-(으)려다가
Was Going to, But
-려다가 is used when you were going to do one action, but changed your mind or were interrupted, and ended up doing something else. It translates to "was going to... but...".
How It Works
-려다가 is a useful grammar pattern to express a change of plans or intentions. It signifies that an action was planned or about to be executed, but for some reason, it was stopped, and a different action took its place.
How to form:
1. For verb stems ending in a vowel or the consonant 'ㄹ': Add -려다가.
- 가다 (to go) → 가려다가
- 만들다 (to make) → 만들려다가 (ㄹ is not dropped)
2. For verb stems ending in a consonant (except 'ㄹ'): Add -으려다가.
- 먹다 (to eat) → 먹으려다가
- 찾다 (to find) → 찾으려다가
Key Points:
- The subject of both the intended action (first clause) and the actual action (second clause) must be the same.
- The first action was not started. It was only an intention. This is a key difference from the pattern -다가, which implies an action was already in progress.
- It often implies that the change of plan was due to a new thought, a sudden realization, or an external event.
For example: 백화점에 가려다가 사람이 너무 많아서 그냥 집에 왔어요.
This means "I was going to go to the department store (intention), but there were too many people (reason for change), so I just came home (actual action)."
Examples (5)
- 영화를 보려다가 너무 피곤해서 그냥 잤어요.
I was going to watch a movie, but I was too tired, so I just slept.
Word by Word: Movie watch-was going to-but too tired-so just slept.
- 친구에게 전화하려다가 너무 늦은 것 같아서 문자를 보냈어요.
I was going to call my friend, but I thought it was too late, so I sent a text instead.
Word by Word: To friend call-was going to-but too late it seemed-so text message sent.
- 케이크를 만들려다가 재료가 부족해서 포기했어요.
I was going to make a cake, but I gave up because I didn't have enough ingredients.
Word by Word: Cake make-was going to-but ingredients were lacking-so gave up.
- 밖에 나가려다가 갑자기 비가 와서 집에 있었어요.
I was going to go outside, but it suddenly started raining, so I stayed home.
Word by Word: Outside go out-was going to-but suddenly rain came-so at home was.
- 매운 음식을 시키려다가 속이 안 좋아서 순한 걸로 바꿨어요.
I was going to order spicy food, but my stomach wasn't feeling well, so I changed to something mild.
Word by Word: Spicy food order-was going to-but stomach condition not good-so mild thing-with changed.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting to add '으' for verb stems ending in a consonant.
Not Quite밥을 먹려다가 친구가 전화했어요.Better밥을 먹으려다가 친구가 전화했어요.When a verb stem ends in a consonant (like '먹' from '먹다'), you must add '-으-' before '-려다가'. The correct form is '먹으려다가'.
Confusing it with -다가, which is used for an action already in progress.
Different Meaning도서관에서 공부하려다가 친구를 만났어요.Better도서관에서 공부하다가 친구를 만났어요.The incorrect sentence means "I was about to study at the library, but then I met a friend." The correct sentence, using -다가, means "I was in the middle of studying at the library when I met a friend." Use -려다가 for an unstarted intention and -다가 for an interrupted ongoing action.
Learn This First
To express interrupted intention 'was going to but', you need intention patterns and conjugation.
Related Patterns
- -(으)려고 하다Intend to, Plan to
-려다가 is a combination of -려고 하다 (to intend to do) and -다가. Understanding that -려고 하다 expresses intention is crucial for grasping the meaning of -려다가.
- -다가While Doing, Then
-려다가 is for an action that was intended but not started. In contrast, -다가 is used when an action is already in progress and is then interrupted. '자려다가' means 'I was going to sleep, but...', while '자다가' means 'While I was sleeping...'.
- -(으)려던 참이다Was Just About to
Both express an intention. -려던 참이다 emphasizes the immediacy ('I was just about to...'), while -려다가 focuses on the subsequent change of plans ('I was going to..., but then...').
- -(으)ㄹ 뻔하다Almost Did
While -려다가 often involves a change of plans, it describes an action that was about to start but was interrupted. In contrast, -ㄹ 뻔하다 describes something that almost happened but didn't, often by a narrow margin and unintentionally. For example, '넘어지려다가 잡았다' (I was about to fall but caught myself) vs. '넘어질 뻔했다' (I almost fell).