Middle School - Grade 8
Lesson 15: "I wish..."
-(으)면 좋겠다
Expressing Hopes & Wishes
This grammar point is a simple combination of two you already know!
-(으)면 = "if..."
좋겠다 = "it would be good" (from 좋다, to be good)
Literally, you are saying, "**If** [something happened], **it would be good**." This is the most natural way to express "I wish..." or "I hope..." in Korean.
The Conjugation Rules
Rule 1: Vowel or ㄹ ending
Stem ends in a vowel or the consonant ㄹ.
... + 면 좋겠다
가다 가면 좋겠다
"I wish I could go"
쉬다 쉬면 좋겠다
"I wish I could rest"
살다 살면 좋겠다 (ㄹ is kept)
"I wish I could live"
Rule 2: Consonant ending
Stem ends in a consonant (except ㄹ).
... + 으면 좋겠다
먹다 먹으면 좋겠다
"I wish I could eat"
많다 많으면 좋겠다
"I wish there was a lot"
Examples in Action
WISHING FOR A STATE (ADJ.)
날씨가 좋으면 좋겠어요.
I wish the weather was good.
WISHING FOR AN ACTION (VERB)
여행을 갈 수 있으면 좋겠어요.
I wish I could go on a trip.
WISHING FOR A NOUN
돈이 많았으면 좋겠어요.
I wish I had a lot of money. (Note: Using past tense `았` here is very common and makes the wish feel stronger/more hypothetical).
Coming Up Next...
You've learned to express a wish. Next, let's learn how to express a guess or assumption, like "That looks..." or "I guess..."