3 · Helping verbs and modal patterns
I'd better: -아/어야겠다
a decision made on the spot
-아/어야겠어요 says what the speaker has just decided they need to do: “I'd better …, I think I'll have to …”.
At a glance
- Remember
- Aya haeyo: the rule says so. Aya gesseoyo: I have just decided so.
- Form
- 가다 → 가야겠어요last vowel a or o
- Signal words
- -아/어야겠다
- 이제
- -네요
- -지 말아야겠다
- Trap
- Wrong:우리 회사에서는 아홉 시까지 출근해야겠어요.Right:우리 회사에서는 아홉 시까지 출근해야 해요.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Korean: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| last vowel a or o | 가다 → 가야겠어요 |
| other vowels | 먹다 → 먹어야겠어요 |
| 하다 verbs | 운동하다 → 운동해야겠어요 |
| with 안 | 안 마셔야겠어요 |
| must not again | 늦지 말아야겠어요 |
| among friends | 가야겠다 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
-아/어야겠어요 reports a decision the speaker has just made.
벌써 늦었네요. 이제 가야겠어요.It's late already. I'd better be going.
It is usually prompted by something the speaker has just noticed.
냉장고가 비었네요. 장을 봐야겠어요.The fridge is empty. I'll have to go shopping.
About somebody else, it gives the speaker's judgment of what they need.
얼굴이 안 좋네요. 병원에 가 봐야겠어요.You don't look well. You'd better see a doctor.
For a decision not to do something, use 안 or -지 말아야겠어요.
다음부터는 늦지 말아야겠어요.I must not be late from now on.
Example sentences
비가 오네요. 우산을 사야겠어요.It's raining. I'd better buy an umbrella.
요즘 너무 피곤해요. 좀 쉬어야겠어요.I've been so tired lately. I need to take a break.
시험이 다음 주예요? 열심히 공부해야겠어요.The exam is next week? I'd better study hard.
이 옷은 너무 작아요. 다른 걸로 바꿔야겠어요.These clothes are too small. I'll have to exchange them.
이제 정말 자야겠어요. 내일 일찍 일어나야 해요.I really must go to bed now. I have to get up early tomorrow.
오늘은 술을 안 마셔야겠어요.I'd better not drink today.
8 more example sentences
살이 좀 쪘어요. 운동을 해야겠어요.I've put on a bit of weight. I'll have to exercise.
배터리가 거의 없네요. 충전해야겠어요.The battery is nearly flat. I need to charge it.
길을 잘 모르겠어요. 지도를 봐야겠어요.I'm not sure of the way. I'll have to look at the map.
너무 늦었어요. 택시를 타야겠어요.It's really late. I'd better take a taxi.
이 책 재미있네요. 끝까지 읽어야겠어요.This book is good. I must read it to the end.
다시는 그 식당에 가지 말아야겠어요.I'm never going to that restaurant again.
친구 생일이 내일이네요. 선물을 준비해야겠어요.My friend's birthday is tomorrow. I'd better get a present ready.
민수 씨가 많이 아픈 것 같아요. 좀 쉬어야겠어요.Minsu seems quite ill. He really needs some rest.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Starting work at nine is a company rule, not a decision the speaker has just made. A standing obligation takes -아/어야 해요; -아/어야겠어요 is for what the speaker decides here and now.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The pattern is two familiar pieces. -아/어야 is the “must” of -아/어야 하다, and -겠- is the syllable of intention. Together, with 하다 dropped, they give 가야겠어요, 먹어야겠어요, 공부해야겠어요: the stem takes -아/어야 as usual, and 겠어요 follows.
It reports a decision taken just now, usually prompted by something the speaker has noticed: 벌써 열 시네요. 이제 가야겠어요, “it's ten already — I'd better be going”. 살이 쪘어요. 운동해야겠어요, “I've put on weight. I'm going to have to exercise”. English says “I'd better”, “I think I should”, “I'll have to”.
That is the difference from -아/어야 해요, which states an obligation as a fact — a rule, a timetable, a requirement. 아홉 시까지 가야 해요 says when one has to be there; 지금 가야겠어요 says that the speaker has decided to leave. About somebody else, -아/어야겠어요 becomes the speaker's judgment: 민수 씨는 좀 쉬어야겠어요, “Minsu really needs a rest”.
The negative is formed with 안 or with -지 말아야겠어요: 오늘은 커피를 안 마셔야겠어요, 다시는 늦지 말아야겠어요, “I must never be late again”. It is spoken Korean; a written report would choose -아/어야 한다.
A closer look
The same ending as a guess
Because -겠-also makes a guess-아/어야겠어요can sometimes be a guess about what is necessary: 이 정도면 다시 만들어야겠어요, “at this rate it looks as if we will have to make it again”. The context nearly always makes clear whether it is a decision or a conclusion.
In the informal style it is -아/어야겠다 and is often said to oneself, almost as a thought out loud: 아, 이제 일어나야겠다, “right, time to get up”.
Worth knowing (1)
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Leaving politely
이제 가 봐야겠어요, “I think I'd better be off”, is the usual polite way to announce that you are leaving a visit or a meeting. The -아/어 보다 in it softens the departure.
시간이 늦어서 이제 가 봐야겠어요.It's getting late, so I'd better be off.
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