How to Say "The prince wants to see the princess" in Korean | -고 싶어요 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The prince wants to see the princess" in Korean is "왕자는 공주를 보고 싶어요." (wangjaneun gongjureul bogo sipeoyo.). It uses the -고 싶어요 grammar pattern (Want to (V-고 싶어요)). Level: A1.

Struggling with how to say "The prince wants to see the princess" in Korean? Here is the natural way: "왕자는 공주를 보고 싶어요.". We will unpack the -고 싶어요 grammar and show you exactly how it works.

Category: 감정

What does "The prince wants to see the princess" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "왕자는 공주를 보고 싶어요." translates to "The prince wants to see the princess." in English. When Korean speakers hear "왕자는 공주를 보고 싶어요.", they immediately picture the scene: the prince wants to see the princess. The sentence is compact yet vivid — a hallmark of well-formed Korean.

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

When you see a long Korean sentence, find the verb at the end first. Then work backwards — this is the fastest way to understand Korean sentence structure.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

This Korean expression sounds natural partly because of rhythm. Korean syllables alternate between consonant-vowel pairs at a steady beat, giving sentences a flowing, pleasant sound.

Cultural Insight

한국 동화 속 현명한 인물은 힘이 아닌 지혜로 문제를 해결해요. '꾀'를 부리는 것이 미덕으로 여겨지며, 이는 한국의 '슬기(지혜)' 문화를 반영합니다.

Examples

왕자는 공주를 보고 싶어요. — wangjaneun gongjureul bogo sipeoyo. — The prince wants to see the princess.

왕자는 공주를 보고 싶었어요. — wangjaneun gongjureul bogo sipeoteoyo. — The prince wanted to see the princess.

왕자는 공주를 보고 싶어요? — wangjaneun gongjureul bogo sipeoyo? — Does the prince wants to see the princess?

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 see the princess" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "왕자는 공주를 보고 싶어요.". wangjaneun gongjureul bogo sipeoyo.

Fill in the blank: 왕자는 공주를 보고 ___

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