Nouns:

기적 = miracle

차량 = vehicle

관객 = audience

치과 의사= dentist

정신과 의사= psychiatrist

공연 = performance, show, concert

업무 = administrative work

탈의실 = change room

표 = ticket

표 = graph, table

간장 = soy sauce

고생 = some sort of hard time or hardship

휴대폰 = cell phone

뜻 = meaning

세일 = sale

이력서 = resume, curriculum vitae

비서 = secretary

연예인 = celebrity

행사 = event, function

일자리 = job position

Verbs:
명령하다 = to order, to command

빼다 = to pull out, to extract

지원하다 = to apply for

신다 = to put on shoes or socks

신기다 = to put shoes or socks on somebody

따르다 = to pour

채우다 = to fill

비우다 = to empty

끊다 = to cut off, to quit something

헤어지다 = to break up with a person

살리다 = to save (a life)

썰다 = to chop, to slice

예매하다 = to purchase in advance

판단하다 = to judge

해결하다 = to solve, to resolve

구하다 = to search for a worker, to search for a job

통제하다 = to control

연락하다 = to contact

예약하다 = to reserve

평가하다 = to evaluate
Passive Verbs:
끊기다 = to be cut off

막히다 = to be congested

Adjectives:
약하다 = to be weak

자세하다 = to be detailed

취하다 = to be drunk

심심하다 = to be bored

Adverbs and Other Words:

평일 = a weekday

For help memorizing these words, try using our Memrise tool.

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn about how to use ~려고 and ~러 in sentences to have the
meaning of “for the purpose of/in order to.” You will also learn how to add ~어/아 보다to
verbs to have the meaning of “attempt/try to,” which is often used with the noun ‘적’.
Let’s get started.
With the intention of doing…: ~(으)려고

Adding ~(으)려고to the stem of the verb gives it the meaning of “with the intention of” or
“in order to.” ~려고gets added to stems ending in a vowel and ~으려고gets added to
stems ending in a consonant. For example:

밖에 나가려고… With the intention of going outside/in order to go outside…

그 사람을 살리려고… With the intention of saving that person/in order to save that person…

The constructions we have created above are not full sentences – they are just clauses
that we can put into sentences. We can create full sentences by adding a clause to the
end of them. For example:

밖에 일찍 나가려고 숙제를빨리했어요 = I did my homework fast in order to go out early

저는 신발을 신으려고 잠깐앉았어요 = I sat down for a minute in order to put on my shoe
The translation of “to”, “so that”, or “with the intention” are also usually appropriate, as
they all describe the same thing. For example:

밖에 일찍 나가려고 숙제를빨리했어요 = I did my homework fast so that I could go out early

밖에 일찍 나가려고 숙제를빨리했어요 = I did my homework fast to go out early
밖에 일찍 나가려고 숙제를빨리했어요 = I did my homework fast with the intention of going out
early

Here are many more examples:

저는 그 사람을살리려고경찰관을 불렀어요= I called the police officer in order to save that person
저는 정신과의사가되려고 열심히 공부하고 있어요= I am studying hard to become a psychiatrist
그 문제를 해결하려고 우리는잠깐 만났어요= In order to solve that problem, we met for a little bit
그 뜻을 이해하려고 책을두 번읽었어요 = In order to understand that meaning, I read the book
twice
이렇게 많은 내용을 학생들에게가르치려고 고생을많이 했어요= I worked hard/suffered in order to
teach that much content to the students
저는 일을 구하려고 그회사에이력서를 냈어요= I submitted my resume to that company with the
intention of applying for that job
저는 그 일에지원하려고그 회사에 이력서를 냈어요= I submitted my resume to that company with
the intention of applying for that job
학생들을 평가하려고내일 시험을 볼 거예요= In order to evaluate the students, they will do an
exam tomorrow

