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Lesson 64: “I am thinking of:” ~ㄹ/을까(요)

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Vocabulary
Introduction

I intend to/I am thinking of… ~ㄹ/을까 하다

 

Vocabulary

Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use. Use these sentences to give yourself a feel for how each word can be used, and maybe even to expose yourself to the grammar that you will be learning shortly.

A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.

Nouns:
물리 = physics

Common Usages:
물리학 = physics as a field of study

Examples:
대학교에서 물리학을 공부할까 해요
= I am thinking about studying physics in University

그 학생은 물리의 기본도 이해하지 못해요
= That student doesn’t even understand basic physics

분수 = fountain

Examples:
한 시간 있다가 광장에 있는 분수에서 만나자
= Let’s meet at the fountain in the square in an hour

그 분수가 물을 백 미터 높이로 쏠 수 있어요
= That fountain can shoot water one hundred meters (up)

= cancer

Common Usages:
폐암 = lung cancer
간암 = liver cancer
피부암 = skin cancer
자궁암 = cervical cancer

Examples:
암에 관한 치료비는 이 보험에 포함되지 않아요
= Medical expenses related to cancer are not included in this insurance

학생들에게 암을 어떻게 방지하는지에 대한 동영상을 보여줄 거예요
= I will show the students a video about how to prevent cancer

암에 걸린 이유가 간접흡연 때문인지 오염 때문인 지 알 길이 없어요
= There is no way of knowing if the reason you caught cancer was because of second hand smoke, or because of pollution

그 여자가 어렸을 때 자주 일광욕을 했기 때문에 어쩔 수 없이 피부암이 생겼어요
(When she was younger, that girl often went sun-tanning, so she inevitably got skin cancer)

기상예보 = weather forecast

Notes: This is technically two words and therefore should be a space between 기상 and 예보. However, it is common for technical words like this to be put together without a space to refer to a single idea. I included this as an entry in my vocabulary list because I feel that the combination “기상예보” is more important/common (for a Korean learner at this stage) than the individual words 기상 and 예보.

Examples:
기상예보에서 내일 기온이 20도까지 올라간다고 그랬어요
= The weather forecast said that the temperature will go up to 20 degrees tomorrow

단풍을 보러 밖에 나갈까 해서 기상예보를 확인할 거예요
= I am thinking of going outside to see the autumn leaves, so I’m going to check the weather forecast

이슬비 = drizzle

Examples:
캐나다 사람들은 이슬비가 내려도 우산을 쓰지 않아요
= Even if it is drizzling, Canadian people don’t use umbrellas

오늘 밤에 이슬비가 내릴 예정이니 꼭 우산을 준비하세요
= It is expected/scheduled to drizzle tonight, so make sure you bring (prepare) your umbrella

상표 = trademark

Common Usages:
상표를 등록하다 = to register a trademark
상표권 = trademark right

Examples:
이 제품에 상표를 등록할까 해요
= I’m thinking about registering a trademark for this item

그것을 팔기 전에 먼저 상표권을 받아야 돼요
= Before you sell that you need to (first) get a trademark

그 회사가 그 제품에 상표를 등록하지 않아서 다른 회사가 비슷한 제품을 만들었어요
= That company didn’t register a trademark for that item, so other companies made a similar product

단풍 = fall foliage, autumn colors

Common Usages:
단풍나무 = maple tree
단풍놀이 = going out to see the autumn colors

Examples:
지금 9월이라서 곧 단풍이 많이 보이겠다
= It’s September now, so we will start seeing autumn colors soon

가을에는 단풍놀이를 가는 많은 사람들을 볼 수 있어요
= In the fall, you can see many people who go out to see the autumn colors

재해 = disaster

Common Usages:
자연재해 = natural disaster
재해를 방지하다 = to prevent
재해를 대비하다 = to prepare for a disaster

Examples:
일 년에 재해방지훈련을 하는 횟수를 두 번에서 네 번으로 늘렸어요
= I raised the number of times we do disaster prevention training per year from two times to four times

재해를 대비하여 잘 안 상하는 식품을 조금씩 사기 시작하고 있어요
= To prepare for disaster, little by little I am starting to buy food products that don’t go bad easily

