There is no Korean word that means "will." English pours intention (I'll do it), prediction (it'll rain), and scheduled fact (the bus will come at three) into one auxiliary; Korean divides that territory between two markers, and choosing wrongly changes what you actually mean. -겠- is an infix for on-the-spot intention and immediate conjecture. -(으)ㄹ 것이다 (spoken 거예요 / 거야, formal 겁니다) is a periphrastic form for arranged plans and predictions. This page tables both across the speech levels, flags where the buffer 으 appears, and gives you a two-question filter for picking the right one.
The two markers, side by side
| Verb | -겠- (해요체) | -(으)ㄹ 거예요 | Core nuance split |
|---|---|---|---|
| 가다 (go) | 가겠어요 gagesseoyo | 갈 거예요 gal geoyeyo | 겠 = intent/guess · 거예요 = plan/prediction |
| 먹다 (eat) | 먹겠어요 meokgesseoyo | 먹을 거예요 meogeul geoyeyo | 먹을 needs the buffer 으 (batchim stem) |
| 읽다 (read) | 읽겠어요 ilgesseoyo | 읽을 거예요 ilgeul geoyeyo | batchim stem → 읽을 |
| 하다 (do) | 하겠어요 hagesseoyo | 할 거예요 hal geoyeyo | vowel stem → no 으, just ㄹ |
| 살다 (live) | 살겠어요 salgesseoyo | 살 거예요 sal geoyeyo | ㄹ-stem → 살 (no added ㄹ) |
The 겠 column is uniform — the infix -겠- just clips onto the bare stem, no buffer, no allomorphy. All the action is in the 거예요 column, which is really the prospective attributive -(으)ㄹ plus the bound noun 것 plus the copula. That -(으)ㄹ inserts the buffer 으 after a consonant stem (먹을, 읽을) but nothing after a vowel stem (갈, 할). See the 으-insertion table and the attributive forms for the full picture.
The same forms across speech levels
Both markers ride the normal politeness shells. -겠- takes a normal ending after it; -(으)ㄹ 거예요 swaps its copula tail.
| Level | -겠- (intention/guess) | -(으)ㄹ 것이다 (plan/prediction) |
|---|---|---|
| 합니다체 (formal) | 가겠습니다 gagetseumnida | 갈 겁니다 gal geomnida |
| 해요체 (polite) | 가겠어요 gagesseoyo | 갈 거예요 gal geoyeyo |
| 반말 (intimate) | 가겠어 gagesseo | 갈 거야 gal geoya |
| 한다체 (plain/written) | 가겠다 gagetda | 갈 것이다 gal geosida |
Note the reading shifts: 겠 before a vowel ending liaises (가겠어요 → gagess-eoyo → gagesseoyo), but before a consonant ending its ㅅ neutralizes to [t] and does not carry over, so 가겠습니다 → gagetseumnida, 가겠다 → gagetda — never ×gagess-.
-겠- : intention and immediate conjecture
Point -겠- at yourself and it announces will — a firm, on-the-spot commitment ("I'll do it, let me handle it"), which is why it dominates offers and formal declarations. Point it at anyone or anything else and it becomes an educated guess from present evidence ("must be, looks like").
오늘 발표는 제가 하겠습니다.
oneul balpyoneun jega hagetseumnida
I'll give today's presentation. (I volunteer / I commit.)
하늘 보니까 곧 비가 오겠어요.
haneul bonikka got biga ogesseoyo
Judging by the sky, it's going to rain soon. (on-the-spot guess)
우와, 이거 진짜 맛있겠다!
uwa, igeo jinjja masitgetda!
Whoa, this must be so good! (conjecture, 반말)
네, 알겠습니다.
ne, algetseumnida
Yes, understood. (frozen 겠 phrase)
-(으)ㄹ 거예요 : arranged plans and predictions
This is the everyday future for something already settled — a plan you've made or a prediction you're calmly reporting. It carries none of the "right this second" flavor of -겠-.
이번 방학에 유럽에 갈 거예요.
ibeon banghage yureobe gal geoyeyo
I'm going to Europe this vacation. (settled plan)
주말에 뭐 할 거예요?
jumare mwo hal geoyeyo?
What are you going to do this weekend?
아마 그 사람도 올 거예요.
ama geu saramdo ol geoyeyo
He'll probably come too. (prediction)
저녁은 제가 만들 거예요.
jeonyeogeun jega mandeul geoyeyo
I'll make dinner. (ㄹ-stem 만들다 → 만들 거예요)
곧 도착할 겁니다.
got dochakal geomnida
I'll be there soon. (formal 겁니다)
Which one? A two-question filter
| Situation | Marker | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Deciding to act, right now (my will) | -겠- | 제가 하겠어요 — "I'll do it." |
| Guessing from evidence in front of me | -겠- | 춥겠어요 — "That must be cold." |
| An arranged plan I already have | -(으)ㄹ 거예요 | 내일 갈 거예요 — "I'm going tomorrow." |
| A neutral prediction / schedule I report | -(으)ㄹ 거예요 | 비가 올 거예요 — "It'll rain." |
The clearest wrong note is using -겠- for a timetable. A bus schedule is neither your intention nor your fresh guess — it's a settled fact you're relaying — so it takes -(으)ㄹ 거예요.