You can specifically use ~(으)려고 at the end of a sentence when the remainder of that
sentence can be assumed. When used like this, it typically indicates what the speaker is
just about to do. It is usually used in response to a question. For example:

마트에 갔어요? = Have you gone to the store?/Did you go to the store?
아니요~ 지금가려고요= No, but I’m going right now/I’m just about to go

일을 다 했어? = Have you finished the work/Did you finish the work?
지금 하려고= I’m doing it right now/I’m just about to do it/finish it

Notice that these constructions look like incomplete sentences because ~(으)려고 is
usually used between clauses (as you can see in the examples provided earlier in the
lesson), and not to end a sentence. However, the language has evolved to allow the
above constructions to be correct. Also notice that you can add the honorific “요” to
“(으)려고” when used at the end of a sentence to make the sentence more formal. You
will learn many other grammatical principles throughout your Korean studies that
typically connect two clauses, but can be used at the end of a sentence like this if the
context allows for it. In most of these cases, it is acceptable to attach “요” to make it
polite, even though it is not an actual conjugated word.
The clauses that you can add after ~(으)려고 are, for all intents and purposes, endless as
long as the situation makes sense. However, one verb that is very commonly used after
~(으)려고 is “노력하다”, which means “to put effort into”. We will talk about this next.

To try to: ~(으)려고노력하다

If you want to say “I try to ___” you can use the verb 노력하다after ~(으)려고. For example:

그 친구를 매주말만나려고 노력해요 = I try to meet that friend every weekend

한국어를 배우려고노력하고 있어요 = I am trying to learn Korean

노력하다 itself means to try/put effort into something. So literally, the sentences means

“In order to meet that friend every weekend, I try”, and

“In order to learn Korean, I am trying”

But neither of those sentences (in English) sound natural. It is more natural to just say “I
try…”

You could also add this to a long line of other words. It’s hard to explain, and you would
never really need to say something like this, but understanding it will help you with
grammar (a little bit). When I first started learning things like this, I always asked how I
would say “I think I want to start to try to learn Korean.” Perfect sentence, but nobody
would ever really say anything that ridiculous. You know everything in that sentence
except “I think,” so with what you learned today, you should know how to say “I want to
start to try to learn Korean:”

한국어를 배운다= I learn Korean

한국어를 배우려고노력한다= I try to learn Korean
한국어를 배우려고노력하기 시작한다 = I start to try to learn Korean
한국어를 배우려고노력하기 시작하고 싶다= I want to start to try to learn Korean

… Heh, like I said – saying something that complex is unnecessary, but understanding it
is always good grammar practice.
To Come/Go to… ~(으)러

The clause connector ~(으)러 is very similar to ~(으)려고, but is specifically used when one
is “going to” or “coming from” a place in order to do something. To distinguish it from
the sentences earlier, these two would not be appropriate:

밖에 일찍 나가러 숙제를빨리했어요 = I did my homework fast in order to go out early

저는 신발을 신으러 잠깐앉았어요 = I sat down for a minute in order to put on my shoe

Instead, ~(으)러should be used when one is going to or coming from a place in order to
do something. This usually means that the predicating verb of the whole sentence
should be either 가다or 오다, but other variations of those verbs are also acceptable (for
example: 내려가다, to go down; 내려오다, to come down; 들어가다, to go in; 들어오다, to come
in). Here are some examples:
친구를 만나러왔어= I came (here) to meet my friend
공부하러 학교에가고 있어= I’m going to school to study
표를 예매하러극장에 가고있어요 = I am going to the theater to buy the tickets (in advance)
그 연예인을 보러 행사에갔어요= I went to the event to see that celebrity
일자리에 지원하러왔어요= I came to apply for that job
옷을 갈아입으러탈의실에 갔어요 = He went to the change-room to change his clothes
저는 영화를 보러 나가고싶어요= I want to go out to see a movie

As you saw before, you cannot use ~(으)러 instead of ~(으)려고. That is, while this
sentence is okay:
밖에 일찍 나가려고 숙제를빨리했어요

