3 · Prepositions and fixed patterns
About to: -(으)려고 하다
imminence
With a subject that cannot intend anything, -(으)려고 하다 means that something is about to happen.
You may know -(으)려고 하다 as “intend to”: 내년에 이사하려고 해요, “I am planning to move next year”. The same form has a second meaning that English speakers rarely expect: when the subject is something that cannot plan — the weather, a train, a flower, a baby about to cry — it means “to be about to”. 비가 오려고 해요 is “it is about to rain”.
The form is the one you already know. After a vowel and after l the stem takes -려고 하다: 오려고, 떠나려고, 울려고. After any other consonant it takes -으려고 하다: 닫으려고, 먹으려고. The final 하다 carries tense and politeness: -려고 해요, -려고 했어요, -려고 할 때.
In the past, especially before -는데, the pattern says that something was about to happen when something else came in between: 막 나가려고 했는데 전화가 왔어요, “I was just about to go out when the phone rang”. 막, “just”, often stands in front. The fixed expression -(으)려던 참이다 says “I was just about to” in answer to someone who suggests exactly that.
One spelling trap: in casual speech and text you will often see 갈려고, 할려고, with an extra l. That is not standard Korean. The standard forms are 가려고 and 하려고; the l only belongs where the stem itself ends in it, as in 울려고 from 울다.
The form
| after a vowel | 오다 → 오려고 해요 |
| stem ending in l | 울다 → 울려고 해요 |
| after a consonant | 닫다 → 닫으려고 해요 |
| was about to, when … | 나가려고 했는데 |
| at the moment when | 자려고 할 때 |
| was just about to | 전화하려던 참이었어요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After a vowel or l the stem takes -려고 하다; after another consonant, -으려고 하다.
아기가 울려고 해요.The baby is about to cry.
With a subject that cannot intend — weather, vehicles, plants, things — it means “about to”.
기차가 곧 출발하려고 해요. 빨리 타세요.The train is about to leave. Get on quickly.
In the past with -는데 it means “was about to, when …”.
막 나가려고 했는데 비가 오기 시작했어요.I was just about to go out when it started to rain.
-(으)려던 참이다 answers a suggestion with “I was just about to”.
저도 지금 전화하려던 참이었어요.I was just about to call you too.
The standard spelling has no extra l: 가려고, never 갈려고.
지금 집에 가려고 해요.I am about to go home.
A closer look
Why one form means both
-(으)려고 하다 describes something heading towards an action. For a person that heading is a plan, so it reads as intention; for a cloud or a train, which have no plans, it reads as an event that is imminent. English has the same overlap in “going to”: “I am going to move” is a plan, “it is going to rain” is a prediction.
In writing and careful speech the pattern is often shortened to -(으)려 하다 (비가 오려 한다), and before a noun it becomes -(으)려는: 떠나려는 기차, “the train that is about to leave”.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the stem ends in l
no 으 is added and the l stays: 울려고, 만들려고, 놀려고.
케이크를 만들려고 하는데 계란이 없어요.I want to make a cake, but there are no eggs.
Endings that start with 으 leave it out after l, which behaves like a vowel here — the same rule as in 만들면 and 만들러.
How to spot it
- -(으)려고 하다
- -(으)려고 했는데
- 막
- -(으)려던 참이다
- 곧
Example sentences
하늘이 어두워요. 비가 오려고 해요.The sky is dark. It is about to rain.
꽃이 피려고 해요.The flowers are about to open.
잠이 들려고 할 때 문자가 왔어요.Just as I was falling asleep, a text message came.
문을 닫으려고 하는데 손님이 들어왔어요.I was about to close the door when a customer came in.
영화가 시작하려고 해요. 휴대폰을 꺼 주세요.The film is about to start. Please switch off your phone.
마침 저도 밥을 먹으려던 참이었어요.As it happens, I was just about to eat too.
8 more example sentences
배터리가 다 떨어지려고 해요.The battery is about to run out.
눈물이 나려고 했지만 참았어요.I was about to cry, but I held it back.
해가 지려고 해요. 이제 돌아가요.The sun is about to set. Let's head back now.
제가 말하려고 했는데 친구가 먼저 말했어요.I was about to say it, but my friend said it first.
컵이 떨어지려고 해서 얼른 잡았어요.The cup was about to fall, so I caught it quickly.
버스가 막 떠나려고 할 때 정류장에 도착했어요.I reached the stop just as the bus was about to leave.
물이 끓으려고 해요. 불을 줄이세요.The water is about to boil. Turn the heat down.
안 그래도 지금 나가려던 참이에요.I was about to go out anyway.
Worth knowing (1)
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The answer to a suggestion
안 그래도 …(으)려던 참이었어요 is the natural reply when someone suggests what you were already going to do: “I was just about to do that anyway”.
"창문 좀 열까요?" "안 그래도 열려던 참이었어요."“Shall I open the window?” “I was just about to.”
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The form with an extra l is everywhere in casual texts, and learners copy it. Standard Korean adds -려고 straight to a vowel stem: 가려고, 보려고, 하려고. Only a stem that already ends in l shows one: 살려고 from 살다.
A person -ryeogo hada intends; a cloud -ryeogo hada is about to burst.
Your turn
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