기차는 아홉 시에 출발할 거예요.
gichaneun ahop sie chulbalhal geoyeyo
The train leaves at nine. (scheduled fact — not 겠)
For the full side-by-side of the two, see -겠- vs -(으)ㄹ 거예요.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding 으 to a vowel stem in -(으)ㄹ. A stem that ends in a vowel takes no buffer — just ㄹ.
❌ 내일 학교에 가을 거예요.
Wrong — 가다 is a vowel stem, so it takes no 으: 갈 거예요.
✅ 내일 학교에 갈 거예요.
naeil hakgyo-e gal geoyeyo
I'll go to school tomorrow.
2. Dropping 으 on a consonant stem. A batchim stem needs the buffer before ㄹ.
❌ 저는 라면 먹 거예요.
Wrong — 먹 has a batchim, so the prospective needs 을: 먹을 거예요.
✅ 저는 라면 먹을 거예요.
jeoneun ramyeon meogeul geoyeyo
I'm going to have ramyeon.
3. Adding ㄹ to a ㄹ-stem. 살다, 만들다 already end in ㄹ; the prospective is just 살, 만들 — no doubling.
❌ 앞으로 서울에서 살을 거예요.
Wrong — ㄹ-stem 살다 gives 살, not 살을: 살 거예요.
✅ 앞으로 서울에서 살 거예요.
apeuro Seoureseo sal geoyeyo
I'm going to live in Seoul from now on.
4. Using -겠- for a neutral schedule. A timetable you're merely reporting is -(으)ㄹ 거예요, not your on-the-spot intention or guess.
❌ 기차는 아홉 시에 출발하겠어요.
Wrong register — a scheduled departure isn't your will or a fresh guess; use 출발할 거예요.
✅ 기차는 아홉 시에 출발할 거예요.
gichaneun ahop sie chulbalhal geoyeyo
The train departs at nine.
Key Takeaways
- Korean has no word for "will" — it splits the job between -겠- and -(으)ㄹ 거예요.
- -겠- = on-the-spot intention (제가 하겠어요) or immediate conjecture (비가 오겠어요, 맛있겠어요); it clips onto the bare stem and is not a time marker.
- -(으)ㄹ 거예요 = arranged plans and neutral predictions (내일 갈 거예요, 비가 올 거예요).
- The -(으)ㄹ side inserts 으 after a consonant stem (먹을), nothing after a vowel stem (갈), and nothing extra after a ㄹ-stem (살).
- Reading traps: 겠 + vowel liaises (가겠어요 → gagesseoyo); 겠 + consonant → -get- (가겠습니다 → gagetseumnida).
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- The -(으) Insertion Table: When 으 AppearsTOPIK 1 — The linking vowel -(으)- surfaces only between a consonant-final stem and a set of endings, is absent after a vowel stem, and disappears in ㄹ-stems (which drop the ㄹ instead) — laid out ending by ending across all three stem types.
- Attributive (Noun-Modifying) Forms Table: -는 / -(으)ㄴ / -(으)ㄹ / -던TOPIK 2 — The 관형사형 endings that turn a whole clause into a modifier sitting in front of a noun — Korean's relative clauses, which carry tense inside the ending. The core trap: verbs form the present with -는 but adjectives form it with -(으)ㄴ, the very shape that marks a verb's past — so 먹은 (ate) and 좋은 (good) look parallel yet differ in tense and class.
- Present-Tense Formation TableTOPIK 1 — The present (non-past) across all four speech levels and both predicate classes — 합니다체 / 해요체 / 반말 / 한다체 — with the key split that verbs take -ㄴ다/는다 in 한다체 but adjectives stay bare -다 (간다 vs 좋다).
- -겠- vs -(으)ㄹ 것이다: Volition or PlanTOPIK 2 — Both point to the future, but -겠- expresses on-the-spot willingness or a fresh guess read from present evidence, while -(으)ㄹ 것이다 (거예요) states a settled plan or a reasoned forecast — spontaneous versus pre-decided.
- Past Tense -았/었/였: Formation TableTOPIK 1 — The complete formation table for the past-tense infix -았/었/였-, which slots in before the ending and is chosen by the same ㅏ/ㅗ harmony as the present. One infix, four speech levels, no irregular 'went' to memorize — plus the vowel-boundary contractions (갔어요, 왔어요, 마셨어요, 됐어요).