-도록 Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

What you'll learn

• Attach -도록 to any verb or adjective stem.
• Tell its two meanings apart: "so that" and "until".
• Use -도록 with different subjects and with requests.
• Choose between -도록, -(으)려고, -기 위해(서) and -게.

Prerequisites: the polite ending -아요/어요 and the pattern -(으)려고. Time: about 15 minutes.

Key facts

• -도록 names an aim ("so that") or an extent ("until / to the point that").
• The form never changes: stem + 도록. Irregular verbs keep their stems.
• The subjects of the two clauses may differ.
• The main clause can be a statement, question, command or request.

Listen to two model sentences.

The next section defines the pattern.

What Does -도록 Grammar Mean?

-도록 has two meanings. A connective ending is a word ending that joins one clause to the next. This one points toward a goal. Sometimes the goal is a result you want. Sometimes the goal is a limit that the action reaches.

1. "So that" (purpose). The first clause names a result the speaker wants someone or something to be able to reach. The doer of the main clause and the doer of the first clause can be different people. In 아이가 잘 수 있도록 불을 껐어요, the speaker turns off the light, and the child sleeps.

2. "Until" or "to the point that" (extent). The first clause names how far the action goes. In 목이 아프도록 소리쳤어요, the shouting went on until the throat hurt.

How can you tell the two meanings apart? Look at the words before 도록. A word for a body or a state, such as 아프다 ("hurt") or 붓다 ("swell"), usually means "until". A verb phrase that names a thing that someone can do, such as 잘 수 있다 ("can sleep"), usually means "so that".

The next section shows how to build the form.

How Do You Form -도록?

The rule is the same as for -지만. Remove 다 from the dictionary form to get the stem, then add 도록. The stem is the verb or adjective without its dictionary ending -다. For 먹다 the stem is 먹.

Most connective endings change with the last sound of the stem. They need 아/어 or 으 in some cases. -도록 does not, because it starts with a consonant. The stem is left exactly as it is.

Two sound changes appear. After a final consonant such as ㄱ, ㅈ or ㅅ, the ㄷ of 도 is said as a tense ㄸ, so 먹도록 sounds like [먹또록]. This tensing happens in speech only. Revised Romanization (RR) does not mark tensing that comes from a neighbouring sound, so it writes meokdorok. The second change is aspiration. The ㅎ of 많 joins the following ㄷ and makes ㅌ, so 많도록 sounds like [만토록]. RR writes this aspiration in predicates, so it is mantorok.

Stems Ending in a Vowel

Vowel stems take 도록 directly: 가도록, 자도록, 공부하도록. No contraction takes place. For verbs made with 하다, add 도록 to 하.

Stems Ending in a Consonant

Consonant stems also take 도록 directly: 먹도록, 읽도록, 앉도록. There is no 으 to insert.

Irregular Stems

Irregular stems do not change before 도록. An irregular stem is one that changes its shape before an ending that begins with a vowel. 도록 begins with a consonant, so the change never happens.

Adjectives can take 도록 too, mostly for a state you want to create. 방이 따뜻하도록 난방을 켰어요 means "I turned on the heating so that the room would be warm". The pattern 도록 is rare with 이다.

The next section builds a full sentence.

Worked Example: Building 늦지 않도록 일찍 출발했어요

Say that you left early so as not to be late. Follow five steps.

1. Write the result you want to avoid. "I am late" is 늦어요. The negative "not be late" is 늦지 않다.
2. Find the stem. The dictionary form is 늦지 않다, so the stem is 늦지 않.
3. Add 도록. 늦지 않 + 도록 gives 늦지 않도록, said [늗찌 안토록]. Take away the polite ending, because it belongs to the main verb.
4. Write the action. "I left early" is 일찍 출발했어요. The tense is on the main verb.
5. Join the two parts. 늦지 않도록 일찍 출발했어요.

You'll know it worked when the first clause ends in 도록 with nothing after it, the first clause names a result you want, and the polite ending appears only on the last verb. Try the same steps with "I took notes so that I would not forget": 잊지 않도록 메모했어요.

The next section covers tense and sentence types.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -도록?

Tense in Korean is shown on the verb. For -도록, put the tense on the main verb at the end. The first clause stays in the bare form, because the aim has not yet been reached when the action happens.

