Wanting in Korean — and why first vs. third person matter
In Korean, you don't say 'I want X (a noun)' the way English does — you mostly say 'I want TO DO X (a verb)'. The pattern is verb stem + -고 싶다: 가고 싶다 (want to go), 먹고 싶다 (want to eat), 자고 싶다 (want to sleep). For YOUR OWN wants (1st person, or 2nd person in a question), use -고 싶다 directly: 저는 가고 싶어요. = 'I want to go.' For SOMEONE ELSE'S wants (3rd person), Korean grammar requires -고 싶어 하다: 친구는 가고 싶어 해요. = 'My friend wants to go.' This 1st/3rd-person split is one of the most distinctive features of Korean and a common test point.
How to attach: -고 싶다
Take the verb's dictionary form, drop -다, add -고 싶다. 가다 → 가고 싶다 (want to go). 먹다 → 먹고 싶다 (want to eat). 공부하다 → 공부하고 싶다 (want to study). 자다 → 자고 싶다 (want to sleep). The -고 싶다 part is then conjugated normally — usually 싶어요 for polite present: 가고 싶어요 = 'I want to go.' Past: 싶었어요. Negative: 가고 싶지 않아요 or 안 가고 싶어요 ('I don't want to go').
First person: -고 싶다
Use -고 싶다 when the wanter is YOU (or 'we'), or when you're asking the listener about THEIR wants — basically anyone whose feelings the speaker can directly access. 저는 한국에 가고 싶어요. = 'I want to go to Korea.' 뭘 먹고 싶어요? = 'What do you want to eat?' 저는 자고 싶어요. = 'I want to sleep.' 우리는 영화를 보고 싶어요. = 'We want to watch a movie.' Note that an adjective/descriptive verb ('want to be tall') doesn't combine with -고 싶다 the same way — you usually rephrase: 키가 컸으면 좋겠어요. = 'I wish I were tall.'
Third person: -고 싶어 하다
When the wanter is someone else — third person — Korean treats their inner wanting as something you OBSERVE, not directly feel. The grammar marks this with -고 싶어 하다 (literally 'is showing a wanting-state'). 친구는 한국에 가고 싶어 해요. = 'My friend wants to go to Korea.' 동생은 자고 싶어 해요. = 'My younger sibling wants to sleep.' 아기가 우유를 먹고 싶어 해요. = 'The baby wants milk (to eat the milk).' Mixing this up is one of the most-corrected mistakes in beginner Korean: 저는 가고 싶어요 ✓ but 친구는 가고 싶어요 ✗ (use 싶어 해요).
What you DON'T do: noun + 'want'
English speakers often try to translate 'I want a coffee' literally — but Korean doesn't have a clean noun-object 'want' verb. Instead, you almost always rephrase as 'want TO DRINK / TO EAT / TO BUY': 커피를 마시고 싶어요. = 'I want (to drink) coffee.' 이 책을 사고 싶어요. = 'I want (to buy) this book.' 물을 마시고 싶어요. = 'I want water.' Picking the right verb (마시다 drink, 먹다 eat, 사다 buy, 갖다 have) makes the sentence sound natural. The verb 원하다 (to want, with a noun object) exists but feels formal/stiff in casual speech.
Past, negative, and questions
Past 'wanted to': -고 싶었어요. 어제 가고 싶었어요. = 'I wanted to go yesterday.' For 3rd person past: -고 싶어 했어요: 친구는 가고 싶어 했어요. = 'My friend wanted to go.' Negative 'don't want to': two options. Either 안 + verb-고 싶다 (안 먹고 싶어요) or verb-고 싶지 않다 (먹고 싶지 않아요). Both mean 'I don't want to eat.' Questions: Just put question intonation on the polite ending. 뭘 하고 싶어요? = 'What do you want to do?' 어디에 가고 싶어요? = 'Where do you want to go?' (Asking 'you' uses -고 싶다, not 싶어 하다 — questions about the listener's feelings are direct.)
