If you learn only one way to talk about the future in Korean, make it -(으)ㄹ 거예요. It is the workhorse future of everyday speech — the form Koreans reach for to talk about plans ("I'm going to stay home") and to make predictions ("it'll probably rain"). Its formal written twin is -(으)ㄹ 것입니다, and its casual twin is -(으)ㄹ 거야. This one ending does the job that English splits across "will," "be going to," and "probably."
The shape: a modifier + 것 + 이다
Unlike the intention marker -겠-, which is a single suffix glued inside the verb, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 is really three pieces wearing a contraction:
- -(으)ㄹ — the prospective modifier, the "will-/about-to-" ending that turns a verb into something that modifies a noun (see the -(으)ㄹ modifier).
- 것 — the general bound noun "thing / fact" (see 것 as a general noun).
- 이다 — the copula "to be."
So 갈 거예요 is literally "it is a thing that will [happen] — [my] going." The whole future is built out of grammar you already have: a modifier, a noun, and "to be." Because 것 + 이에요 contracts in speech to 거예요, that's what you'll say and see. Its shape follows directly from the modifier, which is why everything below hinges on getting the -(으)ㄹ part right.
Building it: two allomorphs by 받침
Which form you attach depends on the last sound of the verb stem — the same vowel-vs-consonant split you see all over Korean conjugation.
| Stem ends in… | Ending | Verb → Future |
|---|---|---|
| a vowel | -ㄹ 거예요 | 가다 → 갈 거예요 |
| ㄹ (already) | -ㄹ 거예요 (keep the ㄹ) | 만들다 → 만들 거예요 |
| any other consonant | -을 거예요 | 먹다 → 먹을 거예요 |
| any other consonant | -을 거예요 | 읽다 → 읽을 거예요 |
내일 갈 거예요.
naeil gal geoyeyo
I'm going to go tomorrow.
점심에 김밥 만들 거예요.
jeomsime gimbap mandeul geoyeyo
I'm going to make gimbap for lunch.
저는 집에서 밥 먹을 거예요.
jeoneun jibeseo bap meogeul geoyeyo
I'm going to eat at home.
The vowel ㅡ in -을 is there purely to make the consonant cluster pronounceable, exactly as in -을 거예요 vs -ㄹ 거예요; it carries no meaning of its own. Getting this insertion wrong is the single most common beginner error, which we'll come back to.
Reading 1 — your own plan (1st person)
With a first-person subject, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 states a settled plan or intention. It's the neutral "I'm going to…" you use for answering "what are you doing this weekend?"
주말에 뭐 할 거예요?
jumare mwo hal geoyeyo?
What are you going to do this weekend?
저는 집에 있을 거예요.
jeoneun jibe isseul geoyeyo
I'm going to stay home.
다음 주에 시험을 볼 거예요.
da-eum jue siheomeul bol geoyeyo
I'm going to take an exam next week.
Notice there's no hedge here. 집에 있을 거예요 doesn't mean "I'll probably stay home" — with a first-person, decided plan, it's as flat and factual as English "I'm staying home." The "probably" reading only kicks in when the subject is someone (or something) whose future you can't fully vouch for.
Reading 2 — a neutral prediction (3rd person)
Point -(으)ㄹ 거예요 at a third person, or at the weather, and the same form becomes a conjecture — "probably will." You're not claiming to know; you're making a reasonable guess about how the world will go.
비가 올 거예요.
biga ol geoyeyo
It'll probably rain.
그 사람은 안 올 거예요.
geu sarameun an ol geoyeyo
He probably won't come.
이 책은 재미있을 거예요.
i chaegeun jaemiisseul geoyeyo
This book will probably be interesting.
-(으)ㄹ 거예요 vs -겠어요: the neutral "will"
Korean has a second future, -겠어요, and English speakers constantly wonder which to use. The cleanest reframe: -(으)ㄹ 거예요 is the neutral, flatter future; -겠어요 adds felt intention or on-the-spot inference.
제가 할 거예요.
jega hal geoyeyo
I'm going to do it. (a stated plan)
제가 하겠습니다.
jega hagetseumnida
I'll do it. (right now, on the spot — resolve/offer, often formal)
Reach for -(으)ㄹ 거예요 for plans already in place and predictions; reach for -겠어요 for a willingness formed in the moment ("I'll get it!") or a fresh inference from evidence in front of you ("that looks delicious," 맛있겠어요). For the full contrast, see -겠- vs -(으)ㄹ 것이다.
