-을게 / -ㄹ게
-을게: I'll Do It — Promise to You
I'll do it — marks the speaker's promise or will, addressed to the listener.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stem ends in a consonant (not ㄹ) | -을게 | 먹다 → 먹을게 / 앉다 → 앉을게 |
| Stem ends in a vowel or ㄹ | -ㄹ게 | 가다 → 갈게 / 살다 → 살게 |
| Everyday polite | -을게요 / -ㄹ게요 | 주문할게요 / 갈게요 |
-을게 is the ending for I’ll do this — and I’m telling you so.
주문할게요 on a restaurant turn is not a weather-style future. It is a promise aimed at the person taking the order: I’ll place the order / I’ll have that.
Forms
| Stem | Shape | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant (not ㄹ) | -을게(요) | 먹을게, 앉을게요 |
| Vowel or ㄹ | -ㄹ게(요) | 갈게, 살게, 할게요 |
제가 할게요. I’ll do it.
조금 기다릴게요. I’ll wait a bit.
나중에 연락할게요. I’ll contact you later.Promise, not “future tense”
English lumps many Korean endings under will. Separate the jobs:
| Ending | Job |
|---|---|
| -을게 | promise / will to the listener |
| -겠- -겠- | judgement, forecast flavour, some offers |
| -을까 -을까 | suggestion or wondering |
| -고 싶다 -고 싶다 | want to |
비가 오겠어요 is not interchangeable with 제가 챙길게요.
Aimed at someone
우리말샘 places -을게 / -ㄹ게 in spoken 해라 territory for promise or will. In class you almost always meet -을게요 — same commitment, 해요체 politeness.
If nobody is there to receive the promise, another pattern usually fits better.
Shape traps
- *먹ㄹ게 / *가을게 — wrong split of -을/-ㄹ
- Do not stack a past stem for “I promised” as *-었을게; say what you will do now, or report the past another way
Same unit as -기
Ordering unit also teaches -기. One packages verbs as nouns; this one closes the turn with I’ll… toward the listener.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
On the jabi learning path, this appears in 주문할게요 (I'd like to order) — Beginner Korean 2, Unit 5, on the theme of order. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. In 주문할게요, who is the promise for?
2. How does -을게 differ from -겠-?
3. What is 살다 in this form?
Common questions
Is -을게요 in the dictionary as its own headword?
Classroom Korean teaches -을게요 as the 해요체 shape of -을게. Treat 요 as the politeness layer on the same promise ending.
Can I use it when talking to myself?
The core job is will/promise toward an addressee. For private plans, learners usually reach for other patterns — do not stretch -을게 into silent monologue.
How is it different from -을까요?
eulkka asks or floats an idea (먹을까요?). -을게 answers with the speaker’s commitment (내가 주문할게요).
Is it the same as wanting?
No. go-sipda is desire. -을게 is what you undertake to do, whether or not you 'feel like' it.
How is -을게 different from -을래?
eullae asks or states casual intention toward someone close (먹을래?). -을게 is the speaker’s promise to the listener (내가 주문할게).
Seen in the wild
Lessons where this pattern showed up in real Korean — news, slang, drama lines.
