-았/었으면 좋겠다: Wishing and Hoping in Korean
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
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After this page, you can express wishes and hopes with -았/었으면 좋겠다 and tell it apart from -고 싶다 and -(으)면 좋겠다.
10-second answer
The short answer
-았/었으면 좋겠다 (-asseumyeon/eosseumyeon joketda) means "I wish / I hope / it would be nice if." 빨리 주말이 왔으면 좋겠어요 (ppalli jumari wasseumyeon jokesseoyo) = "I wish the weekend would hurry up." The odd part is the past-tense -았/었- (-at/eot-) inside a sentence about the future; it works like English "I wish it *were*" — a hypothetical, not a real past. Use it for anything you hope for, including other people's actions, which -고 싶다 (-go sipda) can't do.
Quick check — did that land?
1. How do you say 'I hope my friend comes'?
Want to say I hope I can go in Korean? Then try this.
How It's Built
| Piece | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb/adjective + -았/었- | Hypothetical ("if it were so") | 오다 → 왔-, 좋다 → 좋았- |
| + -으면 | if / when | 왔으면, 좋았으면 |
| + 좋겠다 | it would be good (-겠- = supposition) | 왔으면 좋겠어요, 좋았으면 좋겠어요 |
| Polite forms | 좋겠어요 (everyday) · 좋겠습니다 (formal) · 좋겠다 (to yourself / casual) |
Two 좋's in one sentence is normal
날씨가 좋았으면 좋겠어요 ("I hope the weather's good") sounds redundant to English ears but is completely natural — the first 좋 is the wish, the second is the frame.
See also: -고 싶다: Saying What You Want
Quick Examples
내일 비가 안 왔으면 좋겠어요.
naeil biga an wasseumyeon joketseoyo.
I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.
Negative wish — 안 goes before the verb as usual.
한국어를 더 잘했으면 좋겠어요.
hangugeoreul deo jalhaesseumyeon joketseoyo.
I wish I were better at Korean.
About yourself, present situation — the 'I wish I were' use.
네가 우리 팀에 들어왔으면 좋겠어.
nega uri time deureowasseumyeon joketseo.
I'd really like you to join our team.
A wish about someone else — this is where -고 싶다 fails and -았/었으면 좋겠다 shines.
시험이 쉬웠으면 좋겠다.
siheomi swiwosseumyeon joketda.
I hope the exam's easy.
Plain -다 ending: talking to yourself, or casual with friends.
빨리 나으셨으면 좋겠어요.
ppalli naeusyeosseumyeon joketseoyo.
I hope you get better soon.
Honorific -시- inside (낫다 → 나으시- → 나으셨으면). The standard get-well line.
-았/었으면 좋겠다 vs -고 싶다 vs -(으)면 좋겠다
| Pattern | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -고 싶다 | Your own desire to do an action (subject = I) | 쉬고 싶어요 — I want to rest |
| -았/었으면 좋겠다 | Any hope: your situation, other people, the weather, the world | 쉴 수 있었으면 좋겠어요 — I wish I could rest |
| -(으)면 좋겠다 | Same as above, slightly lighter / more matter-of-fact | 쉬면 좋겠어요 — it'd be nice to rest |
| -기를 바라다 | Formal 'hope that', writing and speeches | 합격하기를 바랍니다 — I hope you pass |
The line that trips learners: 친구가 오고 싶어요 is wrong for "I want my friend to come" (that sentence means the friend wants to come). Whenever the person doing the hoping and the person doing the action differ, switch to -았/었으면 좋겠다. It's also the natural way to make a request without ordering: 조금만 조용히 해 줬으면 좋겠어요 ("I'd appreciate it if you could keep it down a bit") — polite pressure, K-drama mother style. Pair it with -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 and you have the two patterns Koreans use to say what they want without sounding like they're demanding it.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Dropping the past marker and changing the meaning
오면 좋겠어요 is fine, but the -았/었- version is the more common and more heartfelt one. Just don't write 오면 좋았어요 — that's a real past, 'it was good that they came.'
Mistake #2 — Using -고 싶다 for someone else's action
친구가 오고 싶어요 ✗ (means the friend wants to) → 친구가 왔으면 좋겠어요 ✓.
Mistake #3 — 좋겠다 vs 좋다
The -겠- is what makes it a wish. 왔으면 좋아요 sounds like a rule ('it's good if they come'), not a hope.
Mini Quiz
2. Why is there a past-tense -았/었- in 주말이 왔으면 좋겠어요?
3. Which pattern is for your own desire to do something?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
Wishes usually come with context — -는데 is how you set that context up in the same breath.
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