How to Say "The prince wants to rest" in Korean | -고 싶어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The prince wants to rest" in Korean is "왕자는 쉬고 싶어요." (wangjaneun swigo sipeoyo.). It uses the -고 싶어요 grammar pattern (Want to (V-고 싶어요)). Level: A1.

"왕자는 쉬고 싶어요." means "The prince wants to rest" 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 prince wants to rest" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "왕자는 쉬고 싶어요." translates to "The prince wants to rest." in English. "왕자는 쉬고 싶어요." — a sentence that Korean children might hear in bedtime stories. It means "the prince wants to rest" and uses vocabulary that appears in hundreds of other Korean sentences, making it a powerful building block.

Pronunciation guide: wangjaneun swigo 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 "왕자는 쉬고 싶어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 왕자는 (wangjaneun) • 쉬고 (swigo) • 싶어요 (sipeoyo)

In Korean, the verb ending tells you everything: who is speaking, how polite they are, and what tense they mean. Pay close attention to the last syllable.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

What makes it sound authentically Korean is the absence of pronouns. Unlike English, Korean often drops "I", "you", or "it" when context makes them obvious — creating a leaner, more elegant sentence.

Cultural Insight

한국 이야기에서 할머니와 할아버지는 단순한 노인이 아니라, 지혜와 경험의 상징이에요. 이들의 조언이 이야기의 전환점이 되는 경우가 많습니다.

Examples

왕자는 쉬고 싶어요. — wangjaneun swigo sipeoyo. — The prince wants to rest.

왕자는 쉬고 싶었어요. — wangjaneun swigo sipeoteoyo. — The prince wanted to rest.

왕자는 쉬고 싶어요? — wangjaneun swigo sipeoyo? — Does the prince wants to rest?

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 prince wants to rest" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "왕자는 쉬고 싶어요.". wangjaneun swigo sipeoyo.

Fill in the blank: 왕자는 쉬고 ___

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