범죄 = crime

Common Usages:
범죄학 = criminology
범죄자 = criminal
범죄율 = crime rate
범죄기록 = criminal record
범죄를 예방하다 = to prevent crime
범죄를 저지르다 = to commit crime

Examples:
범죄를 저지르면 감옥에 가야 돼요
= If you commit a crime, you need to go to prison

한국에 공공장소에는 대부분 범죄를 방지하기 위한 감시카메라가 설치되어 있어요
= In most public places in Korea, there are surveillance cameras installed to prevent most crimes

범죄자 = criminal

Examples:
범죄자는 그의 실수를 인정했어요
= The criminal acknowledged his mistakes

경찰관들은 범죄자를 찾자마자 기소할 거예요
= As soon as the police find the criminal, they will prosecute him/her

경찰관들에게 제가 범죄자가 누구인지 안다고 했어요
= I told the police officers that I know who the criminal is

저의 돈을 훔치고 범죄자들은 어둠으로 사라졌어요
= The criminals disappeared into the darkness after stealing my money

대책 = measures, steps

Common Usages:
대책을 세우다 = to set up measures
대책을 마련하다 = to prepare, set up measures

Examples:
모두들 이 문제에 대한 대책을 하나씩 생각해 오세요
= Everybody, each of you, think of a way/measure about (to solve) this problem and come (back)

사회문제에 대한 대책마련을 하지 않으면 결국 모두가 힘들어요
= If we don’t think of measures/steps (ways to better) societal problems, eventually it will be difficult for everybody

횟수 = the number of times something is done

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “회쑤”

Notes: This word contains a 사이시옷. For information about this, see Lesson 131.

Examples:
운동을 한 횟수보다 중요한 건 운동의 질이에요
= More important than the number of times one exercises is the quality of exercise

일 년에 재해방지훈련을 하는 횟수를 두 번에서 네 번으로 늘렸어요
= I raised the number of times we do disaster prevention training per year from two times to four times

당일 = the day of

Common Usages:
당일치기 = to travel somewhere and come back within one day

Examples:
예매를 안 하면 행사 당일에 표가 없을 거예요
= If you don’t purchase the tickets in advance, there won’t be any tickets on the day of the event

한국과 일본은 매우 가까워서 당일치기 여행을 할 수 있어요
= Korea and Japan are very close, so you can travel (there and back) in one day

우리가 부산에 도착하는 당일에 바다에서 수영할까 해서 아침 일찍 출발해야 돼요
= I am thinking about swimming in the ocean on the day we arrive in Busan, so we should leave early

영화관 = movie theater

Examples:
그 영화를 볼까 해서 영화관에 갔어요
= I was thinking of watching that movie, so I went to the theater

그 극장에서 공연을 보고 싶으면 영화관에서처럼 표를 사야 돼요
= If you want to see a performance at that theater, like (at) a movie, you need to buy a ticket

모든 영화관에는 비상상황을 대비해 다섯 개 이상의 입구가 있어야 해요
= In every movie theater, to prepare for an emergency situation, there must be more than five exits/entrances

영화관에서 제 자리에 이미 앉아 있는 사람이 있어서 자리를 비켜 달라고 요청했어요 = In the movie theater, there was already somebody sitting in my seat, so I asked him to move

동부 = eastern part

Examples:
동부지방에는 새해 처음으로 눈이 내릴 예정이에요
= It is expected to snow for the first time in the new year in the eastern part/area

캐나다 동부가 유럽과 같으며 서부는 미국과 같아요
= The eastern part of Canada is similar to Europe, while the western part is similar to America

남부 = southern part

Examples:
다음 3일 동안 한국 남부에 비가 올 거예요
= It will rain in the southern part of Korea for the next three days

대부분 관광지가 서울 남부 말고 북부에 있어요
= Most tourist attractions in Seoul are in the northern part, not the southern part

서부 = western part

Examples:
대구 서부에 1박 2일로 여행할까 해요
= I am thinking about traveling in the west part of Daugu for one night and two days

캐나다 동부가 유럽과 같으며 서부는 미국과 같아요
= The eastern part of Canada is similar to Europe, while the western part is similar to America

북부 = northern part

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “북뿌”

Examples:
대부분 관광지가 서울 남부 말고 북부에 있어요
= Most tourist attractions in Seoul are in the northern part, not the southern part

Verbs:
방지하다 = to prevent

The noun form of this word (“방지”) translates to “prevention.”

