Explanation of 겠 in Korean.
Hi guys, so in my Korean studies, I have encountered 겠, e.g. 가겠어요 or 비가 오겠습니다.

I understand that it can be used for intention/future in first and second person statements/questions, but a few things still confuse me.

One particular example is: 모르겠어요.
I know that this means "I don't really know/understand." However, I don't really understand how that construction came to mean that.

If I think literally, I think of it as "I will not know" or "I don't want to know", neither of which imply a sense of being unsure, i.e. they don't imply "I don't really".

I have also found that it can mean "I'll bet...." or "I shall...", but I can't see the connection here. :(

Can anyone help?
지금 조금 한국어 말할 수 있지만 잘 말하고 싶습니다 :D
여러분 고맙습니다.

Question

Explanation of 겠 in Korean.
Hi guys, so in my Korean studies, I have encountered 겠, e.g. 가겠어요 or 비가 오겠습니다.

I understand that it can be used for intention/future in first and second person statements/questions, but a few things still confuse me.

One particular example is: 모르겠어요.
I know that this means "I don't really know/understand." However, I don't really understand how that construction came to mean that.

If I think literally, I think of it as "I will not know" or "I don't want to know", neither of which imply a sense of being unsure, i.e. they don't imply "I don't really".

I have also found that it can mean "I'll bet...." or "I shall...", but I can't see the connection here. :(

Can anyone help?
지금 조금 한국어 말할 수 있지만 잘 말하고 싶습니다 :D
여러분 고맙습니다.

Answer

There are lots of meanings and usages in it, the suffix "-겠-" can be used to refer to one's guess like in "모르-겠-어요".

\^o^/

Answer

Read this article to learn korean grammar.
https://koreanly.com/%EA%B2%A0-grammar-with-examples/
https://koreanly.com/

Answer

The use of -겠- seems to be one of the hardest thing for a non-native speakers to learn to use. I've asnwered the same question in the past and I'll copy and paste it for you. 

*** 
The first one was really hard.. I actually had to ask my Korean teacher to understand why we put '겠' there. I bet most Koreans would never know why either, and honestly speaking I don't really think I completely understood why. But here we go. 

-겠- usually means future, one's will, guess, or possiblity. And also, according to my Korean teacher, in opposition to -었-, -겠- indicates 'incomplete' or 'unfinished.' In 모르겠는데요, -겠- is used to indicate that the state of 'not knowing' is continuing(unfinished). Yeah, sounds weird, but I guess it's sort of on the same track as 'I'm losing it.' 
See, 몰랐어요 (모르 -았- 어요) means that the speaker did not know, as in the past, and 모르겠어요 (모르 -겠- 어요) means that the speaker doesn't know and it is continuing..(unfinished) 

Sounds like hell, agreed. Even as a native speaker I find it difficult to get a grasp. Just.. the terms 모르겠어요 and 알겠어요 are frenquently used terms.. I think you might want to memorize these two. Sorry for that. I know it sucks having to memorize these kinds of occations, but I really don't see a better option. 

*** 

That's the answer I gave to a question asking about the very same example "모르겠어요" .
Looking at it now, I think it kind of does make sense. Although I never thought of -겠- as explicitly indicating 'unfinished-ness' I guess it could contain such meaning. After all, every meaning of 겠 has something to do with something that has not been done.

Answer

listen to this lesson:

http://www.talktomeinkorean.com/lessons/l6l16/

Answers · 4

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!