Unit 18: I Wish, I Hope (-았/었/였으면 좋겠다)

To express a strong wish or hope in Easy Korean, we use the structure -았/었/였으면 좋겠다. Literally, it means "If it were [X], it would be good."

Structure

Verb / Adjective Past Tense Stem + -으면 좋겠다

Even though you are hoping for something in the future, you attach it to the past tense stem. This emphasizes the desire, as if it has already happened.

• 가다 -> 갔 + 으면 좋겠다 = 갔으면 좋겠어요 (I wish you/I would go)
• 하다 -> 했 + 으면 좋겠다 = 했으면 좋겠어요 (I wish you/I would do it)
• 맛있다 -> 맛있었 + 으면 좋겠다 = 맛있었으면 좋겠어요 (I hope it's delicious)

(Note: You can also just use the present stem, -으면 좋겠어요, but using the past stem sounds more natural and expresses a stronger wish.)

Examples

• 내일 날씨가 좋았으면 좋겠어요. (I hope the weather is good tomorrow.)
• 빨리 주말이 왔으면 좋겠어요. (I wish the weekend would come quickly.)
• 한국어를 더 잘했으면 좋겠어요. (I wish I spoke Korean better.)