The following sentence is not correct because it does not use 가다, 오다, or a similar
“come/go” verb:
밖에 일찍 나가러 숙제를빨리했어요
However, the opposite can be done. That is, ~(으)려고 can be used instead of ~(으)러. For
example, all of the sentences below are okay:

표를 예매하려고극장에 가고있어요
그 연예인을 보려고 행사에갔어요
일자리에 지원하려고왔어요
옷을 갈아입으려고탈의실에 갔어요
심심해서 저는영화를 보려고나가고 싶어요

In Lesson 13, you learned about adding ~을/를위해to nouns to have the meaning “for.”
For example:

나는 나의 여자친구를위해(서) 꽃을 샀어= I bought flowers for my girlfriend

You can also use “위해” to say that you do something “for (the purpose of)” a verb. To do
this, you attach ~기위해to a verb, just like you did with ~(으)러 or ~(으)려고. For example:

친구를 만나기위해 여기로왔어= I came here to meet a friend

친구를 만나러여기로 왔어= I came here to meet a friend
친구를 만나려고여기로 왔어= I came here to meet a friend

공부하기 위해학교에 가고있어= I’m going to school to study

공부하러 학교에가고 있어= I’m going to school to study
공부하려고 학교에가고 있어= I’m going to school to study

It is important to notice that in all of these cases the tense is indicated in the final clause
of the sentence. That is – no indication of tense is to be made before ~기
위해/~(으)러/~(으)려고. For example, notice how the tense is indicated in the final clause of
the following sentences:

친구를 만나러학교에 갔어요= I went to school to meet a friend

친구를 만나러학교에 가고있어요 = I am going to school to meet a friend
친구를 만나러학교에 갈거예요= I will go to school to meet a friend

공연을 보러 행사에 갔어요= I went to the event to see the performance

공연을 보러 행사에 가고있어요= I am going to the event to see the performance
공연을 보러 행사에 갈거예요= I will go to the event to see the performance
Before we finish this lesson, let’s look at another grammatical principal that is often
translated similarly to the ones above.
To attempt: ~아/어보다

Adding ~아/어보다to the stem of a verb gives it the meaning of “to attempt/try.” The
translations to English are very similar – if not identical to ~(으)려고/~(으)러/~기 위해 but the
meanings are very different. Notice the similarities in the English translations of the
following sentences:

나는 밥을 먹으려고 노력했다= I tried to eat rice

나는 밥을 먹어봤다= I tried to eat (the) rice

I would like to describe the meaning of ~아/어 보다by distinguishing it from the use of “try”
in the translation of ~(으)려고/(으)러/기위해.

나는 밥을 먹으려고 노력했다
Means that you tried to eat rice in the sense that you put effort into eating. A less
ambiguous (but less natural) translation would be “I put effort into eating the rice.”

나는 밥을 먹어봤어
Means that you tried rice, similar to the meaning that you “tried something out.” This
meaning is not related to the effort of eating the rice, but instead the experience of the
“test” or “trial” or “attempt” of trying the rice. Another good way to translate that
sentence would be to say “I gave the rice a try.”

It is a little bit confusing at first because the best translations of both sentences above is
to use “try,” which can be very ambiguous. In my examples below, I prefer to use the
simple translation of “try” when using “~아/어보다” because it is usually the most natural
way to express that meaning. When reading the English translations below, keep in mind
that the usage of “try” is not related to effort, but instead related to a “trial/test/attempt.”
Let’s look at some examples:

