Lesson 2
In this lesson, we are going to look at the structures -(으)러 가다 and -(으)러 오다. These two structures are used when talking about going somewhere to do something, or coming from a place in order to do something. -(으)러 is listed in the dictionary as a way to indicate the purpose of an action, but in actual usage, the nuance of “purpose” is often weakened. If you want to emphasize the meaning of “in order to”, you can use the expression -(으)려고 or the more formal 위해서 (see Level 3 Lesson 17). When talking about everyday activities, the two structures -(으)러 가다 and -(으)러 오다 are quite common and are extremely useful to know.
Examples
놀러 가다 = 놀다 + -(으)러 + 가다
Literal translation: to go "in order to” play
Natural translation: to go “and” hang out; to hang out
고기 잡으러 가다 = 고기 + 잡다 + -(으)러 + 가다
Literal translation: to go “in order to” catch fish
Natural translation: to go fishing
The same types of meanings also apply to -(으)러 오다. However, -(으)러 오다 can only be used when referring to someone coming to a place where you already are, rather than going to a place where neither of you are present.
Also, in many English expressions where nouns are used, verbs replace those nouns in Korean. For example, “to go to bed” is not 침대로 가다, but rather 자러 가다, which literally means “to go in order to sleep”.
Sample Sentences
석진 씨요? 운동하러 갔어요.
= Seokjin? He went to the gym.
= Seokjin? He went out to exercise.
저는 이제 자러 갈게요.
= I will go to bed now.
옷 찾으러 왔어요.
= I'm here to pick up my clothes.
점심 먹으러 갈래요?
= Do you want to go for lunch?
영화 보러 가고 싶어요.
= I want to go see a movie.
잠깐 인사하러 왔어요.
= I just came by to say “hi” quickly.
또 놀러 오세요!
= Please visit us again.
스키 타러 가자!
= Let’s go skiing.
수영하러 갈래요?
= Do you want to go swimming?
여기가 제가 피아노 배우러 가는 곳이에요.
= This is the place where I go to learn to play the piano.
If you want to add a destination, you can add it either before -(으)러 가다/오다 or between -(으)러 and 가다/오다.
Example
저는 이제 방에 자러 갈게요. = I will go to my room to sleep now.
저는 이제 자러 방에 갈게요. = I will go to my room to sleep now.
수영장에 수영하러 갈래요? = Do you want to go to the pool to swim?
수영하러 수영장에 갈래요? = Do you want to go to the pool to swim?
Please note that -(으)러 can only be combined with a verb stem. It cannot be used with suffixes such as -았/었/였-, -(으)ㄹ, or -겠-.
Examples
석진 씨요? 운동했으러 갔어요. (X) → 석진 씨요? 운동하러 갔어요. (O)
저는 이제 자겠으러 갈게요. (X) → 저는 이제 자러 갈게요. (O)
점심 먹을러 갈래요? (X) → 점심 먹으러 갈래요? (O)