Register: 거야, 거예요, 것입니다
The ending shifts cleanly across speech levels; only the copula at the end changes.
| Register | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| casual (반말) | -(으)ㄹ 거야 | 갈 거야 |
| polite (해요체) | -(으)ㄹ 거예요 | 갈 거예요 |
| formal (합니다체) | -(으)ㄹ 것입니다 | 갈 것입니다 |
나 오늘 집에 있을 거야.
na oneul jibe isseul geoya
I'm gonna stay home today. (to a close friend)
열차가 곧 도착할 것입니다.
yeolchaga got dochakal geosimnida
The train will be arriving shortly. (formal announcement)
The formal 것입니다 (pronounced [거심니다]) is what you hear in station announcements, news, and speeches. In conversation it sounds stiff — stick with 거예요.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping -을 after a consonant stem. A stem ending in a consonant needs the full -을 거예요, not a bare 거예요.
❌ 저는 집에서 밥 먹 거예요.
Incorrect — a consonant stem needs -을: 먹을 거예요.
✅ 저는 집에서 밥 먹을 거예요.
jeoneun jibeseo bap meogeul geoyeyo
I'm going to eat at home.
2. Spelling it 거에요. The copula 이에요 keeps its ㅖ, so the contraction is 거예요, never 거에요 — a spelling slip so common that even native texters make it.
❌ 갈 거에요.
Incorrect spelling — it must be 거예요 (from 것이에요).
✅ 갈 거예요.
gal geoyeyo
I'm going to go.
3. Forgetting the space before 거예요. 것 is a bound noun, so it's written as its own unit with a space: 갈 거예요, not 갈거예요. (You'll see it written closed up online, but that's an error.)
❌ 갈거예요.
Incorrect spacing — the bound noun 것/거 takes a space: 갈 거예요.
✅ 갈 거예요.
gal geoyeyo
I'm going to go.
4. Using 거예요 to make a here-and-now promise. 거예요 is a neutral plan or prediction; it does not frame your action as a reassurance to the listener. For "I'll do it, don't worry," Korean prefers -(으)ㄹ게요.
제가 도와줄 거예요.
jega dowajul geoyeyo
I'm going to help. (a plan — but as a reassuring promise, 도와줄게요 is warmer)
제가 도와줄게요.
jega dowajulgeyo
I'll help you. (responsive, reassuring)
Key Takeaways
- -(으)ㄹ 거예요 is the everyday future: -ㄹ 거예요 after a vowel or ㄹ stem, -을 거예요 after any other consonant.
- With a first-person subject it states a plan; with a third person (or the weather) it's a prediction / "probably." Same grammar, disambiguated by the subject.
- It's the neutral "will" — flatter than -겠어요, which adds in-the-moment intention or inference.
- Registers: 거야 (casual) · 거예요 (polite) · 것입니다 (formal). Spell it 거예요, write the space, and keep the -을 after consonant stems.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- -겠-: Intention and ConjectureTOPIK 2 — -겠- is a modal pre-final marker, not a plain future tense: it expresses the speaker's intention/volition (제가 하겠습니다), conjecture about a situation (맛있겠어요, 비가 오겠어요), and survives in frozen phrases (알겠습니다, 모르겠어요) — with the subject largely deciding which reading you get.
- -(으)ㄹ게요: The Speaker's Promise / CommitmentTOPIK 2 — The first-person 'I'll do it (so don't worry)' ending — how -(으)ㄹ게요 frames your own action as a commitment to the listener, and why it can never take a third-person subject or a question.
- -(으)ㄹ래요: Volition, Preference, and OffersTOPIK 2 — The 'I feel like / do you feel like' ending — how -(으)ㄹ래요 expresses the speaker's own will as a statement and asks the listener's will (or extends an invitation) as a question.
- 'Was Going To / Would': Future-in-the-PastTOPIK 2 — How Korean says 'I was going to (but…)' — the aborted-intention -(으)려고 했어요 and the past-of-the-plan -(으)ㄹ 거였어요 — without literally stacking past onto a future marker.
- -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.