-(으)ㄹ래요: Volition, Preference, and Offers | Korean Grammar

-(으)ㄹ래요 is the ending of personal will in the moment — "I feel like…" as a statement, and "do you feel like…?" as a question. It's warmer and more casual than a bare plan, and it's the everyday way friends propose things to each other: 같이 갈래요? ("wanna go together?"). Master it and you unlock the relaxed, inviting texture of casual Korean.

The shape

-(으)ㄹ래요 attaches to a verb stem (not adjectives — you can't "feel like being tall"), splitting by 받침 like its cousins:

Stem ends in…	Ending	Verb → Form
a vowel	-ㄹ래요	가다 → 갈래요
ㄹ (already)	-ㄹ래요 (keep the ㄹ)	만들다 → 만들래요
any other consonant	-을래요	먹다 → 먹을래요

As a statement: my will and preference

Ending a sentence in -(으)ㄹ래요 declares what you want or feel like doing right now. It's softer than announcing a firm plan — closer to "I think I'll…" than to "I will…".

저는 집에 갈래요.

jeoneun jibe gallaeyo

I think I'll go home.

저는 이거 먹을래요.

jeoneun igeo meogeullaeyo

I'll have this one.

저는 커피 마실래요.

jeoneun keopi masillaeyo

I'll have coffee. (that's what I feel like)

그냥 안 갈래요.

geunyang an gallaeyo

I'd rather just not go.

That last one shows the preference flavor clearly: 안 갈래요 isn't a neutral "I won't go," it's "I'd rather not" — a statement of inclination. This is the register in which you decline gently or pick between options at a table.

As a question: your will, or a friendly invitation

Flip -(으)ㄹ래요 into a question and it turns outward. Now you're asking about the listener's will — or, most often, extending a low-pressure invitation. This is the single most useful thing about the ending.

같이 갈래요?

gachi gallaeyo?

Wanna go together?

뭐 먹을래요?

mwo meogeullaeyo?

What do you want to eat?

우리 영화 볼래요?

uri yeonghwa bollaeyo?

Wanna watch a movie?

이따가 얘기할래요?

ittaga yaegihallaeyo?

Wanna talk later?

💡

Statement = my will ("I feel like going home"). Question = your will / an invitation ("wanna come?"). The question form is not a neutral fact-question — 갈래요? asks whether you feel like going, not whether going will factually occur. To ask about a scheduled fact, use -(으)ㄹ 거예요? instead.

The invitation ladder: -(으)ㄹ래요? vs -(으)ㄹ까요?

Korean has another "shall we?" question, -(으)ㄹ까요?, and the two feel subtly different. -(으)ㄹ까요? proposes a joint action and checks the other person's opinion ("shall we go?"); -(으)ㄹ래요? asks the listener's own inclination ("do you feel like going?"), leaving them free to say yes or no for themselves.

우리 같이 갈까요?

uri gachi galkkayo?

Shall we go together? (proposing we both go)

같이 갈래요?

gachi gallaeyo?

Do you feel like going together? (checking your inclination)

Both are friendly. -(으)ㄹ까요? leans a touch more "let's decide together"; -(으)ㄹ래요? leans a touch more "your call." For firmly proposing to a group, the propositive -(으)ㅂ시다 / -자 is stronger still.

Declining gently and digging in

Because it's rooted in personal inclination, -(으)ㄹ래요 is also the natural way to state what you'd rather do — including a soft refusal. Negated, 안 -(으)ㄹ래요 says "I'd rather not," which is gentler and more personal than a flat "I won't."

오늘은 그냥 쉴래요.

oneureun geunyang swillaeyo

I'd rather just take it easy today.

저는 그거 안 먹을래요.

jeoneun geugeo an meogeullaeyo

I'd rather not eat that one.

In casual 반말, the same ending powers a stubborn, almost childlike refusal — 나 안 할래! ("I don't wanna!") — which is why you'll hear it from kids digging in their heels and adults playfully doing the same. Where a full sentence would be too much, the bare -(으)ㄹ래 lands as a snappy "nope, I'll pass."

The friendliest everyday home of -(으)ㄹ래요, though, is picking from options out loud — at a restaurant, a café, a shop — where you weigh what you feel like and land on one:

저는 그냥 물 마실래요.

jeoneun geunyang mul masillaeyo

I'll just have water. (that's what I feel like)

Here 마실래요 isn't a firm plan or a promise — it's the sound of a decision forming in the moment, which is exactly the register the ending owns.

It's worth separating -(으)ㄹ래요 from -고 싶다 "want to." 가고 싶어요 reports an inner desire ("I want to go"); 갈래요 is more decisive and action-oriented ("I'll go / I feel like going, and I'm doing it"). You can want to go and still not go; 갈래요 leans toward actually doing it.

Where it sits among the futures

English collapses a lot into "will," so it helps to line these up. -(으)ㄹ래요 is the preference future — "I feel like" — sitting between the neutral plan and the felt intention of -겠어요.

Form	Nuance	Example
-(으)ㄹ 거예요	neutral plan / prediction	저는 집에 갈 거예요
-(으)ㄹ래요	"I feel like" / preference	저는 집에 갈래요
-(으)ㄹ게요	promise to the listener	먼저 갈게요
-겠어요	felt intention / resolve	제가 가겠습니다

A register warning

-(으)ㄹ래요 is casual-leaning. Among friends, peers, and in relaxed service exchanges it's perfect. But aimed at a boss, a much older person, or in a formal meeting, it can sound too breezy — you're essentially asking about their "mood to do" something, which is a bit familiar. In those settings, reach for -(으)시겠어요? or -(으)ㄹ까요? instead.

부장님, 회의 언제 시작하시겠어요?

bujangnim, hoeui eonje sijakasigesseoyo?

Director, when would you like to start the meeting? (polished, deferential)

Common Mistakes

1. Using -(으)ㄹ래요 for a third-person subject. It expresses the speaker's or listener's own will — nobody else's. You can't report what someone else feels like doing with -(으)ㄹ래요.

❌ 그 사람은 갈래요.

Incorrect — you can't voice a third person's will. Use 갈 거예요.

✅ 그 사람은 갈 거예요.

geu sarameun gal geoyeyo

He'll probably go. / He's going to go.

2. Reaching for it in a formal setting. To a superior, -(으)ㄹ래요? sounds too casual.

❌ 사장님, 이거 드실래요?

Too familiar toward the company president.

✅ 사장님, 이거 드시겠어요?

sajangnim, igeo deusigesseoyo?

Sir, would you like to have this?

3. Treating the question as a neutral fact-question. 갈래요? asks about inclination, not scheduled fact, so it can't ask about the weather or another person's fixed plans.

❌ 내일 비 올래요?

Impossible — weather has no 'will'; use 내일 비 올까요? / 올 거예요?

✅ 내일 비 올까요?

naeil bi olkkayo?

Do you think it'll rain tomorrow?

4. Dropping -을 after a consonant stem.

❌ 뭐 먹래요?

Incorrect — a consonant stem needs -을: 먹을래요.

✅ 뭐 먹을래요?