Korean Future Tense: -(으)ㄹ 거예요 for Plans, -겠- for Now
Talk about future plans in Korean: -(으)ㄹ 거예요 for plans (갈 거예요), -겠- for on-the-spot decisions like 잘 먹겠습니다, and -기 전에 / -은 후에 for before and after.
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)
Korean future plans take -(으)ㄹ 거예요: 내일 친구를 만날 거예요 — I am meeting a friend tomorrow. Vowel stems add ㄹ 거예요 (갈 거예요), consonant stems add 을 거예요 (먹을 거예요). For on-the-spot decisions and guesses, Korean switches to -겠- (잘 먹겠습니다). Add -기 전에 and -은 후에, and your plans even come in the right order.
Words for the week ahead
Two bonuses hide in the cards: 내년 (next year) mirrors last lesson’s 작년, and 끝나다 is pronounced kkeun-na-da — ㅌ nasalizes to ㄴ, the same shift as in 작년.
The plan ending: -(으)ㄹ 거예요
Vowel stem + ㄹ 거예요: 가다 → 갈 거예요, 만나다 → 만날 거예요, 배우다 → 배울 거예요. Consonant stem + 을 거예요: 먹다 → 먹을 거예요, 읽다 → 읽을 거예요 (읽다 = to read). 방학에 한국에 갈 거예요 = I am going to Korea during the vacation.
The vowel-or-consonant fork is new but friendly: if the stem ends in a vowel, ㄹ tucks underneath (가 → 갈); if it ends in a consonant, 을 takes its own syllable (먹 → 먹을). Questions borrow the same shape — 뭐 할 거예요? (what will you do?) is about to become your most useful Korean question. Spelling alert: it is 거예요, not 거에요 — even Koreans typo this one.
Plan or guess — when do I use -겠-?
제가 하겠습니다 = I will do it (deciding right now). 내일 비가 오겠어요 = it will probably rain tomorrow (forecast guess). 와, 맛있겠어요! = wow, that looks delicious!
-(으)ㄹ 거예요 reports a plan that existed before you opened your mouth; -겠- is born in the moment of speaking. A presenter saying 내일은 춥겠습니다 is guessing forward — which is why the weather words from Lesson 18 and 겠 are best friends on Korean TV.
Culture beat: before eating with Koreans, you will hear — and should say — 잘 먹겠습니다, literally “I will eat well.” It is the 겠 of right-now intention, aimed politely at whoever cooked or is paying. When the plates are empty, last lesson’s past tense takes over: 잘 먹었습니다.
Before and after: -기 전에 and -은 후에
자기 전에 핸드폰을 봐요 = I look at my phone before sleeping. 퇴근한 후에 운동할 거예요 = I will exercise after getting off work. 밥을 먹은 후에 커피를 마실 거예요 = I will drink coffee after eating.
Before is mechanical: dictionary stem + 기 전에, done — 가기 전에, 먹기 전에, 이사하기 전에. After follows the vowel/consonant fork you just learned: vowel stems take ㄴ (퇴근하 → 퇴근한), consonant stems take 은 (먹 → 먹은). Attach to the plain stem, never to a conjugated past form. And 전/후 are old friends — the 前/後 inside 오전 and 오후 from Lesson 9: before-noon, after-noon.
Vacation plans in one chat
Spot the division of labor: every planned event runs on -(으)ㄹ 거예요, while the one burst of in-the-moment feeling — 좋겠어요! — runs on 겠. Get that split right and your future tense already sounds native.
FAQ
What is the difference between -(으)ㄹ 거예요 and -겠-? -(으)ㄹ 거예요 is the decided future — the plan already exists: 내일 친구를 만날 거예요 (it is on the calendar). -겠- is for decisions made this second (제가 하겠습니다 — I’ll do it) and soft guesses (내일 비가 오겠어요 — looks like rain tomorrow). Korean weather forecasts run on 겠.
Why do Koreans say 잘 먹겠습니다 before eating? Literally “I will eat well” — the 겠 marks an about-to-happen intention, and the phrase thanks whoever cooked or is paying. When the meal ends, it flips into the past you learned last lesson: 잘 먹었습니다 = I ate well, thank you.
How do I build “before” and “after” correctly? Before = dictionary stem + 기 전에: 자기 전에 (before sleeping), 가기 전에 (before going). After = stem + (으)ㄴ 후에: 퇴근한 후에 (after getting off work), 먹은 후에 (after eating). Attach to the plain stem — never to a conjugated form like 먹었.
Next: want, can, must — -고 싶다, -(으)ㄹ 수 있다, -아/어야 돼요. Previous: the past tense -았/었어요. Full path: curriculum hub.