-(으)ㄹ까요? Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

What you'll learn

• Attach -ㄹ까요 or -을까요 to a verb stem and say the question aloud.
• Handle ㄹ-stems and the ㄷ-, ㅂ- and ㅅ-irregular stems.
• Tell a suggestion, an offer and a wondering apart by the subject.
• Answer a -(으)ㄹ까요? question in a natural way.
• Choose between -(으)ㄹ까요?, -(으)ㅂ시다, -자 and -(으)ㄹ래요.

Before you start: you should know how to find a verb stem by dropping 다, and the polite ending -아요/어요. Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Does -(으)ㄹ까요? Grammar Mean?

-(으)ㄹ까요? grammar means "shall we...?", "shall I...?" or "I wonder if...", depending on who does the action. The speaker is not stating a fact. The speaker is asking the listener to think about an action, or thinking aloud about something uncertain.

Two examples show the first two meanings.

• 같이 점심 먹을까요? (gachi jeomsim meogeulkkayo?) [가치 점심 머글까요] = "Shall we have lunch together?"
• 제가 문을 열까요? (jega muneul yeolkkayo?) [제가 무늘 열까요] = "Shall I open the door?"

In the first sentence the subject is "we", so the speaker proposes a plan. In the second the subject is "I", so the speaker offers to help. A third meaning appears when the subject is someone else: 내일 비가 올까요? (naeil biga olkkayo?) means "Will it rain tomorrow?" The speaker has no plan and is simply wondering. The sections below show how to build the ending and how the subject changes its meaning. First comes the formation rule.

How Do You Form -(으)ㄹ까요?

-(으)ㄹ까요? is formed by dropping 다 from the dictionary form of a verb and adding -ㄹ까요 or -을까요, depending on the last sound of the stem. The ending is built from -(으)ㄹ, a future or uncertain marker, and 까요, a question ending. A stem that ends in a vowel takes the short form, and a stem that ends in a consonant takes the form with 을.

The table shows one pattern with two endings. The ㄹ in the ending is a real sound, so it is written even in the vowel-stem cases. The next parts take each stem type in turn.

Stems Ending in a Vowel

A vowel stem takes -ㄹ까요 directly, and the ㄹ moves onto the last syllable of the stem as its final consonant. So 가 + ㄹ까요 is written 갈까요, and 마시 + ㄹ까요 is written 마실까요.

• 영화를 볼까요? (yeonghwareul bolkkayo?) = "Shall we watch a movie?"
• 커피 마실까요? (keopi masilkkayo?) = "Shall we have coffee?"
• 좀 쉴까요? (jom swilkkayo?) = "Shall we take a rest?"

The sound ㄲ in 까요 is already a tense sound, and the spelling shows it. Say 갈까요 with a firm, short k sound after the l, as in "gal-kka-yo". Standard Revised Romanization writes tense consonants, so it shows kk here.

Stems Ending in a Consonant

A consonant stem takes -을까요. The 을 links the stem to the ending, and the final consonant of the stem moves to the next syllable when you speak: 먹을까요 sounds like [머글까요], and 앉을까요 sounds like [안즐까요]. The pronunciation follows the 국립국어원 standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법), which move a final consonant onto a following vowel.

• 뭐 먹을까요? (mwo meogeulkkayo?) [뭐 머글까요] = "What shall we eat?"
• 여기 앉을까요? (yeogi anjeulkkayo?) [여기 안즐까요] = "Shall we sit here?"
• 책을 읽을까요? (chaegeul ilgeulkkayo?) [채글 일글까요] = "Shall we read the book?"

In 읽다 the double final ㄺ splits: the ㄹ stays with 읽 and the ㄱ moves forward, giving [일글까요].

Do ㄹ-Stems and Irregular Verbs Change?

ㄹ-stems keep their ㄹ and take no 을, because the stem already ends in the sound ㄹ. So 만들다 becomes 만들까요, 살다 becomes 살까요, and 열다 becomes 열까요. Other irregular verbs change in the same way that they do before any ending that starts with 으 or 을.

These forms come from the site's conjugation engine, which follows the standard rules. One real sentence shows the ㅂ-irregular verb and the offer sense together: 제가 도와 드릴까요? (jega dowa deurilkkayo?) = "Shall I help you?" The verb 돕다 is ㅂ-irregular, so 돕 + 아 becomes 도와, the form that the helper 드리다 needs. With the formation clear, one sentence can be built step by step.

Worked Example: Building a Sentence with -(으)ㄹ까요?

