~으러

§ What ~으러 means

The Korean grammar particle ~으러 is used when you are going somewhere or coming from somewhere for a specific purpose. It literally means 'in order to' or 'for the purpose of' (going/coming). It always attaches to the stem of a verb and is followed by a verb of motion like 가다 (to go), 오다 (to come), 올라가다 (to go up), 내려오다 (to come down), etc.

DEFINITION

In order to, for the purpose of (going/coming).

§ How to use ~으러

Attaching ~으러 is straightforward:

• If the verb stem ends in a vowel or 'ㄹ' (like 사다 'to buy' or 만들다 'to make'), you add ~러.
• If the verb stem ends in a consonant (like 먹다 'to eat' or 읽다 'to read'), you add ~으러.

Let's look at some examples:

§ Where you'll hear ~으러

You'll hear ~으러 used all the time in everyday Korean, whether at work, school, or even in the news when describing people's movements for a purpose. It's a fundamental expression for explaining why someone is going or coming somewhere.

§ At Work

In a work setting, you might hear this when colleagues explain their movements:

§ At School

Students and teachers use ~으러 frequently:

§ In the News and Public Announcements

Even in formal contexts like news reports, this structure is used to explain the reason for people's movements:

Understanding ~으러 will greatly help you grasp the intentions behind movements in Korean conversations and texts. Practice using it with different verbs of motion and you'll master it quickly!

§ Don't use ~으러 with just any verb

One of the most frequent mistakes learners make with ~으러 is trying to attach it to any verb. Remember, ~으러 is specifically for verbs of movement, like 'to go' (가다) or 'to come' (오다). You can't use it with verbs that don't imply going somewhere or coming from somewhere.

For example, you wouldn't say 'to eat in order to eat' using ~으러. That simply doesn't make sense in Korean. If you want to express purpose with non-movement verbs, you'd use other grammatical structures like ~려고/~(으)러고.

Explanation

Here, '보러' (to see) is followed by a verb of movement '갔어요' (went), so it's correct.

Explanation

'먹었어요' (ate) is not a verb of movement, so ~으러 cannot be used here.

§ Confusing ~으러 with ~려고/~(으)러고

Another common pitfall is mixing up ~으러 with other purpose-indicating grammar patterns like ~려고 or ~(으)러고. While they all express purpose, their usage differs. ~으러, as discussed, is strictly for movement verbs. ~려고/~(으)러고, on the other hand, can be used with any verb, not just movement verbs.

Remember

~으러: Verb of movement + purpose
~려고/~(으)러고: Any verb + purpose (can also be used with verbs of movement, but ~으러 is more common and natural-sounding when paired with movement verbs)

Explanation

Here, '먹으려고' (to eat) is used with '갔어요' (went). This is perfectly fine, but you could also use '먹으러' here.

Explanation

Here, '노력해요' (try) is not a verb of movement, so only ~려고 can be used.

§ Incorrectly attaching ~으러 to nouns

While ~으러 is used with verbs, some learners mistakenly try to attach it directly to nouns. ~으러 is a verbal ending. If you want to express 'for the purpose of a noun,' you'd use a different structure like ~을/를 위해(서) (for/for the sake of).

Explanation

Here, '사러' (to buy) is correctly attached to the verb '사다' (to buy).

Explanation

'선물' (gift) is a noun, so ~으러 cannot be directly attached.

Instead, you would say:

Explanation

Here, '선물을 사기 위해' (for buying a gift) correctly expresses the purpose for a noun.

§ Forgetting the ~으 when the stem ends in a consonant

This is a basic conjugation rule, but it's easy to forget when you're focusing on meaning. Remember that if the verb stem ends in a consonant, you need to add ~으 before ~러. If it ends in a vowel or 'ㄹ' (which is treated like a vowel ending for this rule), you just add ~러.

• Verb stem ends in a consonant (e.g., 먹다 -> 먹): Add ~으러 -> 먹으러
• Verb stem ends in a vowel (e.g., 가다 -> 가): Add ~러 -> 가러
• Verb stem ends in 'ㄹ' (e.g., 만들다 -> 만들): Drop 'ㄹ' and add ~러 or add ~러 directly, depending on the verb/context, but for ~으러, it's typically just ~러 after dropping 'ㄹ' like '만들러'.

Explanation

'빌리다' (to borrow) ends in a vowel, so you add ~러.

Explanation

'사다' (to buy) ends in a vowel, so you add ~러.