Have you tried Korean food? What are the staple or popular dishes in Korean cuisine? Talk with your classmates about typical Korean food and your favorite dishes.

Now, read the dialogue with your classmate. What seems to be happening in the following dialogue?

In this lesson, you will learn how to express your immediate desires and intentions as well as asking for someone else’s using –(으)ㄹ래요. You will also practice how to describe the taste of food or dishes using the noun-modifier form of an adjective.

1. V–(으)ㄹ래요 I’m gonna/wanna /Would you like to? (immediate desire)

The ending –(으)ㄹ래요 indicates an immediate desire or intention. It can only be used with first or second-person subjects (I or you). –ㄹ래요 attaches to vowel-final verb stems and –을래요 attaches to consonant-final stems. Note that there are two ㄹ letters and a doubly-long ㄹ sound:

Verbs that end in ㄹ again act like vowel-ending verbs before –(으)ㄹ래요 by dropping the ㄹ (으 naturally disappears because now the verb ends in a vowel):

–(으)ㄹ래요 questions are often used to ask alternative questions:

NOTE: A sequence of two ㄹ is pronounced long – like a long L sound. Be sure to make the ㄹ double-long in words like 갈래요, 만들래요, 살래요, etc.

NOTE: –(으)ㄹ 거예요, which you learned in a previous lesson, refers to plans for a more distant future whereas –(으)ㄹ래요 is more emotionally-loaded and tied to the speakers’ and the listeners’ immediate intentions and desires.

Because –(으)ㄹ래요 is so related to one’s intentions and desires, it cannot be used with a third-person subject – you can’t speak for another person’s intentions and desires.

Also because –(으)래요 is so immediate, in phrases like 언제 점심 먹을래요?, it is implied that the speaker is also going to be with the listener when the action takes place.

2. Conjugation Practice

Complete the following table with the appropriate –(으)ㄹ래요 forms.

<Answer Key> 배울래요, 연습할래요, 걸을래요, 마실래요, 쓸래요, 만들래요, 볼래요, 도울래요

1111111111111111111111

1. ㅂ–irregulars

Some verbs and adjectives ending in ㅂ are ㅂ–irregulars; they have irregular conjugations. ㅂ–irregular verbs and adjectives have two stem forms: the “consonantal” stem form ending in ㅂ, and the “vocalic” stem form, where ㅂ is dropped and replaced with ㅜ. The choice of the consonantal or vocalic stem depends on the following ending or connector. Use the vocalic (or ㅜ) stem before –(으) and –아/어 endings. Use the consonantal stem before endings starting with consonants, like –고, –지만, etc.

Please note that not every stem ending in ㅂ is an irregular; there are ㅂ regular verbs and adjectives like 입다 (to wear), and 좁다 (to be narrow) where the ㅂ is always there.

You may feel like the conjugated form of 매우 + –(으)ㄹ 거예요 and 매우 + 어서 are different (매울 거예요 vs. 매워서), one having 우 and the other having 워 in the final shape.  But if you think of the process of putting the 우 stem and the connectors together, you can see they are of the same sort:

쉽다	어렵다	덥다	춥다	맵다	돕다
to be easy	to be difficult	to be hot	to be cold	to be spicy	to help
쉬워요	어려워요	더워요	추워요	매워요	도와요

2. Conjugation Practice

Work with a classmate and complete the following conjugation table.

<Answer Key> 추워요, 추웠어요, 추울 거예요, 쉬워요, 쉬웠어요, 쉬울 거예요, 어려워요, 어려웠어요, 어려울 거예요, 매워요, 매웠어요, 매울 거예요, 시끄러워요, 시끄러웠어요, 시끄러울 거예요, 도와요, 도왔어요, 도울 거예요

1. A–(으)ㄴ Noun Modifier

You already know that adjectives in Korean conjugate the same way as verbs do when they function as predicates and come at the end of the sentence. To use adjectives as noun modifiers, simply add –은 after consonant-ending adjective stems and –ㄴ after vowel-ending adjective stems:

Because the noun-modifier ending begins with a vowel “으”, the vocalic stem of the ㅂ–irregular adjectives is used before it.  That is, use 매우 and not 맵 for the adjective spicy:

For adjectives ending in ㄹ, drop ㄹ from the stem (which will then “take” the ending ㄴ because the stem is now vowel-ending):

Finally, for 있다 adjectives, add –는 instead of –은.  This is because 있다 itself is a verb.

There are of course words that are born as noun modifiers (like English live in “a live squid”). The word 새 (new) is an example.

2. Conjugation practice

Complete the following table with the appropriate –(으)ㄴ forms.

<Answer Key> 슬픈, 시원한, 단, 매운, 맛있는, 재미없는

Listen to the conversation between Hanna and Kesi and answer the questions in Korean.

Part 1:

1. Where is Hanna now?

2. Why is Hanna calling Kesi?

Part 2:

3. What does Kesi want?

4. What is Hanna buying?

Read the text messages between Bryan and Sujin and answer the questions in Korean.  (Left: Bryan, Right: Sujin)

1. What is Bryan asking Sujin?

2. What is Bryan’s preference?

3. What kind of drama is “오 마이 도깨비”?

4. What will Bryan and Sujin be doing this weekend?

Simply My Style

You and your friends started hosting a Korean conversation podcast in which you talk about various topics. This week’s topic is “personal taste”. Talk about what kind of foods/movies/songs/people/places, etc. that you like in general. (Try to describe using noun modifiers: Adjective + NOUN). Once your group conversation is finished, share with other groups in a class-group forum.

아, 고소하다!

There is a flavor word unique to Korean: 고소하다. Koreans tend to like things that have the 고소 flavor more than sweets. There is no exact equivalent word in English, although “savory” in the British sense comes close. Some things that have the 고소 flavor are: 과자, roasted 김, and 땅콩 (peanuts). But the quintessential 고소 flavor comes from 참기름 (sesame oil) or 볶은 깨 (roasted sesame seeds).

As an idiom, “아, 고소하다!” can also mean “It serves you (or someone) right” (i.e., “I am savoring this”).

What other kinds of food do you think have the 고소 flavor?

Korean Meals: More than Food!

Instead of saying “Hi! Hello! How have you been? What’s new?”, Koreans often greet each other with “식사 하셨어요 (Did you eat)?” You see, food, food culture, and sharing food are very important in Korean culture. “나중에 밥 한번 먹자 (Let’s have a meal someday).” is also often used instead of “Goodbye, see you later” and shows that the person has an interest in your well-being or in being your friend.

There is also an old idiom 한솥밥 먹은 사람 that literally means people who eat from the same pot. Food is love for Koreans. So, more than likely, one of the first things a Korean friend will want to do for you is to introduce you to Korean food, and especially, to share a meal with you.

Eating (together) is one of the simple but great joys of life to Koreans. Though Koreans may show some concern for a foreigner’s ability to eat spicy foods (or certain more rare specialties like 삼겹살 (uncured bacon/pork belly that includes the rather chewy skin) and 골뱅이 (freshwater snails)), the foreigner will nevertheless be served in abundance and encouraged to eat an extraordinary amount. It is the utmost rudeness to Koreans to be stingy with food, so they will offer to share what they have (and so should you!), give you the best portions, and serve you rice liberally. For restaurants, the more side-dishes the better; abundance and generosity are paramount. Guests are usually told “많이 드세요.” and though this is a set phrase, it seems like they still mean it!