Unlike -(으)려고, -도록 allows every sentence type after it. You can follow it with a statement, a question, a command or a suggestion. That is because the aim belongs to the result, not only to the speaker's own plan.

Yes/no questions end with a rise: 아이가 잘 수 있도록 불을 껐어요? A wh-question puts the stress on the question word and often ends with a fall or a rise-fall rather than a sharp rise: 잊지 않도록 어떻게 해요?

The next section compares -도록 with its neighbours.

How Is -도록 Different from -(으)려고?

Both can be translated as "so that" or "in order to". The difference is who reaches the aim. -(으)려고 needs one person to want the aim and to act. -도록 lets the aim belong to someone else, or to an extent.

Tell the same facts with each ending. The facts are "I turn off the light" and "The child sleeps".

• 아이를 재우려고 불을 껐어요. I want to put the child to sleep, and I do both actions. One doer.
• 아이가 잘 수 있도록 불을 껐어요. The child is the one who sleeps. Two doers.
• 아이가 잘 수 있게 불을 껐어요. The same meaning, in a more everyday voice.

The key test is whether the first clause has its own subject. If it does, and the subject is different from the main verb, use -도록. If one person plans an action and does another to reach it, use -(으)려고. With one doer, -도록 still works for a state to reach or avoid, as in 늦지 않도록 일찍 출발했어요. The ending -게 is the everyday partner of -도록 for "so that". -도록 sounds a little more careful and is common in signs and announcements.

For a detailed side-by-side with practice, see -(으)려고 vs -도록.

The next section covers set phrases and edge cases.

Variations and Edge Cases of -도록

-도록 하다

Add 하다 and you get a soft instruction or promise. 내일은 일찍 오도록 하세요 means "Please make sure to come early tomorrow." The same form can be a promise: 앞으로는 늦지 않도록 하겠습니다 means "From now on I will make sure not to be late." It is polite and common in the workplace.

Letting or Making Someone Act

-도록 하다 can also mean making or letting someone do something. 아이들이 책을 읽도록 했어요 means "I had the children read books". The doer of the action (아이들) is different from the person who made it happen. The close everyday partner of this use is the causative -게 하다 (아이들이 책을 읽게 했어요).

Signs and Notices

Public notices use -도록 constantly: 넘어지지 않도록 주의하세요 ("Watch your step so that you do not fall"), 손이 끼이지 않도록 조심하세요 ("Be careful so that your hand does not get caught"). The pattern fits because the writer is addressing many unknown people.

Set Phrases of Extent

Several phrases use the "until" meaning and are worth learning as units.

날이 새도록 이야기했어요 means "We talked until dawn". 죽도록 노력했어요 means "I tried as hard as I could". These are everyday expressions, and a learner will hear them.

With -(으)ㄹ 수 있다

The combination -(으)ㄹ 수 있도록 means "so that one can". It appears in the model sentence and in every public announcement: 이해할 수 있도록, 이용할 수 있도록. The pattern -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 is taught in can / cannot.

The next section lists the mistakes that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -도록?

Learners make six predictable mistakes. Each has a reason and a fix.

Learners often use -도록 for a purpose that belongs to one person. Actually it sounds unnatural when the aim is the speaker's own planned action. With one doer, -도록 is natural mainly for a state to reach or avoid, such as 늦지 않도록. Wrong: 한국어를 배우도록 학원에 다녀요. Right: 한국어를 배우려고 학원에 다녀요. Fix: if you plan an action and act to reach it yourself, use -(으)려고.

Learners often put a tense before 도록. Wrong: 잤도록 불을 껐어요. Right: 잘 수 있도록 불을 껐어요. Fix: the tense belongs on the main verb only.

Learners often forget that the first clause can have its own subject. Wrong: 제가 아이가 잘 수 있으려고 불을 껐어요. Right: 아이가 잘 수 있도록 불을 껐어요. Fix: put the other person's subject marker 이/가 in the first clause and use 도록.

Learners often use -도록 for a reason. Actually it points to a result in the future. Wrong: 피곤하도록 일찍 잤어요 (if "because I was tired" is meant). Right: 피곤해서 일찍 잤어요. Fix: a reason that already exists needs -아/어서.

Learners often change the stem. Actually irregular stems stay whole before 도록. Wrong: 더워도록 and 들도록. Right: 덥도록 and 듣도록. Fix: do not apply the -아/어 rules here.

