haru Korean › Grammar › Level 3A › V-아/어야지(요)
V-아/어야지(요) — I'm going to … · of course you should … — promises and what is right
I'm going to … · of course you should … — promises and what is right. Korean grammar for intermediate learners — Level 3A, lesson 11: 이번엔 진짜 공부해야겠어요 (This time I really have to study — exam season).
What it means
-아/어야지 at the end of a sentence turns 'have to' into a promise or a firm view. Said to yourself — in 반말, often half aloud — it is a resolution: 이번엔 진짜 공부해야지 'this time I'm really going to study'. With 요, said to someone else, it means 'that's what you should do, of course': 시험 전날에는 일찍 자야지요. It can also answer a question about yourself, politely and firmly: 오늘도 아르바이트해요? — 아니요, 오늘은 공부해야지요. The forms follow -아요/어요: 자야지, 놀아야지, 외워야지, 공부해야지, with 들어야지 (ㄷ) and 꺼야지 (ㅡ). For something you won't do, say 안 -아/어야지 or -지 말아야지: 늦잠은 안 자야지. Compare -아/어야겠어요 (Lesson 3A-1): 그럼 오늘부터 공부해야겠어요 is a decision you have just made after some news and are telling others; -아/어야지 is a promise you make to yourself. Telling someone above you what they should do with -아/어야지요 can sound like a lecture, so keep that use for friends, classmates and people younger than you. -았/었- does not go before it in a promise (later you will hear 미리 말했어야지! 'you should have told me!' — a complaint).
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -아야지(요) | ㅏ · ㅗ — 혼자: -아야지 · 다른 사람에게: -아야지요 | 자다 + 아야지 → 자야지 |
| -어야지(요) | 그 외 모음 | 외우다 + 어야지 → 외워야지 |
| 해야지(요) | 하다 | 공부하다 → 공부해야지 |
Key points
- V-아/어야지 = I'm going to … (a promise to yourself, in 반말): 자야지 · 외워야지 · 공부해야지 — the same 아/어/해 as -아/어요
- With 요, to someone else: -아/어야지요 = of course you should … Not the same as -아/어야겠어요 (Lesson 3A-1), a decision you tell others.
Examples
- 나에게 약속할 때 써요(혼자 하는 말 · 반말): 이번엔 진짜 공부해야지.
- ㅏ · ㅗ → -아야지: 자야지 · 놀아야지. 그 외 → -어야지: 외워야지 · 들어야지(ㄷ) · 꺼야지(ㅡ).
- 하다 → 해야지: 공부해야지 · 정리해야지. 안 할 일은: 늦잠은 안 자야지.
- 다른 사람에게는 -아/어야지요: 시험 전날에는 일찍 자야지요. (그렇게 하는 게 맞아요.)
- 3A 1과 -아/어야겠어요는 소식을 듣고 지금 정해서 말해요. 윗사람에게 -아/어야지요는 조심하세요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Yonsei University Korean 3-1, lesson 2; Ewha Womans University Korean 3-2, lesson 9; Hongik University Korean 3B, lesson 7; Hanyang University Korean 3-2, lesson 7.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-아/어야 — only if … — the one condition you can't skip
- V-(으)려던 참이다 — I was just about to … — perfect timing