Lesson 24
In this lesson, we are going to look at the commonly used sentence ending -아/어/여야겠다. This structure is used to say things like “I guess I will have to…” or “I need to…” to make an assumption about what needs to be done. In order to fully understand -아/어/여야겠다, you need to understand -겠- well first, which was first covered in Level 6 Lesson 16. We will briefly review it below.
Understanding -겠-
You can use -겠- to express your own assumption or intention, or to ask someone about theirs. You can commonly see -겠- in fixed expressions such as, “잘 먹겠습니다 (= Thanks for the food. / Let’s eat. / I will enjoy the food.)” or, “알겠습니다 (= I see. / I understand what you are saying.)” It is also frequently used to talk about what you are willing to do, like when you say, “제가 하겠습니다! (= I will do it. / Let me do it.)”
Construction
-아/어/여야겠다 is a combination of -아/어/여야 하다 and -겠-, and is frequently used when talking to yourself, as well as when talking to someone else.
- -아/어/여야 하다 = to have to
- -겠- = show of assumption/intention
→ -아/어/여야겠다 = I guess I will have to; it looks like I need to; I understand that I should
Understanding -아/어/여야겠다
-아/어/여야겠다 is used not only to express “I guess I will have to” in the literal sense, but also to express what you think needs to be done after seeing something or getting new information. When used in the latter sense, the meaning is often not translated but rather is understood through context. -아/어/여야겠다 is also only used with action verbs.
Sample Sentences
(when talking to someone else)
우리도 서둘러야겠어요.
= (I guess) we should hurry up, too.
다시 확인해 봐야겠어요.
= (I guess) I will have to check again.
품절되기 전에 빨리 주문해야겠어요.
= (I guess) we will have to order it quickly before it is sold out.
한 시간 정도 기다려야겠어요.
= We will have to wait for about an hour.
차 막히기 전에 출발해야겠어요.
= We will have to leave before the traffic gets bad.
Sample Sentences
(when you are talking to yourself)
잠깐 쉬어야겠다.
= I need to take a break for a little while.
나중에 먹어야겠다.
= I am going to eat it later.
나도 이거 사야겠다.
= I need to buy this, too.
이제 집에 가야겠다.
= I need to go home now.
-지 말아야겠다
Earlier in this lesson, you learned that -아/어/여야겠다 can be used to express what you think needs to be done after seeing something or getting new information. On the other hand, to express what you think should not be done, you can use -지 말아야겠다. This is a combination of -지 말다 and -아/어/여야겠다. You could also say 안 -아/어/여야겠다 or -지 않아야겠다 for the same meaning, but -지 말아야겠다 is more commonly used.
Sample Sentences
이제 플라스틱 빨대를 쓰지 말아야겠어요.
= I think I should stop using plastic straws now.
앞으로는 6시에 퇴근하지 말아야겠어요.
= I think I should not leave work at 6 o’clock from now on.
밤늦게 뭘 먹지 말아야겠다.
= I think I should not eat late at night.
너무 무리하지 말아야겠다.
= I think I should not work too hard/go overboard.