Skip to content

-았/었으면

at-eot-eu-myeon

Pulling a scene that hasn't happened into view: -았/었으면

The picture Pulling a scene that has not arrived into view as a picture already completed, and looking at it. -았/었으면 좋겠어요 wishes for things beyond your own hands; -고 싶어요 is what you want to do with them.

Endings and forms

Where the picture shows up in -았/었으면

  1. seeing the rain already stopped

    비가 그쳤으면 좋겠어요.

    bi-ga geu-chyeo-sseu-myeon jo-ke-sseo-yo

    I hope the rain stops.

    Watching it still pour outside while a dry road is already drawn in your head

  2. pulling a quiet tomorrow close

    내일은 좀 한가했으면 좋겠어요.

    nae-i-reun jom han-ga-hae-sseu-myeon jo-ke-sseo-yo

    I hope tomorrow is a bit quieter.

    Laying an empty tomorrow column over today's packed schedule and looking through both

  3. seeing the healed body first

    빨리 나았으면 좋겠어요.

    ppal-li na-a-sseu-myeon jo-ke-sseo-yo

    I hope it heals soon.

    Pressing the place that still hurts while picturing yourself walking after it is healed

  4. seeing the lower price first

    값이 좀 내렸으면 좋겠어요.

    gap-si jom nae-ryeo-sseu-myeon jo-ke-sseo-yo

    I wish the price would come down a bit.

    Standing before the raised tag and pasting a new, lower number over it in your mind

  5. hearing a call that never came

    전화 한 통만 해 줬으면 좋겠어요.

    jeon-hwa han tong-man hae jwo-sseu-myeon jo-ke-sseo-yo

    I wish they would just give me one call.

    Looking at a silent phone and letting your ear hear the ring before it happens

    When the wish involves another person, it lands softer than a direct request.

All of it in one picture

-았/었으면 pulls a scene that does not exist yet into view as an already finished picture. Pull the rain and you see dry road; pull tomorrow and you see an empty column; pull your body and you see yourself walking. Pull the price tag and you see a smaller number; pull the phone and you hear it ring. The past-tense shape is there because the wish is built as a completed scene first, and only then looked at.

Next

See all Korean core images