✍️ Intermediate Day 19: Expressing Effort – ~도록 / ~(으)려고 노력하다

📘 Intermediate Day 19: Expressing Effort – ~도록 / ~(으)려고 노력하다

Welcome to Day 19 of the Intermediate Korean series! 💪 In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to express effort, goals, and purpose using two common Korean grammar patterns:

  • ~도록 – so that / to the point that
  • ~(으)려고 노력하다 – to try to / to make an effort to

These are essential when you want to talk about your goals, intentions, or how hard you’re trying to do something — especially useful in both daily conversation and formal situations like work or study.

📘 1. ~(으)려고 노력하다 – “To Try To…”

This expression literally means “to make an effort in order to do something.” It’s often used to show that you're putting in conscious effort to achieve a goal.

🔧 Pattern:

  • Verb stem + (으)려고 노력하다

📌 Examples:

  • 한국어를 매일 공부하려고 노력해요.
    han-guk-eo-reul mae-il gong-bu-ha-ryeo-go no-ryeok-hae-yo
    👉 I try to study Korean every day.
  • 실수하지 않으려고 노력해요.
    sil-su-ha-ji an-eu-ryeo-go no-ryeok-hae-yo
    👉 I try not to make mistakes.
  • 건강을 유지하려고 노력하고 있어요.
    geon-gang-eul yu-ji-ha-ryeo-go no-ryeok-ha-go it-seo-yo
    👉 I’m trying to stay healthy.

📘 2. ~도록 – “So That / In Order To / Until”

~도록 is a versatile grammar pattern used to indicate purpose, result, or extent. It often means “so that…” or “to the extent that...” depending on the context.

🔧 Pattern:

  • Verb stem + 도록

📌 Examples:

  • 늦지 않도록 일찍 나갔어요.
    neut-ji an-to-rok il-jjik na-gat-seo-yo
    👉 I left early so that I wouldn’t be late.
  • 모두가 이해하도록 쉽게 설명했어요.
    mo-du-ga i-hae-ha-do-rok swip-ge seol-myeong-haet-seo-yo
    👉 I explained it simply so that everyone could understand.
  • 배우들이 잘 보이도록 앞자리에 앉았어요.
    bae-u-deul-i jal bo-i-do-rok ap-ja-ri-e an-jat-seo-yo
    👉 I sat in the front row so I could see the actors well.

📌 비교표 – 노력하다 vs 도록

Expression Meaning Usage Example Romanization
~(으)려고 노력하다 To try to / make an effort to 한국어를 배우려고 노력해요 han-guk-eo-reul bae-u-ryeo-go no-ryeok-hae-yo
~도록 So that / in order to 늦지 않도록 빨리 갔어요 neut-ji an-to-rok ppal-li gat-seo-yo

💬 Real-Life Dialogue

👧 수지: 한국어 정말 잘하시네요!
👦 준호: 감사합니다. 매일 연습하려고 노력해요.
👧 수지: 와, 알아듣기 쉽도록 말해 주셔서 고마워요!


📘 Practice Sentences

  • 목표를 이루려고 매일 노력해요.
  • 다치지 않도록 조심하세요.
  • 부모님을 기쁘게 하려고 공부해요.
  • 학생들이 이해하도록 다시 설명했어요.

🧪 Mini Quiz – Try It Yourself!

  1. Translate: “I try to exercise every morning.”
    Click to Show Answer

    매일 아침 운동하려고 노력해요.

  2. Translate: “She explained so that I could understand.”
    Click to Show Answer

    제가 이해하도록 설명했어요.

  3. Choose the correct form:
    a) 먹으려고 노력해요
    b) 먹도록 노력해요
    c) 먹도록 해요
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ a) 먹으려고 노력해요


✅ Conclusion

🎉 Great job! Now you can talk about making effort and working toward goals using:

  • ✔️ ~(으)려고 노력하다 – to express active effort
  • ✔️ ~도록 – to show purpose, intention, or result


📘 Coming Up Next

Tomorrow: Intermediate Day 20: Expressing Contrast – ~(으)ㄴ/는데도 We’ll learn how to say “even though…” in Korean!

Related Keywords:
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