-(으)ㄹ까요? grammar works by turning a plain verb into a question that proposes, offers or wonders. Follow the steps for the question "Where shall we meet tomorrow?"

1. Start with the dictionary form. The verb is 만나다 (to meet).
2. Drop 다 to find the stem. The stem is 만나. It ends in a vowel (나).
3. Choose the ending. A vowel stem takes -ㄹ까요, and the ㄹ moves onto the stem's last syllable: 만나 + ㄹ까요 = 만날까요.
4. Decide the meaning from the subject. The subject "we" is understood, so the sentence is a suggestion about where to meet.
5. Add the time and the question word. 내일 어디에서 만날까요? (naeil eodieseo mannalkkayo?) = "Where shall we meet tomorrow?"

You will know it worked when the verb ends in -ㄹ까요 or -을까요 and the sentence asks the listener to choose. The most common slip is writing the stem alone, 만나까요, which is wrong because the ㄹ is part of the ending. The next question is when the ending can appear in different tenses and sentence types.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -(으)ㄹ까요?

-(으)ㄹ까요? works in the present as a question, and in the past only as a wondering. The subject decides which of the three meanings you get, so the same form can mean three different things.

Only the first two meanings need an action verb. The wondering meaning also works with adjectives and with 이다: 저 사람은 누구일까요? (jeo sarameun nuguilkkayo?) = "Who could that person be?" and 이 가방이 비쌀까요? (i gabangi bissalkkayo?) = "I wonder if this bag is expensive."

The past form adds -았/었 before the ending, and it is always a wondering. 벌써 도착했을까요? (beolsseo dochakaesseulkkayo?) [벌써 도차캐쓸까요] = "Has it arrived already, I wonder?" Here the verb 도착하다 shows aspiration in the Revised Romanization of the predicate, so it is written dochakaesseulkkayo. You cannot suggest a past action, so the suggestion and offer meanings disappear.

For intonation, a yes/no question usually rises at the end: 같이 갈까요? ↗. A question with a question word, such as 뭐 먹을까요? or 어디에서 만날까요?, puts the stress on the question word and usually ends with a fall or a rise-fall, not a sharp rise. A sharp final rise can turn 뭐 into "something". The pattern also has close neighbours that learners meet early.

How Is -(으)ㄹ까요? Different from -(으)ㅂ시다, -자 and -(으)ㄹ래요?

-(으)ㄹ까요? asks the listener what to do, while -(으)ㅂ시다, -자 and -(으)ㄹ래요 state what the speaker wants. That makes -(으)ㄹ까요? the softest of the four. Use it when the listener's opinion matters.

A proposal like 갑시다 tells the listener the decision. 갈까요? leaves the decision open, which is why it is the safer choice with a person you do not know well. The full contrast is covered in -(으)ㅂ시다, in -자 and in -(으)ㄹ래요. Two comparison pages put the forms side by side: -(으)ㄹ까요 vs -(으)ㄹ래요 and -(으)ㅂ시다 vs -(으)ㄹ까요 vs -자. A neighbour for offers is -(으)ㄹ게요, where the speaker promises to do something instead of asking. These contrasts lead to a few variations in how the ending is used.

Variations and Edge Cases of -(으)ㄹ까요?

-(으)ㄹ까요? has four common variations: offers with a helper verb, questions to yourself, casual speech and respectful speech. Each one shows how real speakers use it.

• Polite offers. Add 드리다 ("to give", humble) to offer help: 제가 도와 드릴까요? ("Shall I help you?") is common in shops and with elders.
• Thinking aloud. Speakers ask themselves what to do: 뭘 입을까? ("What shall I wear?") They do not expect an answer.
• Casual speech. Drop 요 to talk to a friend: 우리 뭐 먹을까? (uri mwo meogeulkka?) [우리 뭐 머글까] = "What shall we eat?"
• Respectful speech. Insert the honorific -(으)시- to ask about the listener's action: 같이 가실까요? ("Would you like to go together?"). Staff and younger speakers use this with seniors.

When another speaker answers, the reply matches the meaning. For a suggestion: 네, 좋아요 (ne, joayo) [네, 조아요] = "Yes, good." For an offer: 네, 부탁해요 (ne, butakaeyo) [네, 부타캐요] = "Yes, please." For a polite no: 괜찮아요 (gwaenchanayo) = "It is fine, no need." This lesson covers the question form only. The honorific -(으)시- has its own page on honorific -(으)시-. For the wider picture, see Korean Speech Levels. The mistakes below are the ones that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -(으)ㄹ까요?

Learners most often confuse the subject, the answer and the spelling. Four mistakes appear again and again.