Common Usages:
화재를 방지하다 = to prevent fires
범죄를 방지하다 = to prevent crime
재해를 방지하다 = to prevent disaster
산불을 방지하다 = to prevent forest fires

Examples:
홍수를 방지하기 위한 회의가 열렸어요
= We had a meeting about/for preventing a flood

한국 정부는 교통사고를 방지하려고 노력하고 있어요
= The Korean government is trying to prevent traffic accidents

공항에서는 테러위험방지를 위해 경비가 다른 곳보다 삼엄해요
Security near airports is more strict to prevent against the dangers of terrorism

학생들에게 암을 어떻게 방지하는지에 대한 동영상을 보여줄까 봐요
= I am thinking about showing the students a video about how to prevent cancer

일 년에 재해방지훈련을 하는 횟수를 두 번에서 네 번으로 늘렸어요
= I raised the number of times we do disaster prevention training per year from two times to four times

한국에 공공장소에는 대부분 범죄를 방지하기 위한 감시카메라가 설치되어 있어요
= In most public places in Korea, there are surveillance cameras installed to prevent most crimes

들이마시다 = to inhale

Common Usages:
숨을 들이마시다 = to inhale

Examples:
갑자기 어지러울 때는 숨을 천천히 들이마시세요
= When you feel dizzy all of a sudden, breathe in slowly

주사를 맞으면 아주 아파서 맞기 직전에 제가 항상 크게 숨을 들이마셔요
= When I get a needle, it hurts a lot so right before I get it, I always take a deep breath

완료하다 = to complete

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “왈료하다”
The noun form of this word (“완료”) translates to “completion.”

Notes: As a noun, 완료 is commonly used immediately after a task or job to indicate that it has been completed. One of the funniest text-messages I have ever sent in Korean included the word “완료” and I still remember it to this day. My wife sent me a message to tell me she had finally finished filing her taxes. At this time, we were about to get married, and she only had a few days of work left before she quit. Also, I call her a “bear” because she is cute like a bear. When she sent me the message telling me she finished her taxes, she simply said “세금신고 완료!” (tax reporting – finished!). I hilariously responded with:

세금신고 완료, 근무 완료, 미혼 완료, 베어 상태 유지

It is hard to translate this directly into English, but it would be something like:

Tax reporting – finished, Work – finished, Being single – finished, Being a bear – still ongoing

Examples:
작업을 완료할 수 없을까 봐 걱정돼요
= I’m worried that we won’t be able to finish the job

개명하다 = to change one’s name

Examples:
딸의 이름을 민지로 개명할까 했어요
= I was thinking about changing the name of my daughter to 민지

어렸을 때 이름 때문에 놀림을 받은 사람들은 커서 보통 개명을 해요
= People who are made fun of because of their names usually change their names when they are older

지명하다 = to nominate, to designate

The noun form of this word (“지명”) translates to “a designation,” or “nomination.”

Common Usages:
후계자를 지명하다 = to nominate/designate a successor

Examples:
그 선생님을 국제부장으로 지명할까 해요
= I am thinking of nominating that teacher as the boss for the international department

모든 나라가 국가별로 대표를 지명했어요
= Each country designated a representative separately

Passive Verbs:
중복되다 = to be duplicated/overlapped

The pronunciation of this word is closer to “중복뙤다”
The noun form of this word (“중복”) translates to “a duplication.”

Common Usages:
내용이 중복되다 = for contents to be overlapped

Examples:
제가 지금 읽고 있는 책과 전에 산 책의 많은 내용이 중복돼요
= This are a lot of contents that are duplicated in the book I am reading now with the book I bought before

제가 지금 듣는 수업과 그 수업에 중복되는 내용이 많아서 굳이 그 수업 둘 다 안 들어도 될 것 같아요
= The contents of the class I am taking now overlaps a lot with the contents of that class, so I probably don’t need to take both of them

Adverbs and Other Words:
수십 = dozens of/scores of

Notes: I only introduce 수십 in this lesson, but there is also “수백” (hundreds of), 수천 (thousands of) and 수만 (tens of thousands of). All of these words are examples of “관형사” in Korean. This type of word is technically not an adjective (as it is not a word that can be conjugated), but is often placed before a noun to describe it. Another example of this type of word is 모든.

