✍️ Intermediate Day 16: Talking About Purpose – ~(으)러 가다 / ~(으)려고

📘 Intermediate Day 16: Talking About Purpose – ~(으)러 가다 / ~(으)려고

Welcome to Day 16 of the Intermediate Korean series! 🧭 Today’s lesson will help you express purpose in Korean, especially when you're talking about where you go and why.

We’ll learn two useful and natural Korean expressions that sound very similar, but have slightly different usages:

  • ~(으)러 가다 – "to go in order to..." (action-purpose)
  • ~(으)려고 – "in order to / intending to..." (general purpose)

Both are essential to express goals or intentions behind your actions. Let’s dive in!

📘 1. ~(으)러 가다 – “To Go in Order To…”

This expression is used when you go somewhere to do something. It combines a verb with ~(으)러 and then a verb of movement like 가다 (to go), 오다 (to come), or 다니다 (to attend).

🔧 Pattern:

  • Action Verb stem + ~(으)러 + 가다/오다/다니다

✔️ 받침 있는 동사 → 으러 ✔️ 받침 없는 동사 → 러

📌 Examples:

  • 책을 사러 서점에 갔어요.
    chae-geul sa-reo seo-jeom-e gat-seo-yo
    👉 I went to the bookstore to buy a book.
  • 밥 먹으러 식당에 가요.
    bap meok-eu-reo sik-dang-e ga-yo
    👉 I’m going to the restaurant to eat.
  • 운동하러 헬스장에 가요.
    un-dong-ha-reo hel-seu-jang-e ga-yo
    👉 I go to the gym to work out.

📘 2. ~(으)려고 – “In Order To / With the Intention of…”

~(으)려고 is more flexible. It doesn’t require a verb of movement. You can use it with a variety of main actions to show purpose or intention.

🔧 Pattern:

  • Verb stem + ~(으)려고

📌 Examples:

  • 일찍 일어나려고 알람을 맞췄어요.
    il-jjik il-eo-na-ryeo-go al-ram-eul mat-chweot-seo-yo
    👉 I set an alarm to wake up early.
  • 한국어를 배우려고 유튜브를 봐요.
    han-guk-eo-reul bae-u-ryeo-go yu-tu-beu-reul bwa-yo
    👉 I watch YouTube to learn Korean.
  • 운동하려고 새 옷을 샀어요.
    un-dong-ha-ryeo-go sae o-seul sat-seo-yo
    👉 I bought new clothes to exercise.

📌 Comparison Table – ~(으)러 vs ~(으)려고

Form Used With Example Romanization
~(으)러 가다 Verbs of movement 먹으러 가요 meok-eu-reo ga-yo
~(으)려고 General actions 배우려고 노력해요 bae-u-ryeo-go no-ryeok-hae-yo

💬 Real-Life Dialogue

👧 수지: 어디 가요?
👦 준호: 도서관에 책 빌리러 가요.
👧 수지: 저도 책 읽으려고 도서관에 가는 길이에요!


📘 Practice Sentences

  • 사진을 찍으러 공원에 갔어요.
  • 친구를 만나러 카페에 가요.
  • 운동하려고 시간표를 만들었어요.
  • 영어를 배우려고 책을 샀어요.

🧪 Mini Quiz – Purpose Practice

  1. Translate: “I went to the store to buy milk.”
    Click to Show Answer

    우유를 사러 가게에 갔어요.

  2. Translate: “I’m studying to pass the test.”
    Click to Show Answer

    시험에 합격하려고 공부하고 있어요.

  3. Choose the correct form: “to eat (destination)”
    a) 먹려고 가요
    b) 먹으러 가요
    c) 먹는러 가요
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ b) 먹으러 가요


✅ Conclusion

🎉 Well done! Now you can express purpose and intention in your Korean sentences using:

  • ✔️ ~(으)러 가다 – when going somewhere to do something
  • ✔️ ~(으)려고 – when stating your intention or purpose in general


📘 Coming Up Next

Tomorrow: Intermediate Day 17: Describing Conditions – ~(으)면 We’ll learn how to say “if / when” something happens in Korean!

Related Keywords:
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