Expressing Wants & Wishes

In Korean, there are several ways to express what you want to do or hope for. The most common is -고 싶다, which is used in everyday conversation from the very beginning. In this chapter, we will look at three expressions — -고 싶다, -고 싶어하다, and -(으)면 좋겠다 — and when to use each one.

1. -고 싶다 — I want to…

-고 싶다 is used to express what you want to do. It attaches directly to the verb stem and does not change depending on 받침. It is used for the first person (I) and second person (you, in questions).

Form

Verb stem + 고 싶어요

가다 → 가고 싶어요. I want to go.
먹다 → 먹고 싶어요. I want to eat.
공부하다 → 공부하고 싶어요. I want to study.

Examples

한국에 가고 싶어요. I want to go to Korea.
BTS 콘서트에 가고 싶어요. I want to go to a BTS concert.
한국 음식을 먹고 싶어요. I want to eat Korean food.
한국어를 잘 하고 싶어요. I want to speak Korean well.

In questions

-고 싶다 can also be used in questions to ask what someone wants to do.

뭐 먹고 싶어요? What do you want to eat?
어디 가고 싶어요? Where do you want to go?

Negative

To say you don’t want to do something, there are two ways. Both have the same meaning, but -고 싶지 않다 is slightly more formal.

-고 싶지 않아요

가고 싶지 않아요. I don’t want to go.
먹고 싶지 않아요. I don’t want to eat.
한국어를 공부하고 싶지 않아요. I don’t want to study Korean.

안 + Verb + 고 싶어요

안 is placed before the verb stem — the same rule you learned in the Negation chapter.

안 가고 싶어요. I don’t want to go.
안 먹고 싶어요. I don’t want to eat.

☕ Special case — 하다 verbs
Remember! With 하다 verbs, 안 goes before 하다 — not before the whole verb.

공부하다 → 공부 안 하고 싶어요. ✓
안 공부하고 싶어요. ✗

오늘은 운동 안 하고 싶어요. I don’t want to exercise today.
지금은 공부 안 하고 싶어요. I don’t want to study right now.

☕ Past tense — wanted to
고 싶었어요 is used to say you wanted to do something in the past.

한국에 가고 싶었어요. I wanted to go to Korea.
BTS 콘서트에 가고 싶었어요. I wanted to go to a BTS concert.

2. -고 싶어하다 — (Someone) wants to…

While -고 싶다 is used when talking about your own wishes, -고 싶어하다 is used when talking about what someone else wants. In Korean, you cannot use -고 싶다 to describe another person’s feelings — this is one of the most important distinctions to learn.

Form

Verb stem + 고 싶어해요

가다 → 가고 싶어해요. (Someone) wants to go.
먹다 → 먹고 싶어해요. (Someone) wants to eat.

Examples

지민은 런던에 가고 싶어해요. Jimin wants to go to London.
지수는 BTS 콘서트에 가고 싶어해요. Jisu wants to go to a BTS concert.
제 친구는 한국어를 배우고 싶어해요. My friend wants to learn Korean.
우리 학생들은 한국에 가고 싶어해요. Our students want to go to Korea.

💡 -고 싶다 vs -고 싶어하다

저는 한국에 가고 싶어요. ✓ (I — first person)
지민은 한국에 가고 싶어요. ✗ (third person — incorrect!)
지민은 한국에 가고 싶어해요. ✓ (third person — correct!)

The rule is simple:
I / you (in questions) → -고 싶다
He / she / they / everyone else → -고 싶어하다

3. -(으)면 좋겠다 — I hope / I wish…

While -고 싶다 expresses a direct personal desire, -(으)면 좋겠다 expresses a softer feeling — a hope or wish. It is often used when the speaker is less certain that the wish will come true, or when expressing a hope about something outside their direct control.

Form

With 받침* → -으면 좋겠어요
Without 받침* → -면 좋겠어요

날씨가 좋으면 좋겠어요. I hope the weather is nice.
시험을 잘 보면 좋겠어요. I hope (you/I) do well on the exam..
한국에 가면 좋겠어요. I hope I can go to Korea.
콘서트 표가 있으면 좋겠어요. I hope there are concert tickets.

Examples

빨리 주말이 되면 좋겠어요. I hope the weekend comes soon.
지민을 만나면 좋겠어요. I hope I get to meet Jimin.
BTS가 런던에 오면 좋겠어요. I hope BTS comes to London.
한국어를 잘 할 수 있으면 좋겠어요. I hope I can speak Korean well.

💡 -고 싶다 vs -(으)면 좋겠다

-고 싶다 — a direct, personal desire. You are the one who will act.
저는 한국에 가고 싶어요. I want to go to Korea. (I will go — direct desire)

-(으)면 좋겠다 — a softer hope or wish. The outcome is not fully in your control.
한국에 가면 좋겠어요. I hope I can go to Korea. (I hope it happens — uncertain)

Summary

Expression	Meaning	Used for	Example
-고 싶다	I want to	1st / 2nd person	한국에 가고 싶어요.
-고 싶어하다	(Someone) wants to	3rd person	지민은 한국에 가고 싶어해요.
-(으)면 좋겠다	I hope / I wish	Hopes / wishes	한국에 가면 좋겠어요.

Practice

Exercise 1 — Choose the correct expression 맞는 표현을 고르세요

1. 저는 한국 음식을 __. (I want to eat Korean food.)
   a) 먹고 싶어해요 b) 먹고 싶어요 c) 먹으면 좋겠어요
   
2. 제 친구는 BTS 콘서트에 __. (My friend wants to go to a BTS concert.)
   a) 가고 싶어요 b) 가면 좋겠어요 c) 가고 싶어해요
   
3. 날씨가 __. (I hope the weather is nice.)
   a) 좋고 싶어요 b) 좋으면 좋겠어요 c) 좋고 싶어해요

Answers

1. b) 먹고 싶어요 (first person — direct desire)
2. c) 가고 싶어해요 (third person — friend’s desire)
3. b) 좋으면 좋겠어요 (hope about something outside your control)

Exercise 2 — Translate into Korean 한국어로 쓰세요

1. I want to learn Korean.
   → ____________________
2. Jisu wants to go to London. (third person)
   → ____________________
3. I hope BTS comes to London.
   → ____________________
4. I wanted to eat Korean food. (past)
   → ____________________
5. I don’t want to exercise today. (하다 verb)
   → ____________________

Answers

1. 저는 한국어를 배우고 싶어요.
2. 지수는 런던에 가고 싶어해요.
3. BTS가 런던에 오면 좋겠어요.
4. 한국 음식을 먹고 싶었어요.
5. 오늘은 운동 안 하고 싶어요.