "I want to"	-고 싶어 하다 — "(they) want to"

나는 강아지가 좋아요.

naneun gang-ajiga joayo

I like dogs. (my felt state)

동생은 강아지를 좋아해요.

dongsaeng-eun gang-ajireul joahaeyo

My sibling likes dogs. (observed behaviour)

Once you see 싶어 하다 as the exact sibling of 좋아하다, the person-split stops feeling arbitrary and starts feeling systematic: inner state → -고 싶다; outward behaviour → -고 싶어 하다.

💡

Spelling/spacing: the recommended form is spaced, -고 싶어 하다 (싶다 is already an auxiliary, so 싶어 + 하다 is auxiliary-plus-auxiliary). Whether you write 싶어 해요 or, colloquially, 싶어해요, the meaning is identical — a third party's wanting.

The object: 을/를 or 이/가

Because 싶다 is adjectival, the thing you want can surface with the object particle 을/를 (from the underlying action verb) or with the subject particle 이/가 (agreeing with the adjective 싶다). Both are correct and common; 이/가 can feel a touch softer.

물을 마시고 싶어요.

mureul masigo sipeoyo

I want to drink water. (object marking)

물이 마시고 싶어요.

muri masigo sipeoyo

I want to drink water. (subject marking — equally fine)

There is no "want + noun" — verbalize it

English lets you want a thing directly: "I want a coffee," "I want a new phone." Korean cannot. -고 싶다 attaches only to a verb, so you must first say what you want to do with the noun — drink it, have it, eat it — and hang -고 싶다 on that. "I want a coffee" becomes "I want to drink a coffee"; "I want a new laptop" becomes "I want to have a new laptop" (갖고 싶다 / 가지고 싶다, "want to have").

커피 한 잔 마시고 싶어요.

keopi han jan masigo sipeoyo

I want a coffee. (lit. I want to drink a cup of coffee)

새 노트북을 갖고 싶어요.

sae noteubugeul gatgo sipeoyo

I want a new laptop. (lit. I want to have a new laptop)

This is one of the most persistent English-speaker errors: reaching for a bare 커피를 싶어요 ("×I want a coffee") with no verb. There is nothing for 싶다 to attach to, so it is simply not a sentence. Always supply the action.

Negating it: two ways

To say you don't want to, you can negate either the frame or the action verb: 안 -고 싶다 (short negation, placed before the whole 고 싶다 unit) or -고 싶지 않다 (long negation on 싶다 itself). Both are natural; the long form can feel a shade more deliberate.

지금은 아무 데도 가고 싶지 않아요.

jigeumeun amu dedo gago sipji anayo

Right now I don't want to go anywhere.

-고 싶다 vs. -(으)ㄹ래요: a wish vs. an on-the-spot decision

English "want to" tempts you to use -고 싶다 everywhere, but when you are choosing on the spot — off a menu, between options — Korean prefers -(으)ㄹ래요, which announces a decision rather than describing a craving.

저는 커피 마시고 싶어요.

jeoneun keopi masigo sipeoyo

I want (some) coffee. (describing my desire)

저는 커피 마실래요.

jeoneun keopi masillaeyo

I'll have coffee. (deciding, placing the order)

The boundary: wishing a state → -았/었으면 좋겠다

-고 싶다 needs a volitional action you can carry out. For wishing that a state were true — especially something outside your control, or contrary to fact — Korean uses -았/었으면 좋겠다 instead. You cannot "want to be tall" as an action, so 크고 싶다 is off; the wish about that state is 컸으면 좋겠다.

키가 조금만 더 컸으면 좋겠어요.

kiga jogeumman deo keosseumyeon jokesseoyo

I wish I were just a little taller. (a wished-for state)

The dividing line: if you can do it, -고 싶다 (가고 싶어요, "I want to go"); if you can only wish it were so, -았/었으면 좋겠다 (돈이 많았으면 좋겠어요, "I wish I had money").

Common Mistakes

1. Using plain -고 싶다 for a third person. Someone else's wanting needs -고 싶어 하다.

❌ 친구가 여행을 가고 싶어요.

Wrong — you can't state your friend's felt desire directly; it must be 가고 싶어 해요.

✅ 친구가 여행을 가고 싶어 해요.

chinguga yeohaeng-eul gago sipeo haeyo

My friend wants to go traveling.

2. Conjugating 싶다 like an action verb. It is an adjective: present 싶어요 / 싶다, attributive 싶은 — never ×싶는다 or ×싶는.

❌ 저는 집에 가고 싶는다.

Wrong — 싶다 is descriptive; the plain present is 가고 싶다, not ×싶는다.

✅ 저는 집에 가고 싶어요.

jeoneun jibe gago sipeoyo

I want to go home.

3. Using -고 싶다 for a wished-for state. Actions take -고 싶다; states take -았/었으면 좋겠다.

❌ 저는 부자고 싶어요.

Wrong — 'being rich' is a state, not an action you do; say 부자가 됐으면 좋겠어요 or 부자가 되고 싶어요.

✅ 저는 부자가 되고 싶어요.

jeoneun bujaga doego sipeoyo

I want to become rich.

4. Reaching for -고 싶다 when placing an order or choosing. On the spot, -(으)ㄹ래요 sounds more natural.

❌ (메뉴를 보고) 저는 비빔밥을 먹고 싶어요.

Understandable but off — when ordering, Koreans say 비빔밥 먹을래요 / 비빔밥으로 할게요.

✅ 저는 비빔밥 먹을래요.

jeoneun bibimbap meogeullaeyo

I'll have bibimbap.

Key Takeaways

-고 싶다 = "want to (do)," attaches to verbs, and conjugates as an adjective (싶어요, 싶었어요, 싶은 — never ×싶는다).
It is for first/second person (felt desire). A third person's wanting takes -고 싶어 하다 ("shows wanting") — the exact sibling of 좋다 → 좋아하다.
The object may take 을/를 or 이/가.
For wishing a state (not doing an action), switch to -았/었으면 좋겠다; for choosing on the spot, prefer -(으)ㄹ래요.

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