-겠-
-겠-: Judgement and Resolve, Not Just 'Future'
Marks an immediate deduction, formal forecast, or decisive intention from the speaker's present vantage point.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any verb / adjective stem (drop 다) | -겠- | 오다 → 오겠어요 / 오겠습니다 |
| 하다 | 하겠- | 제가 하겠어요 / 제가 하겠습니다 |
| Judgement with adjective | -겠- | 맛있겠어요 / 피곤하겠어요 |
| Polite inquiry (+ -(으)시-) | -(으)시겠- | 주문하시겠어요? / 도와주시겠어요? |
English textbooks frequently label -겠- as “the future tense.” That label is far too narrow and leads learners to sound unnaturally stiff.
Super simple build
Drop the 다 from the dictionary form and attach -겠- directly to any verb or adjective stem. There are no batchim distinctions or irregular vowel rules for -겠- itself.
| Base stem | With -겠- | 해요체 | 하십시오체 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 오다 | 오겠- | 오겠어요 | 오겠습니다 |
| 먹다 | 먹겠- | 먹겠어요 | 먹겠습니다 |
| 하다 | 하겠- | 하겠어요 | 하겠습니다 |
| 맛있다 | 맛있겠- | 맛있겠어요 | 맛있겠습니다 |
| 춥다 | 춥겠- | 춥겠어요 | 춥겠습니다 |
Forecast boards lean on 합니다체. Conversation often uses 해요체.
What -겠- actually marks
Rather than describing calendar plans, -겠- packages the speaker’s mindset formed in the present moment:
- Immediate judgement and guess — looking at something and deducing how it feels or tastes (맛있겠어요! That looks delicious!, 피곤하겠어요 You must be tired).
- Professional outlook — formal public predictions (비가 오겠습니다 Rain is expected).
- Decisive resolve and offers — firm, formal personal intention (제가 하겠습니다 I will do it).
- Polite inquiries and requests — asking intention with high politeness (주문하시겠어요? Would you like to order?, 도와주시겠어요? Could you please help me?).
The key contrast: -겠- vs -(으)ㄹ 거예요 vs present
Learners often ask: If -겠- isn’t just the future, how do I talk about tomorrow?
| Pattern | Core nuance | Natural context |
|---|---|---|
| Present tense (내일 가요) | Established calendar fact | Fixed schedule treated as certain |
| -(으)ㄹ 거예요 (내일 갈 거예요) | Planned expectation or intention | The everyday default for personal plans |
| -겠- (내일 가겠습니다) | Strong resolve or formal prediction | Formal announcement, vow, or on-the-spot guess |
- 내일 부산에 갈 거예요. ✅ Natural personal plan: “I’m going to Busan tomorrow.”
- 내일 부산에 가겠습니다. ⚠️ Formal vow/declaration: “I hereby resolve to go to Busan tomorrow.”
- 내일은 비가 오겠습니다. ✅ Official forecast: “Tomorrow, rain is expected.”
If you only learn “-겠- = will,” you will overuse it for plans and underuse it for guesses. Soft hedges like “it seems” belong with -을 것 같다.
Three everyday use cases
1. Forecasts and formal announcements
- 오후에는 맑겠습니다. — It is expected to clear up in the afternoon.
2. Empathetic guesses (looking at a situation)
- 어제 야근했어요? 정말 피곤하겠어요. — You worked overtime yesterday? You must be so tired.
- 와, 피자 정말 맛있겠다! — Wow, that pizza looks so delicious!
3. Formal resolve and offers
- 이 프로젝트는 제가 하겠습니다. — I will take responsibility for this project.
- 알겠습니다. — Understood / I will follow that instruction. (Lexicalized polite response.)
Related soft offers also use -ㄹ게요 (제가 할게요) — a sibling pattern, not a replacement for -겠-.
Practice tip: check real Korean weather.
Open a Korean weather app or news portal. You will see phrases like 비가 오겠습니다 or 기온이 떨어지겠습니다. Reading real forecasts shows how natural -겠- sounds in formal announcements. See also How to Read a Korean Weather Forecast.
Looking out the window and noticing the rain — 비가 오네요 — is a different ending. That is -네, not -겠-.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
On the jabi learning path, this appears in 비가 너무 많이 오네요 (It's raining too much) — Beginner Korean 2, Unit 1, on the theme of weather. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. In the broadcast sentence 비가 오겠습니다, what is -겠- mainly doing?
2. Which is the most natural default sentence for "I am going to Busan tomorrow" as an everyday personal plan?
3. What does 맛있겠어요! typically express when looking at a fresh dish of food?
Common questions
Is -겠- the true future tense of Korean?
Korean does not have one dedicated future tense the way English does. Use -(으)ㄹ 거예요 for everyday personal plans, present tense for fixed calendar events, and -겠- for formal forecasts, immediate deductions, and strong commitments.
Why is 알겠습니다 so common?
It is a fixed, highly polite formula meaning "Understood" or "I will do as you say." -겠- here signals immediate, respectful compliance to a senior or customer.
Can -겠- be used to ask polite questions?
Yes. With honorific -(으)시-, it forms a very polite request pattern: 잠시만 기다려 주시겠어요? / 주문하시겠어요?
What is the difference between -겠어요 and -네 / -네요?
-겠- is a guess or deduction before or without direct experience (피자 맛있겠다). -네 / -네요 is mild surprise upon observing or experiencing something (피자 맛있네요).
Seen in the wild
Lessons where this pattern showed up in real Korean — news, slang, drama lines.
How to Make Polite Requests in Korean: 주세요 and 주시겠어요
Korean Future Tense: -겠-, -(으)ㄹ 거예요, and Present
How to Read a Korean Weather Forecast
9 Korean Cafe Phrases You Will Actually Use in Seoul
Jal Butakdeurimnida Meaning: When and How to Use 잘 부탁드립니다
