TOPIK I · LEVEL 1
-(으)ㄹ까요?
Use -(으)ㄹ까요? to suggest something ("Shall we…?"), offer help ("Shall I…?"), or ask someone's guess ("Do you think…?").
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: When someone offers "Shall I…?", you answer with a request (-아/어 주세요 or -(으)세요), not by repeating -(으)ㄹ까요.
Examples
우리 같이 점심 먹을까요?Shall we have lunch together?
제가 창문을 열까요?Shall I open the window?
내일 날씨가 추울까요?Do you think it will be cold tomorrow?
주말에 어디에 갈까요?Where shall we go this weekend?
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄹ까요?vs-(으)ㄹ래요?-(으)ㄹ래요? asks what the listener wants; -(으)ㄹ까요? asks for agreement or opinion: 뭐 먹을래요? (What do you want to eat?) vs 뭐 먹을까요? (What shall we eat?)-(으)ㄹ까요?vs-(으)ㅂ시다-(으)ㅂ시다 is a direct proposal (not to seniors), -(으)ㄹ까요? is a softer question: 같이 갑시다 (Let's go) vs 같이 갈까요? (Shall we go?)-(으)ㄹ까요?vs-(으)ㄹ 거예요?-(으)ㄹ 거예요? asks about someone's plan; -(으)ㄹ까요? asks for a suggestion or guess: 내일 뭐 할 거예요? (What will you do tomorrow?) vs 내일 뭐 할까요? (What shall we do tomorrow?)
How to build it
V/A (consonant stem)+을까요?
V/A (vowel or ㄹ stem)+ㄹ까요?
먹다 → 먹을까요?, 가다 → 갈까요?, 만들다 → 만들까요?, 듣다 → 들을까요?
- With 우리 (we) it is a suggestion; answer with -아요/어요 or -(으)ㅂ시다 (e.g. 네, 같이 가요), not with -(으)ㄹ까요 again.
- With 제가 (I) it offers help or asks permission; the listener answers with -(으)세요 or -아/어 주세요.
- With a third person, weather or adjectives it asks for a guess; answer with -(으)ㄹ 거예요. For past guesses use -았/었을까요?
- Do not use it to ask about the listener's own plan or wish ("Will you…?"); use -(으)ㄹ 거예요? or -(으)ㄹ래요? instead.
Classic mistake
Wrong: A: 제가 문을 닫을까요? B: 네, 닫을까요.
Right: A: 제가 문을 닫을까요? B: 네, 닫아 주세요.
When someone offers "Shall I…?", you answer with a request (-아/어 주세요 or -(으)세요), not by repeating -(으)ㄹ까요.
Practise -(으)ㄹ까요? on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)시--(으)시- goes inside a verb or adjective to show respect to the person doing the action (the subject).
- -(으)세요-(으)세요 is the polite honorific ending: it shows respect to the subject in statements and questions (선생님은 책을 읽으세요), and with action verbs it politely tells or asks the listener to do something (앉으세요).
- -(으)ㅂ시다-(으)ㅂ시다 suggests doing something together: 'let's …' in a formal, polite style.
- -이/가 아니다Negates a noun: 'is not N'. It is the negative of 이다 and conjugates like an adjective: 아니에요, 아닙니다, 아니야.
- -이다이다 is the copula 'to be': attached to a noun, it says what something is (X is Y). It conjugates like an adjective into every speech style.
- -아요/어요-아요/어요 is the everyday polite ending: add it to a verb or adjective stem to speak politely to almost anyone, about the present or habits.
- -이에요/예요-이에요/예요 means 'to be' and links a noun to the subject in polite everyday speech, as in 'X is Y.'
- -ㅂ니까/습니까Asks a question in the formal polite style (하십시오체): interviews, announcements, customer service, presentations, the military.
- -ㅂ니다/습니다-ㅂ니다/습니다 ends a statement in the formal polite style (하십시오체), as in news, speeches, presentations and when talking to strangers or superiors.