(좋겠다) -았으면/-었으면 좋겠다 grammar | hope/ wish in korean
-았으면/-었으면 좋겠다 grammar can be translated into English in several different ways, depending on the context as…
“It would be nice if…”
“I would like it if…”
“I hope…”
“I wish…”.
You can use -았으면/-었으면 좋겠다 in any situation when you would use one of these expressions in English. But unlike in English, the thing that you are hoping or wishing for must come BEFORE this expression. So in Korean, you say -았으면/-었으면 좋겠다.
-좋겠다 is the basic form of this expression, which you will find in a textbook. But, as with all Korean expressions, this ending can be changed according to the situation and level of politeness that is required. Here are some examples:
When speaking casually with friends: –좋겠어
When Speaking more politely to a stranger or someone older than you: –좋겠어요
When Speaking even more politely in a formal situation or to show respect: –좋겠습니다
When talking to yourself or making an exclamation to no one in particular: 좋겠다!
The basic form is 좋겠다 but remember that the ending can be changed depending on who you are talking to.
How to use -았으면/-었으면 좋겠다 grammar?
To use -았으면/-었으면 좋겠다, you need to attach it to the end of a verb. You need to choose either -았으면 좋겠다 or -었으면 좋겠다 depending on how the verb is conjugated in the past tense.
Generally, the rule is, if the final vowel of the verb stem you are using (after removing 다) is either 오 or 아, you use 았으면 좋겠다. Otherwise, you use 었으면 좋겠다.
-았으면/-었으면 좋겠다 grammar examples
- 집에 빨리 갔으면 좋겠어요. It would be nice if we could get home quickly / I hope we can get home quickly
The verb in this example is 가다, to go. The verb stem is 가, which ends in an 아, so we use 았으면 좋겠다 → 갔으면 좋겠어요. You can see how 가 and 았으면 combine to form 갔으면 because the 아 vowel is already there. In this sentence, we are speaking politely, so the ending changes to 좋겠어요.
- 강아지를 키웠으면 좋겠어요 It would be nice to have a dog.
The verb is 키우다, to raise (a pet or a child). The verb stem is 키우, which ends in an 우, so we use 었으면 좋겠다 → 키웠으면 좋겠어요. In this example, 키우 and 었으면 combine to form 키웠으면.
This is because it’s easier to pronounce the double vowel, 워, than 우 and 어 separately. Imagine 어 as like a key that fits into the 우.
좋겠다 changes to 좋겠어요 when speaking politely. 강아지를 키웠으면 좋겠어요.
- 한국어를 잘했으면 좋겠어요. I wish I was good at Korean.
For 하다 verbs, we use -했으면 좋겠다, similar to how in the past tense, 하다 becomes 했어요, not 핬어요.
잘하다, to do (something) well, is a 하다 verb, so we use 했으면 좋겠어요.
In this example, the speaker is speaking politely, so 좋겠다 changes to 좋겠어요.
There are some irregular verbs that require some extra work before you can apply this rule.
- 너가 BTS 노래 들었으면 좋겠어. It would be good if you listened to BTS / I wish you would listen to BTS.
듣다, to listen, ends in a ㄷ, so you need to change the ㄷ to a ㄹ – 들 and then follow the normal rule.
The last vowel in 들 is 으 so you add 었으면 좋겠다 → 들었으면 좋겠다.
In this sentence, the speaker is speaking to a close friend, so 좋겠다 can be changed to 좋겠어, to make it more informal.
너가 BTS 노래 들었으면 좋겠어.
- 공원이 더 가까웠으면 좋겠어요 It would be nice if the park was closer. / I wish the park was closer.
가깝다, to be close, ends in a ㅂ, so first you need to remove the ㅂ and then add an 우 to make 가까우, then follow the normal rule.
The last vowel in 가까우 is 우, so you add 었으면 좋겠다. Remember that 우 and 었으면 combine to make 웠으면. 가까웠으면 좋겠다.
In this example, the speaker is using polite language, so 좋겠다 changes to 좋겠어요.
- 빨라 나았으면 좋겠습니다 I hope you get well soon.
낫다, to get better or recover (from an illness), ends in a ㅅ. Here, you simply need to remove the ㅅ to make 나, and then follow the normal rule.
The last vowel in 나 is 아, so you add 았으면 좋겠다 → 나았으면 좋겠다.
In this example, the speaker is speaking formally to show respect, so the ending changes to 좋겠습니다.
뻘리 나았으면 좋겠습니다. - 나도 노래를 잘 불렀으면 좋겠다. I wish I was good at singing too.
부르다, to call out or sing, ends in 르, so first you need to remove the 으 and move the ㄹ back to the first syllable to make 불.
Then add another ㄹ.
The last vowel is 우, so you add 었으면 좋겠다 which attaches to the extra ㄹ → 불렀으면 좋겠다.
나도 노래를 잘 불렀으면 좋겠다.
In this example, the speaker is just talking to themselves, so there is no need to change the 좋겠다 ending.
나도 노래를 잘 불렀으면 좋겠다.
- 통증이 사라졌으면 좋겠어요. I hope the pain goes away / I wish the pain would disappear
사라지다, to disappear, ends in 지, which is common for verbs which describe some kind of change.
In the past tense, verbs ending in -지 are conjugated as -졌어요, so for them we use -졌으면 좋겠다.
In this example, the speaker is speaking politely, so 좋겠다 changes to 좋겠어요.
통증이 사라졌으면 좋겠어요.
바라다 grammar | -기를 희망하다
You might see or hear some other expressions such as -기를 바라다 or -기를 희망하다 used in more formal situations.
-기를 바라다 is used to make polite requests, and can often be heard in public announcements, such as on the subway.
지금 열차가 들어오고 있습니다. The train is now approaching. 손님 여러분께서는 한걸음 물러서 주시기 바랍니다. Everyone please step back.
지금의 코로나 시대를 이겨내 나가기를 희망합니다. I hope we can overcome the Covid19 pandemic.
(좋겠다) -았으면/-었으면 좋겠다 grammar summary
To sum up, if the final vowel of the verb stem you are using is 오 or 아, use 았으면 좋겠다. if it’s another vowel, use 었으면 좋겠다, and if it is a 하다 verb, use -했으면 좋겠다.
Just remember when the last vowel is 아 or 오, use 았으면 좋겠다! and for others such as 우, 어, 으 etc. use 었으면 좋겠다!
For 하다 verbs use 했으면 좋겠다!
