Wanting in Korean — -고 싶다 and Expressions of Desire

<h2>Expressing Desires — The Key to Survival</h2> <p>If I had to choose ONE single grammar structure to master upon arriving in Korea, it would be "want." Because everything starts there: "I want to eat that," "I want to go there," "I want to [learn Korean](/en/korean)." When I arrived in Seoul twelve years ago, the first three sentences I learned all used <strong>-고 싶다</strong> (-go sipda). And believe me, it saved my life on a daily basis.</p> <h2>The Main Structure: -고 싶다 (-go sipda) — "I Want to Do"</h2> <p>To say "I want to + verb," take the verb stem and add <strong>-고 싶다</strong>.</p> <h3>Construction</h3> <p><strong>Verb stem + -고 싶다</strong></p> <table> <tr><th>Verb</th><th>Stem</th><th>+ -고 싶다</th><th>Conjugated (polite)</th><th>Translation</th></tr> <tr><td>[가다](/en/dictionary/%EA%B0%80%EB%8B%A4) (gada) — to go</td><td>가</td><td>가고 싶다</td><td>가고 싶어요</td><td>I want to go</td></tr> <tr><td>먹다 (meokda) — to eat</td><td>먹</td><td>먹고 싶다</td><td>먹고 싶어요</td><td>I want to eat</td></tr> <tr><td>보다 (boda) — to see</td><td>보</td><td>보고 싶다</td><td>보고 싶어요</td><td>I want to see</td></tr> <tr><td>배우다 (baeuda) — to learn</td><td>배우</td><td>배우고 싶다</td><td>배우고 싶어요</td><td>I want to learn</td></tr> <tr><td>마시다 (masida) — to drink</td><td>마시</td><td>마시고 싶다</td><td>마시고 싶어요</td><td>I want to drink</td></tr> <tr><td>사다 (sada) — to buy</td><td>사</td><td>사고 싶다</td><td>사고 싶어요</td><td>I want to buy</td></tr> </table> <p>The beauty of this construction is that it's <strong>100% regular</strong>. No exceptions, no irregularities. Whatever the verb, you take the stem and attach -고 싶다. It's almost too good to be true after the nightmares of French [conjugation](/en/blog/korean-conjugation-is-simpler-than-french-conjugation-here-s-why).</p> <h3>Real-Life Examples</h3> <p>Here are sentences I literally use every week in Seoul:</p> <ul> <li><strong>한국어를 배우고 싶어요</strong> (hangugeo-reul baeugo sipeoyo) — I want to learn Korean</li> <li><strong>불고기를 먹고 싶어요</strong> (bulgogi-reul meokgo sipeoyo) — I want to eat bulgogi</li> <li><strong>제주도에 가고 싶어요</strong> (jejudo-e gago sipeoyo) — I want to go to [Jeju](/en/blog/jeju-travel-vocabulary)</li> <li><strong>영화를 보고 싶어요</strong> (yeonghwa-reul bogo sipeoyo) — I want to see a movie</li> <li><strong>커피를 마시고 싶어요</strong> (keopi-reul masigo sipeoyo) — I want to drink coffee</li> </ul> <p>My first memory with this construction: I was lost in the 명동 (Myeongdong) district and wanted to find a café. I stopped a passerby and said "커피를 마시고 싶어요. 카페가 어디에 있어요?" (I want to drink coffee. Where's a café?). He smiled and pointed to the Starbucks twenty meters away. Victory.</p> <h2>The Negative Form: -고 싶지 않다</h2> <p>To say "I don't want to," add -지 않다 after -고 싶다:</p> <p><strong>Stem + -고 싶지 않다</strong></p> <table> <tr><th>Affirmative</th><th>Negative</th><th>Translation</th></tr> <tr><td>가고 싶어요</td><td>가고 싶지 않아요</td><td>I don't want to go</td></tr> <tr><td>먹고 싶어요</td><td>먹고 싶지 않아요</td><td>I don't want to eat</td></tr> <tr><td>일하고 싶어요</td><td>일하고 싶지 않아요</td><td>I don't want to work</td></tr> </table> <p>Cultural note: saying "I don't want to" directly is considered quite blunt in Korean. Koreans prefer softer formulations. Rather than "I don't want to go," people often say "좀..." (um...) with an embarrassed smile. After twelve years here, I've learned that sometimes, saying nothing is the best [negation](/en/blog/negation-in-korean-vs-vs-3-ways-to-say-not).</p> <h2>The Trap: -고 싶어하다 — Talking About OTHER People's Desires</h2> <p>Here's a crucial point that many textbooks don't explain well. In Korean, you CANNOT use -고 싶다 to talk about another person's wants. Why? Because -고 싶다 expresses an internal feeling, and you can't know other people's feelings.