jabi.
Grammar Beginner TOPIK I · Level 1–2 Sejong Korean 2 · Unit 5

-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.

Before this, make sure you know: -아요 / -어요

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

StemShapeExample
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:

EndingJob
-을게promise / will to the listener
-겠- -겠-judgement, forecast flavour, some offers
-을까 -을까suggestion or wondering
-고 싶다 -고 싶다want 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

-겠-

guessing or promising — weather and offers

-을까

shall we? — a suggestion phrased as a question

-고 싶다

want to — and why it cannot describe someone else

Taught alongside this

In the Sejong course this appears in 주문할게요 — Sejong Korean 2, Unit 5, on the theme of 주문. These come with it:

-기 making a noun out of a verb, the plain way

Words used above

Tap the speaker to hear it read aloud by your browser.

주문하다jumunhadato order (food, goods)
할게요halgeyoI'll do it (polite promise)
기다리다gidaridato wait
연락하다yeollakadato contact / get in touch

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?

[[g:eulkka]] asks or floats an idea (먹을까요?). -을게 answers with the speaker’s commitment (내가 주문할게요).

Is it the same as wanting?

No. [[g:go-sipda]] is desire. -을게 is what you undertake to do, whether or not you 'feel like' it.

How is -을게 different from -을래?

[[g:eullae]] asks or states casual intention toward someone close (먹을래?). -을게 is the speaker’s promise to the listener (내가 주문할게).