Korean Language Blog
Menu
Search

Should/Have To/Must Posted by on Apr 20, 2010 in Grammar, Korean Language

~어/아야 되다 can be used to express should/must/have :

도와야 돼요 = I have to/should/must help

(verb is 돕다 = to help. This is a irregular  ending verb so it’ll change to 도와. 되다 will change to 돼요.)

You can also use ~어/아야 하다 to express should/must/have :

우리 서둘러야 해요 = We must/should/have to hurry

(우리 = we. 서두르다 = to hurry. 하다 will turn to 해요.)

The pattern 어/아야 지요 can also be used to express should/must/have :

문을 열어야 지요 = You should/have to/must open the door

( = door. 열다 = to open.)

In English, “should”, “have to”, “must” all have different degrees of meaning. In Korean, ~어/아야 되다 and ~어/아야 하다 and 어/아야 지요 can be used to mean, should/have to/or must. Therefore, when translating into English, whether to use “should”, “have to” or “must” can be determined by context.

As a sidenote, ~어/아야 되다 is more colloquial than ~어/아야 하다. Also, 어/아야 지요 has a meaning that is much softer than what the English word “should” or “must” or “have to” implies.

For example, the sentence, “방을 청소해야 지요” = You/I should/must/have to clean the room. ( = room. 청소하다 = to clean.) However, the sentence has more of a meaning that is less forceful. It kind of means, “You know you have to clean” or “You know you should clean”. The 어/아야 지요 is sort of an indirect way of saying one should or must do something.

Tags: , ,
Keep learning Korean with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library
Share this:
Pin it

Comments:

  1. 감사합니다:

    ^ ^
    very understandable))