고자 [ Korean Grammar ]

Today, we'll be looking at the usage of "-고자" Korean grammar pattern, with some example sentences.

Usage:

First clause of the sentence is the reason for doing the action in the second clause of the sentence. 

A connective ending used when the speaker has a certain purpose, intention, hope, etc.

It can mean "wanting to, wishing to, should/would like to, going to, willing to, intending to, so as to, with the intention of, so that ~ may, for the purpose of" etc in English.

This grammar pattern is used mainly in official situations while giving a speech / presentation or writing a report.

Keep in mind that it cannot be used with the past tense ~ 았 / 었 nor future tense ~ 겠.

Negative particles ~안 and `못 can also be not used to speak about the speaker's intention with ~고자 하다.

Now let's look at the conjugation rule :

Irrespective of whether the verb stem ends with a consonant or vowel you simply have to add 고자 하다 after the verb stem.

Lets see some example sentences :

1) 그게 내가 말하고자 했던 거다

That is what I was going to say. or This is what I was wanting to say.

2) 충분한 수면을 취하고자 그는 일찍 잔다

He goes to bed early so as to get plenty of sleep. 

3) 부산에 가고자 한다

I am going to go to Busan. 

4) 그는 더 잘 보고자 안경을 닦았다

He wiped his spectacles in order to see better. 

5) 할아버지는 아들 집에 오랫동안 계시고자 했다.

The grandfather wanted to stay with his son for a long time.

6) 사람들은 누구나 맛있고 몸에 좋은 음식을 먹고자 한다.

Everyone wants to eat delicious and healthy food.

7) 남에게 존중을 받고자 한다면 먼저 상대방을 존중해야 한다.

If you want to be respected by others, you must first respect them.

8) 민준이는 친구에게 어려움이 생겼을 때마다 해결해 주고자 애를 쓴다.

Whenever Min-Jun’s friend faces a difficulty, he tries to help solve it.

To understand TOPIK Test structure, application process, Levels and Passing scores etc. check these pages:

1. TOPIK – The Complete Guide & 2. TOPIK Levels and Passing Marks. You can also Practice Online with TOPIK GUIDE Mock Tests.

Learning Korean can be tricky, especially when the goal of your learning is conversation. If you’ve ever attempted to speak Korean but were unable to, then hopefully you’ll find this post helpful.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or suggestions. Comment down below.