jabi-기로 하다
-기로 하다: Decided To — Settled Plan
Decided to — presents an action as a plan or resolution that was settled.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb stem | stem + -기로 하다 | 가다 → 가기로 하다 / 보내다 → 보내기로 하다 |
| Past decision (very common) | -기로 했다 | 보내기로 했어요 / 만나기로 했어요 |
| Present / ongoing resolve | -기로 해요 / -기로 한다 | 일찍 자기로 해요 |
-기로 하다 is how you say a plan was settled — not merely wished, not merely promised across the table this second.
휴가를 어떻게 보내기로 했어요? assumes a decision exists; the question asks which one.
Forms
| Shape | Use |
|---|---|
| -기로 하다 | decide to V |
| -기로 했다 / 했어요 | decided (the vacation-unit default) |
| -기로 해요 | present habit/resolve among intimates |
친구를 만나기로 했어요. We decided to meet.
올해는 제주도에 가기로 했어요. We decided to go to Jeju this year.
담배를 끊기로 했어요. I decided to quit smoking.Built on -기
This is -기 -기 + particle 로 + 하다. Hear it as one chunk; analyse it when spelling goes wrong.
Not the connective -기로
우리말샘 also lists -기로 as a connective (reason / “even so” type uses). Those are different jobs that share letters. If there is no 하다 carrying “decide,” you may have left the beginner pattern.
Decision vs promise vs want vs must
| Pattern | Job |
|---|---|
| -기로 하다 | settled plan |
| -을게 / -ㄹ게 -을게 | promise to the listener now |
| -겠- -겠- | judgement / offer / stance |
| -고 싶다 -고 싶다 | want |
| -어야 되다 -어야 되다 | have to |
*먹고 싶어요 and 먹기로 했어요 can both be true in different weeks of your life.
Same unit as experience
-은 적이 있다 asks what you have already done. -기로 하다 says what you have lined up next.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
In the Sejong course this appears in 휴가를 어떻게 보내기로 했어요? — Sejong Korean 2, Unit 6, on the theme of 휴가. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. In 휴가를 제주도에서 보내기로 했어요, what is highlighted?
2. How does it differ from -을게?
3. Which lookalike is NOT this pattern?
Common questions
Is this the same as wanting?
No. [[g:go-sipda]] is desire. You can want something and still not have decided; -기로 하다 is the settled plan.
Vs -어야 되다?
[[g:eoya-doeda]] is necessity — you have to. -기로 하다 is a choice you locked in, not automatically an obligation from outside.
Vs -겠-?
[[g:get]] often guesses or takes a stance from now. -기로 했다 reports a decision that was made.
Do I need -기 first?
Yes in analysis: [[g:gi-nominal]] builds the noun, 로 marks the decided course, 하다 supplies the 'make it so' verb. Say the chunk as one pattern in speech.