TOPIK I Grammar · Ch.6 Honorifics & Sentence Endings 03

TOPIK I Grammar · Ch.6 Honorifics & Sentence Endings 03

'-(으)ㄹ게요 / -(으)ㄹ래요' - Promises and Preferences

Two more ways to talk about what you'll do - but where 겠 and ㄹ 거예요 looked at time, these two look at the listener. One speaks to them; the other speaks about you.

Key point -(으)ㄹ게요 = "I'll ~" as a promise or notice for the listener's benefit: 제가 낼게요 (= I'll pay - so you don't). -(으)ㄹ래요 = "I want to / I think I'll" - your preference; as a question, "do you want to?" Batchim → 을게요 / 을래요.

How to use it

English has no dedicated ending for this, but it has the feeling: "I'll get it - don't worry." That kind of reassuring "I'll" - the one that matters to the listener - is ㄹ게요. Korean textbooks teach a test that works well: does the listener need to know? 먼저 갈게요 (= I'm heading out - letting you know), 전화할게요 (= I'll call you - a promise). Said alone in an empty room, ㄹ게요 makes no sense; it is always aimed at a listener.

ㄹ래요 works the other way round, and points to your own wishes: 저는 집에서 쉴래요 (= I think I'll just rest at home). Flipped into a question, it invites the other person's wish: 뭐 먹을래요? (= what do you want to eat?). It's casual and friendly - good with peers, but too light for formal situations.

At a glance

Sentence	Form	Feeling
먼저 갈게요	ㄹ게요	heads-up: I'm leaving first
내일 전화할게요	ㄹ게요	promise to the listener
제가 낼게요	ㄹ게요	reassurance: I'll pay
저는 커피 마실래요	ㄹ래요	my preference
같이 갈래요?	ㄹ래요?	want to come along?
창문 좀 닫을래요?	을래요?	casual request to a peer

Examples

숙제 끝나면 바로 잘게요. I'll go to bed right after I finish my homework. - Telling the listener what you will do → ㄹ게요.

저는 매운 건 안 먹을래요. I don't want to eat spicy things. - Pure preference → 을래요.

이번 주말에 같이 운동할래요? Want to work out together this weekend? - The friendly invitation form.

Common mistakes

❌ 먼저 갈께요. → ⭕ 먼저 갈게요. It's pronounced with a tense [께], but always written 게 - the same gap between sound and spelling as in 거예요/꺼예요. Native speakers make this typo constantly - but in TOPIK writing it still counts as a spelling error.

❌ (Phone rings, roommate is cooking) 제가 받을래요. → ⭕ 제가 받을게요. 받을래요 sounds like you simply feel like answering the phone, as if it were your preference. What you mean is "I've got it - keep cooking," which serves the listener: 받을게요. When your "I'll" is a favor, it's 게.

Quick check

Fill each blank with -(으)ㄹ게요 or -(으)ㄹ래요. Where the blank follows a noun, add 하다 in the form the sentence needs.
1. (Ending a phone call) 이따가 다시 전화(      ).
2. 저는 피곤해서 먼저 (      ). 안녕히 계세요. (가다)
3. (Looking at the menu) 뭐 (      )? 저는 비빔밥이요. (먹다 · question)

Show answers

1. 할게요 (a promise to the listener)   2. 갈게요 (telling the listener what you will do; 먼저 갈게요 is a set leaving phrase)   3. 먹을래요 (asking what the other person wants; batchim → 을래요)

💡 Study tip - Learn two farewell phrases tonight. 먼저 갈게요 (I'm off first) and 연락할게요 (I'll be in touch) end thousands of Korean conversations daily. Both are ㄹ게요 because both exist to inform the listener.