Lesson 23
Welcome to another lesson in the Advanced Situational Expressions series. Throughout this series, we will take a look at common situations and some of the advanced expressions you can use in each of them. In this lesson, we will introduce various expressions you can use when you want to make suggestions and proposals.
Sentence Structures
1. How about doing...?
= Verb stem + -(으)(시)는 건 어떨까요?
= Verb stem + -(으)(시)는 건 어때요?
* “어떨까요?” is a little more formal.
Ex)
How about doing it this way?
= 이렇게 하시는 건 어때요?
= 이렇게 해 보시는 건 어때요?
= 이렇게 해 보시는 건 어떨까요?
2. Why don’t we do...?
= -(으)(시)ㄹ래요?
= -(으)(시)겠어요?
Ex)
Why don’t we go to the meeting together?
= 회의에 같이 가실래요?
= 회의에 같이 가시겠어요?
3. I think it will be better to...
= -(시)는 게 좋을 것 같아요.
Ex)
I think it will be better for you to research more about this.
= 좀 더 알아보시는 게 좋을 것 같아요.
4. I am thinking of -ing. What do you think?
= -(으)ㄹ까 하는데, 어떻게 생각하세요?
= -(으)ㄹ까 하는데, 어떠세요?
Ex)
I am thinking of moving the office (to another location). What do you think?
= 사무실을 옮길까 하는데, 어떻게 생각하세요?
Fixed Expressions
1. 차라리
= It would rather be...
= It will be more... if you...
Ex)
차라리 안 하는 게 좋을 것 같아요. = I think it would rather be better not to do it.
차라리 다른 제품을 쓰는 게 좋을 것 같아요. = It will be better to use a different product (rather than sticking with the current one).
2. 아니면
= or
= or perhaps
= or if you do not like that option
Ex)
아니면 그냥 이렇게 할까요? = Or shall we just do it this way?
아니면 더 큰 장소를 찾아볼까요? = Or perhaps we should look for a bigger place?
3. 그러면
= if so
= if that is the case
= then
Ex)
그러면 행사를 연기할까요? = Then shall we postpone the event?
그러면 제가 해 보면 어떨까요? = Then how about me giving it a try?
4. 한번 이렇게 해 보는 것도 나쁘지는 않을 것 같은데요.
= It would not hurt to try doing it this way (just for this once).
* You could say, “한번 이렇게 해 보세요” but using the other phrase makes it a bit more polite.
5. 일단 한번 이렇게 해 보는 거 어떨까요?
= For now, how about we try doing it this way?
6. 이런 방법도 있지 않을까요?
= Perhaps we can do it like this?
7. 저한테 좋은 생각이 있습니다.
= I have a good idea.
* Of course, ending the sentence with 있습니다 makes it sound formal, so if you speak in a less formal situation, you can end with 있어요.
8. 좋은 생각이 떠올랐어요.
= A good idea just occurred to me.
* 떠오르다 = to float up
9. 제안드리고 싶은 게 있습니다.
= I have a suggestion that I would like to make to you.
* 제안 = suggestion
** 제안하다 = to make a suggestion
*** 제안드리다 = (honorific) to give a suggestion
10. 이렇게 해 볼 수도 있을 것 같아요.
= I think we could do it like this.
11. 혹시 이렇게도 해 보셨어요?
= Have you, by any chance, tried doing it like this, too?
12. 이런 식으로 해 보는 것도 괜찮을 것 같아요.
= I think it will be cool to try doing it like this too.
* You could also give your suggestion first and add “-는 것도 괜찮을 것 같아요” after the verb stem.
Ex)
지금은 이렇게 하는 것도 괜찮을 것 같아요. = I think it will be cool to do it this way for now.
지금 시작하는 것도 괜찮을 것 같아요. = I think it will be cool to start now.
다른 사람이 해 보는 것도 괜찮을 것 같아요. = I think it will be cool to try letting another person do it.