1. Answering with the same ending. A learner hears 갈까요? and replies 갈까요. The reply must be a decision: 네, 가요 or 네, 좋아요.
2. Using it as a plain statement. 내일 갈까요 without a question tone does not mean "I will go tomorrow." The ending is a question or a thinking-aloud form. For a plan, use 갈 거예요.
3. Forgetting who the subject is. 제가 갈까요? offers to go, and 우리 갈까요? suggests going together. Say 우리 or 제가 when the meaning could be unclear.
4. Adding 을 to a ㄹ-stem. 만들을까요 is wrong. The ㄹ stays, giving 만들까요.

A quick check: Is the listener expected to decide? Is the stem handled correctly (vowel, consonant, ㄹ)? Is the spelling ㄲ in 까요? If all three answers are yes, the question is sound.

The practice set below tests these points directly.

Practice and Answers

Try the four items before you read the answer key. Cover the answers with your hand.

1. Choose the form. Complete: 우리 같이 ___? (먹까요 / 먹을까요)
2. Fix the error. A learner writes 만들을까요 for "Shall we make it?" Correct it.
3. Translate. "Shall I open the window?" Use 열다 and 창문.
4. Write your own. Write one suggestion with 가다 and one wondering about tomorrow's weather.

Answer key

1. 먹을까요. The stem 먹 ends in a consonant, so 을 links the ending: 우리 같이 먹을까요?
2. 만들까요. The ㄹ of 만들 is kept, and no 을 is added.
3. 제가 창문을 열까요? The stem 열 ends in ㄹ, so 열 + 까요.
4. Answers vary. An example: 같이 갈까요? and 내일 비가 올까요?

If you can complete items 1 to 3 without the key, you can use -(으)ㄹ까요? in everyday speech. The final section points to the next lessons.

What Should You Learn Next after -(으)ㄹ까요? Grammar?

After -(으)ㄹ까요? grammar, learn the endings that state a decision, then compare them. This lesson teaches the question form and does not cover the answers in depth, the formal -(으)ㅂ시다 pattern or the future -(으)ㄹ 거예요. Those live on separate pages.

1. Learn -(으)ㅂ시다, the formal "let's".
2. Learn -(으)ㄹ래요 and -(으)ㄹ게요 for "I will".
3. Read Suggestions and Requests for every suggestion and request ending in one place.
4. Return to the Beginner Grammar list for the other patterns at this level.

TOPIK is the official Korean proficiency test, and the level shown here is an editorial estimate; the official descriptions are on topik.go.kr. With these steps, the choice becomes automatic: ask with -(으)ㄹ까요? when the listener decides, and state with -(으)ㅂ시다, -자 or -(으)ㄹ래요 when the speaker does.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does -(으)ㄹ까요? mean?

-(으)ㄹ까요? means "shall we...?", "shall I...?" or "I wonder if...". The meaning depends on the subject. With "we" it suggests, as in 같이 갈까요? ("Shall we go together?"). With "I" it offers help. With a third person it wonders aloud, as in 비가 올까요? ("Will it rain?").

How do I attach -(으)ㄹ까요? to a verb?

Drop 다 from the verb. After a vowel stem or a ㄹ-stem add -ㄹ까요 to the stem: 가다 becomes 갈까요, and 만들다 becomes 만들까요. After a consonant stem add -을까요: 먹다 becomes 먹을까요. ㄷ-, ㅂ- and ㅅ-irregular stems change first: 들을까요, 도울까요, 지을까요.

Can -(으)ㄹ까요? be used in the past tense?

Yes, but the meaning changes. Add -았/었 before the ending: 갔을까요? means "I wonder if they went." It cannot suggest or offer, because you cannot propose something that has already happened. For a past wonder about a place or event, 도착했을까요? ("Has it arrived, I wonder?") is typical.

Is -(으)ㄹ까요? polite enough for elders and teachers?

It is polite speech (해요체), so it works with strangers, colleagues and most elders. With a teacher or a senior, speakers often insert the honorific -시- to ask respectfully about the listener's action, as in 같이 가실까요? In very formal settings, such as announcements, speakers switch to -(으)시겠습니까?

How do I answer a -(으)ㄹ까요? question?

Answer the meaning, not the form. To accept a suggestion say 네, 좋아요 or 그래요. To accept an offer say 네, 부탁해요 ("Yes, please"). To decline politely say 괜찮아요 ("It is fine, no need") or 저는 좀 그래요. For a wondering question, answer with a guess such as 올 것 같아요 ("I think it will").

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