TTMIK Level 5 Lesson 23 - -(으)려나 보다

In Level 5 Lesson 4, we introduced the structure -나 보다 for action verbs, and in Level 5 Lesson 8, we explained how -(으)려고 하다 is used. When you combine those two structures together, you get -(으)려고 하나 보다.

And this can be made even shorter:
-(으)려고 하나 보다 → -(으)려나 보다

Meaning:
-(으) 려나 보다 is a way of expressing your assumption about a future action that you “assume” someone is going to take or something that you “assume” will happen. For a similar meaning, you can use -(으)ㄹ 것 같다, but -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 generally has a stronger meaning than -(으)려나 보다, and you sound more certain of your statement when you use -(으)ㄹ 것 같다.

When you are making an assumptive statement based on what you saw, the reason that -(으)려나 보다 has a weaker meaning than -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 is that you are talking about what you see as someone else’s intention for doing something.

Construction:
Verb stems ending with a vowel + -려나 보다
Verb stems ending with a last consonant + -으려나 보다

Examples:
1. 닫다 [dat-da] = to close
닫 + -으려나 보다 = 닫으려나 보다
→ 닫으려나 봐요. [da-deu-ryeo-na bwa-yo.] = I guess they are going to close it. / It looks like they want to close it.

* 닫을 것 같아요. [da-deul geot ga-ta-yo.] = I think they will close it.

2. 걸어가다 [geo-reo-ga-da] = to walk somewhere
걸어가 + -려나 보다 = 걸어가려나 보다
→ 걸어가려나 봐요. [geo-reo-ga-ryeo-na bwa-yo.] = It looks like he is going to walk there.

* 걸어갈 것 같아요. [geo-reo gal geot ga-ta-yo.] = I think he will walk there.

** Note that you cannot use -(으)려나 보다 for descriptive verbs, since you can’t have an intention for “being” in a state. You can talk about “becoming + adjective” or about your effort for getting in a certain state, but not for generally describing a state that you ARE definitely in.

Sample sentences
1. 카페 문을 닫으려나 봐요.
[ka-pe mu-neul da-deu-ryeo-na bwa-yo.] [Original verb: 닫다 = to close]
= It looks like they are going to close the cafe.

2. 지금 시작하려나 봐요.
[ji-geum si-ja-ka-ryeo-na bwa-yo.] [Original verb: 시작하다 = to start]
= It looks like they are going to start now.

3. 다 같이 들어오려나 봐요.
[da ga-chi deu-reo-o-ryeo-na bwa-yo.] [Original verb: 들어오다 = to come in]
= I guess they are all going to come in together.

4. 가족하고 여행을 가려나 봐요.
[ga-jo-ka-go yeo-haeng-eul ga-ryeo-na bwa-yo.] [Original verb: 가다 = to go]
= It looks like she’s planning to go on a trip with her family.

5. 내일도 날씨가 추우려나 봐요.
[nae-il-do nal-ssi-ga chu-u-ryeo-na bwa-yo.] [Original verb: 춥다 = to be cold]
= It looks like the weather is going to be cold again tomorrow.