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

What you'll learn

• Attach -시겠어요 or -으시겠어요 to a verb stem and say the question aloud.
• Handle ㄹ-stems, irregular stems and special honorific verbs such as 드시다.
• Offer a choice to a customer or guest without sounding blunt.
• Read 힘드시겠어요 as a respectful guess.
• Choose between -(으)시겠어요?, -(으)세요? and -(으)ㄹ래요?.

Before you start: you should know the polite command and honorific present -(으)세요, because this ending builds on it. Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Does -(으)시겠어요? Grammar Mean?

-(으)시겠어요? grammar means "Would you like to...?" or "Will you...?" in a respectful question. The ending joins three pieces: the honorific -(으)시-, the intention marker -겠-, and the polite ending -어요. The honorific shows respect to the person asked, and -겠- turns the question toward a choice or a future action.

Two examples show the idea.

• 커피 드시겠어요? (keopi deusigesseoyo?) [커피 드시게써요] = "Would you like some coffee?"
• 뭘 드시겠어요? (mwol deusigesseoyo?) [뭘 드시게써요] = "What would you like to have?"

In both sentences the speaker is a host or a waiter, and the listener is a guest. The verb is 드시다, the honorific form of 먹다 and 마시다. The sections below show how to build the ending and what else it can say. First comes the formation rule.

How Do You Form -(으)시겠어요?

-(으)시겠어요 is formed by dropping 다 from the dictionary form of a verb and adding -시겠어요 or -으시겠어요, depending on the last sound of the stem. A stem that ends in a vowel takes the short form, and a stem that ends in a consonant takes the form with 으.

The table shows one pattern with two endings. The Revised Romanization writes the tense ㅆ of 겠 as ss, so every form ends in gesseoyo. The next parts take each stem type in turn.

Stems Ending in a Vowel

A vowel stem takes -시겠어요 directly: 가다 becomes 가시겠어요, and 주문하다 becomes 주문하시겠어요.

• 주문하시겠어요? (jumunhasigesseoyo?) [주문하시게써요] = "Would you like to order?"
• 같이 가시겠어요? (gachi gasigesseoyo?) = "Would you like to go together?"

The word 겠 contains a tense ㅆ, and the spelling shows it. Say [게써요] with a short, firm s sound. Between the vowels of 시겠어요 the sound is smooth: [시게써요].

Stems Ending in a Consonant

A consonant stem takes -으시겠어요, with 으 as a linking vowel before 시: 앉다 becomes 앉으시겠어요, and 읽다 becomes 읽으시겠어요. The final consonant of the stem moves to the next syllable when you speak: 앉으시겠어요 sounds like [안즈시게써요]. The pronunciation follows the 국립국어원 standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법), which move a final consonant onto a following vowel.

• 여기 앉으시겠어요? (yeogi anjeusigesseoyo?) [여기 안즈시게써요] = "Would you like to sit here?"
• 어떻게 하시겠어요? (eotteoke hasigesseoyo?) [어떠케 하시게써요] = "How would you like to do it?"

Do ㄹ-Stems, Irregular Verbs and Special Verbs Change?

ㄹ-stems drop their ㄹ before 시, because 시 begins with ㅅ. Other irregular verbs change as before any ending that starts with 으. Some verbs replace the regular form with a separate honorific verb.

These forms come from the site's conjugation engine, which follows the standard rules. The special verbs matter most in service talk: 더 계시겠어요? (deo gyesigesseoyo?) means "Will you stay longer?" With the formation clear, one sentence can be built step by step.

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

-(으)시겠어요? grammar works by turning a plain verb into a respectful offer. Follow the steps for a waiter's question "How would you like to pay?"

1. Start with the dictionary form. The verb is 계산하다 (to pay the bill).
2. Drop 다 to find the stem. The stem is 계산하. It ends in a vowel (하).
3. Add the honorific and the intention marker. A vowel stem takes -시겠어요, so you get 계산하시겠어요.
4. Add the question word. 어떻게 means "how", so the sentence asks about the way of paying.
5. Complete the sentence. 어떻게 계산하시겠어요? (eotteoke gyesanhasigesseoyo?) [어떠케 계산하시게써요] = "How would you like to pay?"

You will know it worked when the verb ends in -시겠어요 or -으시겠어요 and the listener is someone you respect. The most common slip is dropping 시: 어떻게 계산하겠어요 asks "How will you pay?" without the respect. The next question is when the ending can appear in different tenses and sentence types.

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

-(으)시겠어요 works in the present as a question or a comment, and it takes the past inside the word as -(으)셨겠어요. The listener or a respected third person must be the subject, because the honorific -(으)시- never marks the speaker.

The respectful guess is easy to miss. With adjectives and states, -겠- means "must be", and -(으)시- shows respect: 많이 힘드시겠어요 (mani himdeusigesseoyo) = "That must be very hard for you." The speaker comments on the listener's feelings, so the tone falls and the sentence is not a question.

For intonation, a yes/no question usually rises at the end: 커피 드시겠어요? ↗. A question with a question word, such as 뭘 드시겠어요?, puts the stress on 뭘 and usually ends with a fall or a rise-fall, not a sharp rise. A sharp final rise can turn 뭘 into "something". The pattern has close neighbours that learners confuse with it.

How Is -(으)시겠어요? Different from -(으)세요? and -(으)ㄹ래요?

-(으)시겠어요? asks about a choice, -(으)세요? asks about a present action, and -(으)ㄹ래요? asks what a friend wants. Each one fits a different relationship and moment.

