What do you want to do? 뭐 하고 싶어요?

In our previous lesson, we learned how to say “I want to” in Korean. In this lesson, we will practice using the structure “I want to” in context through more sample conversations. 

First, let’s look at 5 verbs. 

• 하다 = to do 
• 보다 = to see 
• 먹다 = to eat 
• 사다 = to buy 
• 마시다 = to drink 

To change a verb into the “I want to + verb” form, you use the underlined part of the verb + "고 싶어요". For example, "I want to do" is "하고 싶어요"
i.e., 다 disappears and you add "고 싶어요".
Therefore,

• 보다 --> 보고 싶어요 = I want to see ... 
• 먹다 --> 먹고 싶어요 = I want to eat ... 
• 사다 --> 사고 싶어요 = I want to buy ...
• 마시다 --> 마시고 싶어요 = I want to drink ...

"뭐" in Korean means “WHAT”. To ask what the listener want, you can ask "뭐 ~~고 싶어요?"

• 뭐 하고 싶어요? what do you want to do?
• 뭐 보고 싶어요? what do you want to see(watch)?
• 뭐 먹고 싶어요? what do you want to eat?
• 뭐 사고 싶어요? what do you want to buy?
• 뭐 마시고 싶어요? what do you want to drink?