Examples:
수십 명의 사람들은 밖에서 기다리고 있어요
= There are dozens of people outside waiting

제가 당신을 사랑하는 이유는 수십 가지예요
= There are dozens (of types of) reasons why I love you

= counter for nights

Notes: There is a popular Korean TV program called “1박2일” (One Night and Two Days)

Common Usages
외박하다 = to sleep somewhere other than one’s house

Examples:
미국에 몇 박 있을 거예요?
= How many nights will you be/stay in America?

대구 서부에 1박 2일로 여행할까 해요
= I am thinking about traveling in the west part of Daugu for one night and two days

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There are 625 vocabulary entries in Unit 3. All entries are linked to an audio file.
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Introduction

In the previous lesson, you learned how to use the Korean ending “~ㄹ/을까(요)” to ask a question. In this lesson, you will learn about how ~ㄹ/을까 can be used to indicate the intention of the speaker. Let’s get started.

.

I intend to/I am thinking of… ~/을까 하다

In the previous lesson, you only saw how ~ㄹ/을까(요) can used at the end of sentences. However, by placing 하다 after ~ㄹ/을까, a speaker can indicate his or her intention of doing something. For example:

그 영화를 볼까 해요 = I intend to watch that movie

I usually prefer the translation of “I am thinking of” simply because I rarely say “I intend to” in English. Regardless, the meaning and effect is the same:

그 영화를 볼까 해요 = I am thinking about watching that movie

~ㄹ/을까 하다 is often connected to the grammatical principle ~아/어서 (introduced in Lesson 37) or other similar grammatical principles to create the meaning “I am/was thinking of… so…” For example:

그 영화를 볼까 해서 영화관에 갔어요
= I was thinking of watching that movie, so I went to the theater

Below are many more examples:

대학교에서 물리학을 공부할까 해요
= I am thinking about studying physics in University

그 선생님을 국제부장으로 지명할까 해요
= I am thinking of nominating that teacher as the boss for the international department

내일 서울 동부에 갈까 해요
= I am thinking about going to the eastern part of Seoul tomorrow

양파가 아주 싸서 수십 개를 살까 해요
= I am thinking about buying dozens of onions because they are very cheap

또 이런 재해를 피할 수 있는 대책을 세울까 해요
= I am thinking about setting up measures to avoid this kind of disaster again

중복된 정보를 지울까 해요
= I am thinking about removing/erasing the duplicated/overlapped information

새로 만들어진 분수를 보러 나갈까 해요
= I am thinking about going out to see the newly made fountain

경찰관들에게 제가 범죄자가 누구인지 안다고 할까 해요
= I am thinking about telling the police officers that I know who the criminal is

이 동영상을 학생들에게 보여줄까 해요
= I am thinking of showing this video to the students

학생들에게 암을 어떻게 방지하는지에 대한 동영상을 보여줄까 해요
= I am thinking about showing the students a video about how to prevent cancer

대구 서부에 1박 2일로 여행할까 해요
= I am thinking about traveling in the west part of Daegu for 1 night and two days

이 제품에 상표를 등록할까 해요
= I’m thinking about registering a trademark for this item

1년에 재해방지훈련을 하는 횟수를 두 번에서 네 번으로 늘릴까 해요
= I am thinking about raising the number of times we do disaster prevention training per year from 2 times to 4 times

단풍을 보러 밖에 나갈까 해서 기상예보를 확인할 거예요
= I am thinking of going outside to see the autumn leaves, so I’m going to check the weather forecast

우리가 부산에 도착하는 당일에 바다에서 수영할까 해서 아침 일찍 출발해야 돼요
= I am thinking about swimming in the ocean on the day we arrive in Busan, so we should leave early

그 여자와 함께 밥을 먹을까 해서 점심을 안 먹었어요
= I was thinking about asking that girl to go eat dinner together with me so I didn’t eat lunch

Instead of using 하다 after ~ㄹ/을까 in these examples, it is also possible to use 보다. The conjugations of 봐 and 봐요 are very commonly used in these situations, and you will rarely see other conjugations like 본다 or 봅니다 here. For example:

~ㄹ/을까 봐(요) can be used to replace ~ㄹ/을까 하다 to show intent as it is described in this lesson. The reverse, however is not always true (that is, ~ㄹ/을까 하다 replacing ~ㄹ/을까 봐(요)). In the next lesson, you will see another usage of ~ㄹ/을까 봐(요) (to show fear or worrying), and ~ㄹ/을까 해요 can typically not be used to create this meaning. Anyways, for now, let’s stick to this lesson.

