How to Say "Want To" in Korean: -고 싶다 (고 싶어요)
Learn -고 싶다, the Korean pattern for "want to." See how to say 고 싶어요, the past and negative forms, talk about what others want, and why 보고 싶어요 means "I miss you."
Beginner7 min readTap any Korean word to see it explained
The short answer
To say you want to do something, take a verb, drop 다, and add 고 싶어요. 가다 (to go) becomes 가고 싶어요 (I want to go). And 보고 싶어요, “I want to see you,” is how Koreans say “I miss you.”
This is one of the most useful patterns in Korean. Once you know it, you can order food, make plans and share your feelings with just a handful of verbs. Tap any word below to see what it means.
1. How -고 싶다 works
Every Korean verb ends in 다 in the dictionary. Take that off and you have the stem. Add 고, a space, and then 싶어요. The stem never changes, so there is nothing tricky to remember.
| Verb | Want to | Wanted to | Don’t want to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 가다 (go) | 가고 싶어요 | 가고 싶었어요 | 가고 싶지 않아요 |
| 먹다 (eat) | 먹고 싶어요 | 먹고 싶었어요 | 먹고 싶지 않아요 |
| 보다 (see, watch) | 보고 싶어요 | 보고 싶었어요 | 보고 싶지 않아요 |
| 쉬다 (rest) | 쉬고 싶어요 | 쉬고 싶었어요 | 쉬고 싶지 않아요 |
| 공부하다 (study) | 공부하고 싶어요 | 공부하고 싶었어요 | 공부하고 싶지 않아요 |
Same words for the question and the answer. Raise your voice at the end to ask.
2. Wanted to: 고 싶었어요
To talk about the past, change only the last part. 싶어요 becomes 싶었어요. The first verb stays exactly the same.
3. Don’t want to: 고 싶지 않아요
The standard way is to add 지 않아요 to 싶다, giving 싶지 않아요. In everyday talk you will also hear the short way: put 안 in front of the first verb.
Short and casual. With 하다 verbs, 안 goes before 하다: 공부 안 하고 싶어요.
4. What other people want: 고 싶어해요
In Korean, you can say what you want, and you can ask what the listener wants. But for a third person, you only see how they act. So Korean adds 하다: 싶어하다, “to show that one wants to.”
5. 보고 싶어요: I miss you
보다 means “to see.” So 보고 싶어요 is literally “I want to see (you).” Korean doesn’t have a separate verb for missing someone, so this is the phrase everyone uses, from text messages to love songs.
Casual form for close friends, family and partners. Add 요 to make it polite: 보고 싶어요.
With 싶다, the thing you want often takes 이/가 instead of 을/를. Both are heard: 엄마를 보고 싶어요 is fine too.
Hear it in songs
보고 싶어 and ~고 싶어 show up in countless K-pop choruses. Open a song in Hanbok Lyrics and tap a line to see the pattern break down. To build the rest of the sentence, see the polite present tense and saying “not” with 안 and 못.
Check yourself
Quick check · 1 of 4Which sentence is correct?
I want to eat bibimbap.
Questions learners ask
How do you say "I want to" in Korean?
Take a verb, drop 다, and add 고 싶어요. 가다 (go) becomes 가고 싶어요 (I want to go). 먹다 (eat) becomes 먹고 싶어요 (I want to eat).
What does 보고 싶어 mean?
Word for word it is "I want to see (you)," but it is how Koreans say "I miss you." 보고 싶어 is casual, 보고 싶어요 is polite.
How do you say "I don't want to" in Korean?
Use 고 싶지 않아요, like 가고 싶지 않아요 (I don't want to go). In casual talk you will also hear 안 가고 싶어요.
Can I use 고 싶어요 for other people?
Only in questions to the listener, like 뭐 먹고 싶어요? (What do you want to eat?). To say what someone else wants, use 고 싶어해요: 친구가 자고 싶어해요 (My friend wants to sleep).