Compare two questions with the same verb. 뭐 드세요? asks "What are you eating?" or "What do you usually eat?" 뭘 드시겠어요? asks "What would you like to have?" and the waiter will bring the answer. A third question, 뭐 먹을래요?, asks the same thing of a friend, but it has no honorific and sounds too casual for a customer. The full contrast is covered in -(으)세요 and -(으)ㄹ래요. A related request form, -아/어 주시겠어요?, adds 주다 to ask a favour: 문 좀 열어 주시겠어요? ("Could you open the door?"). These contrasts lead to a few variations in how the ending is used.

Variations and Edge Cases of -(으)시겠어요?

-(으)시겠어요? has four common variations: ordering, formal speech, sympathy and phone calls. Each one shows how real speakers use it.

• Ordering. Staff say 주문하시겠어요? ("Would you like to order?"), 포장하시겠어요? ("Is it for take-away?") and 계산은 어떻게 하시겠어요? ("How would you like to pay?").
• Formal speech. In announcements and formal writing, the ending becomes -(으)시겠습니까?: 커피 드시겠습니까? (keopi deusigetseumnikka?) [커피 드시겓씀니까]
• Sympathy. 피곤하시겠어요 ("You must be tired") and 바쁘시겠어요 ("You must be busy") show care for the listener. A falling tone marks them as comments.
• Phone calls. 잠시 기다리시겠어요? ("Would you like to hold for a moment?") is a typical service phrase.

This lesson covers the question and guess meanings, not the plain intention use of -겠- (for example 제가 하겠습니다). 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)시겠어요?

Learners most often confuse the subject, the stem and the meaning. Four mistakes appear again and again.

1. Using it for yourself. 제가 먼저 가시겠어요 is wrong. The honorific never marks the speaker. Say 제가 먼저 가겠어요 or 제가 먼저 갈게요.
2. Dropping 시 with a customer. 뭘 먹겠어요? is grammatical, but it lacks respect and sounds like an interrogation. Use 뭘 드시겠어요?.
3. Keeping the ㄹ. 만들으시겠어요 and 만들시겠어요 are wrong. The ㄹ drops, giving 만드시겠어요.
4. Answering with the honorific. A guest asked 커피 드시겠어요? must not reply 네, 드시겠어요, because the honorific would treat the guest as someone else. Reply 네, 주세요 ("Yes, please") or 네, 마시겠어요.

A quick check: Is the listener someone you respect? Is the question about a choice or a guess? Is the stem handled correctly (vowel, consonant, ㄹ, special verb)? 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: 여기에 ___? (앉시겠어요 / 앉으시겠어요)
2. Fix the error. A waiter says 뭘 먹겠어요? to a guest. Make it more respectful.
3. Translate. "Would you like to order?" Use 주문하다.
4. Read the sentence. What does 바쁘시겠어요 mean, and is it a question?

Answer key

1. 앉으시겠어요. The stem 앉 ends in a consonant, so 으시 links the ending: 여기에 앉으시겠어요?
2. 뭘 드시겠어요? The honorific verb 드시다 replaces 먹다, and 시 shows respect.
3. 주문하시겠어요? The stem 주문하 ends in a vowel, so the ending is -시겠어요.
4. "You must be busy." It is a comment with a falling tone, not a question.

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

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

After -(으)시겠어요? grammar, learn the favour request that uses the same pieces. This lesson teaches the honorific offer and guess and does not cover the favour pattern, the past honorific or the intention use of -겠- in depth. Those live on separate pages.

1. Learn -아/어 주시겠어요?, the most polite way to ask for a favour.
2. Review -(으)세요 if the honorific forms still feel unclear.
3. Read Suggestions and Requests for every suggestion and request ending in one place.
4. Return to the Intermediate 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: use -(으)시겠어요? to offer a choice to someone you respect, and -(으)세요? for what they usually do.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does -(으)시겠어요? mean?

-(으)시겠어요? is a very polite question that means "Would you like to...?" or "Will you...?". It adds the honorific -(으)시- to the intention marker -겠-. 커피 드시겠어요? means "Would you like some coffee?" Staff in restaurants, shops and offices use it to ask about a customer's choice.

How do I attach -(으)시겠어요? to a verb?

Drop 다 from the verb. After a vowel stem add -시겠어요: 가다 becomes 가시겠어요. After a consonant stem add -으시겠어요: 앉다 becomes 앉으시겠어요. A ㄹ-stem drops ㄹ: 만들다 becomes 만드시겠어요. Special verbs keep their honorific forms: 먹다 becomes 드시겠어요, and 자다 becomes 주무시겠어요.

Can I use -(으)시겠어요? about myself?

No. The honorific -(으)시- always marks someone you respect, never the speaker. To state your own intention, use 제가 하겠어요 or 제가 할게요, or the formal 제가 하겠습니다. You can use -(으)시겠어요? only for the listener or a respected third person, such as a customer, a teacher or a guest.

What does 힘드시겠어요 mean, and is it a question?

It is usually a statement of sympathy: "That must be hard for you." With adjectives and states, -겠- expresses a guess, and -(으)시- shows respect. Other examples are 피곤하시겠어요 ("You must be tired") and 바쁘시겠어요 ("You must be busy"). A falling tone marks it as a comment, not a question.

What is the difference between -(으)시겠어요? and -(으)세요?

-(으)세요? asks about a present action or habit: 뭐 드세요? means "What are you eating?" or "What do you usually eat?" -(으)시겠어요? asks about a choice or a future action: 뭐 드시겠어요? means "What would you like to have?" The second one is the standard question for taking an order.

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