How to Say "The bear wants to see the singer" in Korean | -고 싶어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The bear wants to see the singer" in Korean is "곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요." (gomeun gasureul bogo sipeoyo.). It uses the -고 싶어요 grammar pattern (Want to (V-고 싶어요)). Level: A1.

"곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요." means "The bear wants to see the singer" in Korean. It features the -고 싶어요 pattern — the pattern -고 싶어요 attaches to a verb stem to express a desire or wish. Practice this phrase to build your Korean fluency.

Category: 감정

What does "The bear wants to see the singer" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요." translates to "The bear wants to see the singer." in English. "곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요." demonstrates how Korean builds meaning layer by layer. Each particle and ending adds nuance to the base idea of "the bear wants to see the singer".

Pronunciation guide: gomeun gasureul bogo sipeoyo.

Grammar Point: Want to (V-고 싶어요)

The pattern -고 싶어요 attaches to a verb stem to express a desire or wish. It is one of the first grammar points Korean learners encounter. This sentence also uses -아/어요.

Remove the 다 from the dictionary form, then add -고 싶어요. For example: 보다 → 보고 싶어요 (want to see).

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 곰은 (gomeun) • 가수를 (gasureul) • 보고 (bogo) • 싶어요 (sipeoyo)

Count the particles in this sentence. Each one (은, 를, 에, 에서, etc.) is a signpost telling you exactly how that word relates to the verb.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

What gives this sentence its natural ring is the verb ending. Korean verb endings carry enormous information — tense, politeness, mood — all packed into one or two syllables.

Cultural Insight

한국 설화에서 까치는 길조의 새로, 좋은 소식을 전해준다고 믿었어요. '까치가 울면 반가운 손님이 온다'는 속담이 있습니다.

Examples

곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요. — gomeun gasureul bogo sipeoyo. — The bear wants to see the singer.

곰은 가수를 보고 싶었어요. — gomeun gasureul bogo sipeoteoyo. — The bear wanted to see the singer.

곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요? — gomeun gasureul bogo sipeoyo? — Does the bear wants to see the singer?

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 보다 싶어요 → Correct: 보고 싶어요. You must use the connective -고 between the verb stem and 싶어요. Dropping -고 is a common beginner mistake.

Incorrect: 먹아요 → Correct: 먹어요. The stem 먹- ends in a dark vowel (ㅓ), so it takes -어요 not -아요. Match the vowel harmony.

Quiz

How do you say "The bear wants to see the singer" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "곰은 가수를 보고 싶어요.". gomeun gasureul bogo sipeoyo.

Fill in the blank: 곰은 가수를 보고 ___

The correct ending is "싶어요". The polite -요 form is essential for everyday Korean conversation.