대학교에서 물리학을 공부할까 봐요
= I am thinking about studying physics in University

그 선생님을 국제부장으로 지명할까 봐요
= I am thinking of nominating that teacher as the boss for the international department

내일 서울 동부에 갈까 봐요
= I am thinking about going to the eastern part of Seoul tomorrow

양파가 아주 싸서 수십 개를 살까 봐요
= I am thinking about buying dozens of onions because they are very cheap

또 이런 재해를 피할 수 있는 대책을 세울까 봐요
= I am thinking about setting up measures to avoid this kind of disaster again

중복된 정보를 지울까 봐요
= I am thinking about removing/erasing the duplicated/overlapped information

새로 만들어진 분수를 보러 나갈까 봐요
= I am thinking about going out to see the newly made fountain

경찰관들에게 제가 범죄자가 누구인지 안다고 할까 봐요
= I am thinking about telling the police officers that I know who the criminal is

이 동영상을 학생들에게 보여줄까 봐요
= I am thinking of showing this video to the students

학생들에게 암을 어떻게 방지하는지에 대한 동영상을 보여줄까 봐요
= I am thinking about showing the students a video about how to prevent cancer

대구 서부에 1박 2일로 여행할까 봐요
= I am thinking about traveling in the west part of Daegu for 1 night and two days

이 제품에 상표를 등록할까 봐요
= I’m thinking about registering a trademark for this item

1년에 재해방지훈련을 하는 횟수를 두 번에서 네 번으로 늘릴까 봐요
= I am thinking about raising the number of times we do disaster prevention training per year from 2 times to 4 times

Using ~ㄹ/을까 보다 is okay at the end of a sentence, but it would be unnatural to attach ~아/어서 to it and use it in the middle of a sentence. For example, 해서 should replace 봐서 in all of the following:

단풍을 보러 밖에 나갈까 봐서 기상예보를 확인할 거예요
우리가 부산에 도착하는 당일에 바다에서 수영할까 봐서 아침 일찍 출발해야 돼요
그 여자와 함께 밥을 먹을까 봐서 점심을 안 먹었어요

It is also possible to conjugate 하다 when it is used at the end of a sentence to indicate that you “were thinking” about doing something. For example:

영화를 볼까 했어요 = I was thinking about watching the movie

When 하다 is conjugated like this, although the speaker intended/thought about doing the action, the action did not occur (it was only thought about). Therefore, I usually add more to the English translation to describe the meaning more precisely:

영화를 볼까 했어요 = I was thinking about watching the movie, (but I didn’t see it)
친구를 만날까 했어요 = I was thinking about meeting a friend (but I didn’t meet him)
딸의 이름을 민지로 개명할까 했어요 = I was thinking about changing the name of my daughter to민지
시험 당일에 술을 마시러 갈까 했어요 = I was thinking about going to drink alcohol on the day of the exam (but didn’t)

That’s it for this lesson! I know the amount of content in this lesson was vastly different compared to the previous lesson. I wish I could have divided the content more evenly, but I felt that the lessons would be more understandable (and organized) if I divided it by usage instead of just randomly dividing it into thirds.

In the next lesson, you will learn another usage of ~ㄹ/을까 봐.

That’s it!

There are 1200 example sentences in Unit 3.
All entries are linked to an audio file. You can download all of these files in one package here.

That’s it!

There are 1200 example sentences in Unit 3.
All entries are linked to an audio file. You can download all of these files in one package here.

Okay, I got it! Take me to the next lesson! Or,

Click here for Korean Short Stories specifically tailored to learners at this level.
Click here for a Workbook to go along with this lesson.