-으리라
-으리라: I Shall… / It Will… — Resolve or Speculation
Ending: I shall… / it will… — resolve, or speculation about the situation.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Batchim stems | -으리라 | 먹으리라 / 있으리라 |
| Vowel / ㄹ stems | -리라 | 가리라 / 하리라 / 알리라 |
-으리라 (-리라) colours resolve or speculation — I shall… / it will….
Literary future coat. Café talk usually stays with -겠- / -(으)ㄹ게.
Why this is hard
Learners hunt one future button. -으리라 smells of vows and written prediction. It is not the same seat as polite guess -겠-.
What it does
반드시 가리라.
끝까지 하리라.
곧 밝으리라.
그는 이미 떠났으리라.
Resolve (I shall) and speculation (must be / will be) both appear.
Forms
Batchim -으리라; vowel / ㄹ -리라.
먹다 → 먹으리라
가다 → 가리라
하다 → 하리라
When not to use it
Do not use it as default café future — -겠-.
Do not paste it onto every prediction for decoration.
Do not confuse this bare ending with the quoted future form -으리라고.
Neighbours — and why they differ
| Form | Why it is not this slot |
|---|---|
| -겠- | Living future / guess. |
| -을걸 | Guess / regret family. |
Ask: do I want literary shall/will colour? If yes, -으리라. If café future, stay with -겠-.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
On the jabi learning path, this appears in 종결어미 (final ending) — Advanced Korean 2, Unit 3, on the theme of final ending. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. You write a vow in a diary — 'I shall go, without fail' — not a café plan. Which line fits?


2. 먹다 (batchim) — which line attaches -으리라 as a direct ending, not a quoted package?


3. Tomorrow's Busan trip as ordinary polite intention — not a literary vow. Which line fits?


Common questions
Job?
Literary resolve (‘I shall…’) or speculation about how things will be.
Vs -겠어요?
-겠- is living future/guess. -으리라 is older or written colour.
Vs -을걸?
-을걸 is a different guess/regret family. Do not mash them.
Register?
Poems, speeches, diary resolve, historical drama — not default texts.