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TOPIK II · LEVEL 5

-(으)ㄹ까 싶다

-(으)ㄹ까 싶다 voices a half-formed thought in the speaker's mind: either "I'm thinking I might do ~" or "I suspect, worry or hope that ~ might happen."

추측·판단Guessing & judging

Han: The form itself is fine with a statement (비가 올까 싶어서 우산을 챙겼어요), but in -(으)ㄹ까 싶어서 the one worrying must be the one acting in the main clause, so it cannot lead into a request to the listener; to advise someone, use -(으)ㄹ지도 모르니까.

Examples

그 사람이 정말 그런 말을 했을까 싶네요.I doubt he really said something like that.
혹시 도움이 될까 싶어서 작년 시험 자료를 가져왔어요.I brought last year's exam materials in case they might help.
길이 막힐까 싶어서 평소보다 일찍 집을 나섰어요.I was worried the roads might be jammed, so I left home earlier than usual.
이번 주말에는 그냥 집에서 푹 쉴까 싶어요.I'm thinking I might just get a good rest at home this weekend.

Don’t mix up

-(으)ㄹ까 싶다vs-(으)ㄹ까 봐(서)-(으)ㄹ까 봐 expresses worry about something unwanted (비가 올까 봐 우산을 챙겼어요), and -(으)ㄹ까 싶어서 can express the same worry (비가 올까 싶어서 우산을 챙겼어요). The difference is that -(으)ㄹ까 싶어서 also fits a hopeful 'in case it helps' feeling (도움이 될까 싶어서 가져왔어요) and sounds a little more hesitant.
-(으)ㄹ까 싶다vs-(으)ㄹ까 하다Both can mean "thinking of doing" (여행을 갈까 해요 ≈ 여행을 갈까 싶어요), but -(으)ㄹ까 하다 is mostly limited to intention, while -(으)ㄹ까 싶다 sounds more hesitant and also covers worry and doubt (비가 올까 싶어서).

How to build it

V/A/N이다+(으)ㄹ까 싶다
past: V/A+았/었을까 싶다

쉬다 → 쉴까 싶어요; 먹다 → 먹을까 싶어요; 늦다 → 늦었을까 싶어서

  1. In the "thinking of doing" sense it takes an action verb, the subject is usually the speaker, and softeners like -(이)나 are common (영화나 볼까 싶어요). In the worry/hope/doubt sense any predicate can be used, usually in the form -(으)ㄹ까 싶어서.
  2. With -(으)ㄹ까 싶어서, the person who has the thought is also the subject of the main clause, so the main clause is usually a statement about what that person did, not a command or suggestion to someone else (길이 막힐까 싶어서 일찍 나섰어요 is fine; ...싶어서 ~하세요 is not).
  3. To say "I was thinking of doing ~", put the past tense on 싶다 (볼까 싶었어요). 았/었을까 싶다 means wondering whether something already happened (이미 끝났을까 싶어요).

Classic mistake

Wrong: 비가 올까 싶어서 우산을 챙기세요.

Right: 비가 올지도 모르니까 우산을 챙기세요.

The form itself is fine with a statement (비가 올까 싶어서 우산을 챙겼어요), but in -(으)ㄹ까 싶어서 the one worrying must be the one acting in the main clause, so it cannot lead into a request to the listener; to advise someone, use -(으)ㄹ지도 모르니까.

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