Learners often translate the "until" meaning as "so that". Wrong: reading 목이 아프도록 as "so that my throat hurts". Right: "until my throat hurt". Fix: a word for pain, swelling or fatigue before 도록 points to an extent.

The next section gives you practice.

Practice and Answers

Do the four tasks, then compare with the key.

Task 1: join the sentences with -도록. Write one sentence for each pair.

1. 아이가 자요. / 불을 꺼요.
2. 늦지 않아요. / 일찍 출발해요.
3. 잊지 않아요. / 메모해요.
4. 모두가 봐요. / 크게 써요.

Task 2: fix the error. Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. 방이 시원해도록 에어컨을 켰어요.
2. 감기에 걸렸도록 약을 먹었어요.
3. 저는 살을 빼도록 운동해요.

Task 3: translate. Write in Korean: "I studied until midnight." and "Please be careful so that you do not fall."

Task 4: write your own. Write one sentence about something you do so that another person can do something, and one sentence with 밤새도록.

Answer key

1. (1) 아이가 자도록 불을 꺼요. (2) 늦지 않도록 일찍 출발해요. (3) 잊지 않도록 메모해요. (4) 모두가 보도록 크게 써요.
2. (1) 방이 시원하도록 에어컨을 켰어요. (2) 감기에 걸리지 않도록 약을 먹었어요. (3) 저는 살을 빼려고 운동해요.
3. 자정까지 공부했어요 or 밤늦도록 공부했어요. 넘어지지 않도록 조심하세요. Other correct versions exist.
4. Sample answers: 아이가 편하게 잘 수 있도록 조용히 해요. 어제는 밤새도록 영화를 봤어요. Any sentence is correct if 도록 sits on a bare stem and the main verb carries the tense.

If task 1 was correct, you have the formation rule. If task 2 was hard, check whether you used a tense inside the first clause or whether only one person is involved. The next section points you to what comes after this lesson.

What Should You Learn after -도록 Grammar?

After -도록, learn -기 위해(서), the formal "in order to" that works with commands. If you still mix up the one-person aim, review -(으)려고. The ending 기 in -기 위해(서) is explained on the page for the -기 nominalizer.

For a wider view, the parent page Purpose and Intention lists every connector in this group. To plan by level, use Intermediate Grammar.

This lesson covers -도록 in the polite, casual and formal styles. It does not cover every written variation. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. Revised Romanization follows the national rules and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does -도록 Mean?

-도록 means "so that" when it names an aim, and "until" or "to the point that" when it names an extent. 아이가 잘 수 있도록 불을 껐어요 means "I turned off the light so that the child could sleep." 목이 아프도록 소리쳤어요 means "I shouted until my throat hurt."

How Do I Attach -도록 to a Verb or Adjective?

Take the stem, which is the dictionary form without 다, and add 도록. 가다 becomes 가도록, 먹다 becomes 먹도록, and 따뜻하다 becomes 따뜻하도록. There is no vowel rule and no irregular change, because 도 starts with a consonant. Irregular stems stay whole: 덥도록, 듣도록, 모르도록.

Can -도록 Be Used in the past Tense?

Not inside the -도록 clause. Never write 잤도록. The clause stays in its plain stem form, and the tense appears on the main verb: 늦지 않도록 일찍 출발했어요 means "I left early so as not to be late." The aim itself is always something that had not happened yet.

Is -도록 Used in Speech or Only in Writing?

Both, but it sounds more careful and formal than everyday -게. You will meet it in signs, announcements, instructions, emails and news: 넘어지지 않도록 주의하세요. In casual talk, many speakers say -게 instead: 아이가 잘 수 있게 불을 껐어요. Learners should be able to recognise both.

What Is the Most Common Mistake with -도록?

The most common mistake is using -도록 for a purpose that belongs to the speaker alone. 한국어를 배우도록 학원에 다녀요 sounds unnatural, because learning is the speaker's own planned action. Use -(으)려고 for that. -도록 fits when someone or something else reaches the aim, or when you describe an extent.

What Is the Difference between -도록 and -(으)려고?

-(으)려고 needs the same subject in both clauses and cannot be followed by a command. -도록 allows different subjects and any sentence type. 아이를 재우려고 불을 껐어요 has one doer, while 아이가 잘 수 있도록 불을 껐어요 has two. -도록 also expresses "until", which -(으)려고 never does.

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