7

I want to say "I will do it for you" in Korean, to express to the listener that I will do a favor to him. I see at least 4 ways to express it:

  1. 저는 너를 위해서 할 거예요.
  2. 저는 너를 위해서 할 게요.
  3. 저는 너를 위해서 해 줄 거예요.
  4. 저는 너를 위해서 할 게요.

But I am not sure about the differences between them. How can I express "I will do it for you." in a natural way?

I think this may be quite broad and dependent on the context, so I wish to say this in one of the two following situations:

(a) I take on me to do the favor and want him to know it.

(b) I am happy to help my friend and would do the favor with no problem.

Improve this question
6
  • I'm not quite understanding the difference between (a) and (b) - in a), is it inconvenient to do the favour?
    – Нет войне
    Dec 15, 2016 at 7:57
  • If the speaker is referring to himself as "저" then he would not refer to the other person as "너". They are at incompatible levels of respect (I don't know what the grammatical term is). There is no natural sounding generic way to refer to the addressee. If you have to specify the addressee then the reference would become specific, e.g. "아버지를 위해서", "선생님을 위해서", etc.
    – Catomic
    Dec 16, 2016 at 9:56
  • You should understand also why the answers are changing "저는" to "제가." You would say "저는" if, for example, other people said they would do something for A, but you, in contrast, would do it for B.
    – Catomic
    Dec 16, 2016 at 10:01
  • As for "줄" it is a form of "주다", viz. to give. We may characterize it as an auxiliary (can, must, etc.), which can combine with any verb to form e.g. "져 주다" (give losing for "지다"), "보내 주다" (give sending, "보내다"), "깨워 주다" (give waking, "깨우다"), "먹어 주다" (give eating, "먹다"), "죽여 주다" (give killing, "죽이다"). "져 주다" implies you could have won, but let the opponent win. "보내 주다" and "깨워 주다" imply that the person released (e.g. a pupil on detention) or roused wanted to be released or roused.
    – Catomic
    Dec 16, 2016 at 12:37
  • You might say "내가 먹어 줄게" if that benefited someone somehow, e.g. you were leaving food uneaten after ordering too much and that bothered one of the company as a matter of principle. "죽여 준다" is a common phrase to praise or (ironically) deprecate something. A movie might. 그 영화 죽여 줘.
    – Catomic
    Dec 16, 2016 at 12:38

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
8

Okay, firstly, you can't say you. Should you have to say you, you can't use 너. That's pretty rude.

So, then, just leave the you out and let's go on. There are few variants I recommend.

제가 할게요 or 제가 하겠습니다 - I will do it.

The other one is more of the "favor" feel.

제가 해 드릴까요? - Shall I do it for you?

Or you could force the issue.

제가 해 드리겠습니다 - I'm going to do it for you.

Improve this answer
6
  • 1
    제가 할게요 is the standard spelling.
    – MujjinGun
    Dec 15, 2016 at 9:16
  • 1
    @mujjingun it's funny, i thought so too, but when i let my Korean wife check it she made me change it ;)
    – 제이 죤스톤
    Dec 15, 2016 at 12:50
  • @webjuju Using 너 is ok within friends of the same or lower age and will not be rude. But outside that relationship will def be rude
    – user237
    Dec 16, 2016 at 14:55
  • @supercoolhandsomegelboy the OP began with "저는" and ended with "요". one of these things is not like the other, and 너 is it.
    – 제이 죤스톤
    Dec 16, 2016 at 14:57
  • @webjuju didn't realize you are referring to OP's ex. sentence, haha
    – user237
    Dec 16, 2016 at 15:00
3

WEBjuju explained it well on a polite level. Casually, when speaking friend-to-friend, you can say equivalently:

내가 할게, 내가 해 줄게. - I will do it, I will do it for you/him/her.

내가 해 줄까? - Shall I do it for you/him/her?

내가 해 줄거야. - I'm going to do it for you/him/her.

Improve this answer
1
  • right right! i followed the "저는" and "요" the OP was using, but it's good to point out the 반말 version, too! +1
    – 제이 죤스톤
    Dec 15, 2016 at 12:52

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.