엄마가 요리한음식을 먹어봤어? = Did you try the food mom cooked?
결혼하기 위해남자들을 만나봤어 = In order to get married, I tried meeting a lot of men
그 신발을 신어봤어요= I tried on the shoes
옛날 친구를 연락해 봤어요= I tried contacting an old friend
그 셔츠를 탈의실에서 입어봤어요 = I tried on that shirt in the change room
비상출구를 찾아볼 거예요= I will look for the emergency exit
그 업무를 처음으로 해봤어요= I tried that work for the first time
그 회사에 지원해 볼거예요= I am going to try to apply to that company
이력서를 회사에서 일하는 비서에게 줘 봤어요 = I tried giving my resume to the secretary who
works at that office

One of the most common usages of ~아/어 보다is when you are telling somebody to do
something. In essence, telling somebody to “try/attempt” something. I have yet to teach
you about the imperative mood (this will be discussed in Lesson 40), so you won’t
understand these example sentences completely. Regardless, examine the following
example sentences to try to understand how ~아/어보다 is being used.

그것을 확인해봐!! = Check that! (Try checking that!)

이것을 먹어 봐! = Eat this! (Try eating this!)
여기 와 보세요= Come here (Try coming here)
지금 앉아 봐= Sit down (Try sitting down)
문을 열어 봐= Open the door (Try opening the door)
먼저 가 봐= Go first (Try going first)
이거를 봐 봐= Look at this (Try looking at this)
이것을 드셔 보세요= Eat this (Try eating this)
이 차를 마셔보세요= Drink this tea (Try drinking this tea)

Another common usage of the ~아/어보다grammatical form is used in conjunction with

the pseudo-noun 적, which we will talk about next.

The Noun of Experience: 적

In Lesson 30, you learned about the pseudo-noun ‘지.’ For example:

밥을 먹은 지5 분 됐다= I have been eating for 5 minutes

In that lesson, you learned that 지is one of a handful of nouns that have no meaning
when used on their own. However, when used in connection with a describing verb or
adjective, they have a special meaning.

“적” is another one of these nouns which cannot be used on its own. However, if you add
~ㄴ/은to a verb stem and place 적after ~ㄴ/은, “적” has the meaning of “experience.”
Notice that ~ㄴ/은 is the same addition that is added to verbs when the past-tense form
of ~는 것is added.
So, let’s go through this step by step. First, you need a verb: 먹다

Add ~ㄴ/은to the verb stem. ~은gets added to words ending in a consonant, ~ㄴ gets
added directly to words ending in a vowel: So we get: 먹은
Add 적: 먹은 적
If I were to say:

김치를 먹은 적

It would mean “the experience of eating kimchi.” Remember that ‘적’ is a noun that
means ‘experience’ when used this way.

But, you can’t end sentences with nouns, so you need to finish the sentence with 있다 or
없다 to mean “to have the experience of eating kimchi” or “to not have the experience of
eating kimchi.”

For example:
김치를 먹은 적이 없어요= I don’t have the experience of eating kimchi…
… which is translated naturally to “I have never eaten kimchi”

Here are many more examples:

거기에 간 적이없어요= I have never gone/been there/I haven’t been there

그 여자를 만난적이없어요= I have never met that girl/I haven’t met that girl
연예인을 만난적이 없어요= I have never met anybody famous
이런 업무를 한적이없어요= I have never done this type of work before
이런 공연을 평일에 본적이 없어요 = I have never seen a performance like this on a weekday
그 영화를 본적이있어요? = Have you seen that movie?

Because 적refers to an experience, it is common to attach ~아/어보다to the preceding

verb to indicate that the particular experience was “tried/attempted.”

거기에 가 본적이없어요= I have never been there (tried going there)

그 여자를 만나본적이 없어요= I have never met that girl (tried meeting her)
저는 치과에 가본적이 없어요= I have never (tried going to) been to the dentist
이력서를 만들어본 적이없어요= I have never tried making a resume before
그 영화를 봐본적이 있어요? = Have you tried seeing that that movie?
Notice that even in the final example, the word 보다 (to see/watch) is not the same as the
보다 in the ~아/어보다grammatical principle. Therefore, it is not unnatural to say 보다twice
in a row.

That’s it!