</p> <p>For third persons, use <strong>-고 싶어하다</strong> (-go sipeo-hada):</p> <table> <tr><th>For "I/you" (direct feeling)</th><th>For "he/she/they" (observed)</th></tr> <tr><td>가고 싶어요 — I want to go</td><td>가고 싶어해요 — He/she wants to go</td></tr> <tr><td>먹고 싶어요 — I want to eat</td><td>먹고 싶어해요 — He/she wants to eat</td></tr> <tr><td>보고 싶어요 — I want to see</td><td>보고 싶어해요 — He/she wants to see</td></tr> </table> <p>Concrete example: when talking about my wife to a friend, I say "와이프가 한국에 가고 싶어해요" (my wife wants to go to Korea). If I said "와이프가 가고 싶어요," it would be grammatically odd — as if I were feeling her desire for her.</p> <h3>Important Exception</h3> <p>In <strong>questions</strong>, you can use -고 싶다 for the 2nd person:</p> <ul> <li>뭐 먹고 싶어요? (mwo meokgo sipeoyo?) — What do you want to eat?</li> <li>어디에 가고 싶어요? (eodie gago sipeoyo?) — Where do you want to go?</li> </ul> <p>This makes sense: by asking the question, you're directly asking the person about their feelings.</p> <h2>원하다 (wonhada) — Wanting an OBJECT</h2> <p>There's an important distinction: <strong>-고 싶다</strong> is used for wanting to DO something (verb), while <strong>원하다</strong> (wonhada) is used for wanting to HAVE something (noun).</p> <table> <tr><th>Structure</th><th>Usage</th><th>Example</th><th>Translation</th></tr> <tr><td>-고 싶다</td><td>Want to do (verb)</td><td>가고 싶어요</td><td>I want to go</td></tr> <tr><td>원하다</td><td>Want to have (noun)</td><td>선물을 원해요</td><td>I want a gift</td></tr> </table> <p>Examples with 원하다:</p> <ul> <li><strong>행복을 원해요</strong> (haengbogeul wonhaeyo) — I want happiness</li> <li><strong>새 핸드폰을 원해요</strong> (sae haendeupon-eul wonhaeyo) — I want a new phone</li> <li><strong>뭐 원하세요?</strong> (mwo wonhaseyo?) — What do you want? (polite)</li> </ul> <p>However, in everyday conversation, 원하다 can sound a bit formal or literary. For everyday situations, Koreans often prefer rephrasing with -고 싶다: instead of "커피를 원해요" (I want coffee), it's more natural to say "커피를 마시고 싶어요" (I want to drink coffee).</p> <h2>Polite Ways to Express Desire</h2> <p>In Korea, expressing desires too directly can seem impolite. Here are softer formulations:</p> <table> <tr><th>Politeness level</th><th>Expression</th><th>Translation</th></tr> <tr><td>Direct (between friends)</td><td>먹고 싶어</td><td>I want to eat</td></tr> <tr><td>Polite (standard)</td><td>먹고 싶어요</td><td>I would like to eat</td></tr> <tr><td>Very polite (formal)</td><td>먹고 싶습니다</td><td>I would like to eat (formal)</td></tr> <tr><td>Soft suggestion</td><td>먹을까요?</td><td>Shall we eat?</td></tr> <tr><td>Indirect request</td><td>먹으면 좋겠어요</td><td>It would be nice if we ate</td></tr> </table> <p>The expression <strong>-(으)면 좋겠다</strong> is one of my favorites. It literally means "if [action], it would be good." It's the softest and most polite way to express a wish in Korean, and it's the one I use at the office when I want something from my boss.</p> <h2>보고 싶다 — The Most Romantic "I Want to See You" in the World</h2> <p>A culturally important usage: <strong>보고 싶어요</strong> (bogo sipeoyo) literally means "I want to see," but in the context of relationships, it's the equivalent of "I miss you." It's probably one of the most-used phrases in K-dramas.</p> <ul> <li>보고 싶어요 (bogo sipeoyo) — I miss you (polite)</li> <li>보고 싶어 (bogo sipeo) — I miss you (intimate)</li> <li>많이 보고 싶어요 (mani bogo sipeoyo) — I miss you a lot</li> <li>너무 보고 싶었어요 (neomu bogo sipeosseoyo) — I missed you so much</li> </ul> <p>My Korean wife says "보고 싶어" to me when I'm away on a trip. It's short, simple, and yet loaded with emotion. The beauty of Korean often lies in this simplicity.</p> <h2>Summary</h2> <table> <tr><th>Expression</th><th>Usage</th><th>Example</th></tr> <tr><td>-고 싶다</td><td>Want to do (1st/2nd person)</td><td>가고 싶어요</td></tr> <tr><td>-고 싶어하다</td><td>Want to do (3rd person)</td><td>가고 싶어해요</td></tr> <tr><td>원하다</td><td>Want an object</td><td>선물을 원해요</td></tr> <tr><td>-(으)면 좋겠다</td><td>Polite wish</td><td>가면 좋겠어요</td></tr> </table> <p>Want to practice these expressions of desire in interactive dialogues? <a href="/en/signup">Sign up on Seonsaengnim</a> and learn to express your wants like a real Korean.</p>