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🎯 Expressing Necessity in Korean with -아/어야 하다 (TOPIK 3–4)

Have you ever wanted to say “I must…” or “I have to…” in Korean but weren’t sure which ending to use? The pattern -아/어야 하다 is the most common way to talk about things you must or need to do. Let’s learn how to use it step by step so you can sound clear and confident.

🎯 Learning Goal

• Understand how to form and use -아/어야 하다
• See the difference between necessity (-아/어야 하다) and permission (-아/어도 되다)
• Practice with natural example sentences, dialogue, and a mini quiz

📑 Table of Contents

Click to open the lesson sections

• Key Grammar: Form & Meaning
• Common Mistakes (with Easy Fixes)
• Useful Expressions
• Practice Dialogue
• Pop Quiz
• Teacher’s Tips
• Say What? (Natural Phrase)
• Did You Know?
• It’s Your Turn
• FAQ
• Take a Lesson with Me
• Stay Connected

📚 Key Grammar: -아/어야 하다

-아/어야 하다 means “must / have to / need to”. Use it when there is a rule, obligation, or strong necessity.

Pattern

Verb stem + -아/어야 하다

• Verb with ㅏ or ㅗ → -아야 하다 가다 → 가야 하다 (must go)
• Other vowels → -어야 하다 먹다 → 먹어야 하다 (must eat)
• 하다 verbs → 해야 하다 공부하다 → 공부해야 하다 (must study)

Example sentences

• 오늘 안에 보고서를 써야 해요. → I must write the report today.
• 내일 일찍 일어나야 해요. → I have to wake up early tomorrow.
• 약을 먹어야 해요. → I need to take medicine.

⚠️ Common Mistakes & Easy Fixes

Mistake 1. Confusing -아/어야 하다 with -아/어도 되다

-아/어야 하다 = you must do it (no choice).
-아/어도 되다 = you may / are allowed to do it.

❌ 내일 일찍 일어나도 돼요. Literally: You may wake up early tomorrow. (This sounds like permission.)

✅ 내일 일찍 일어나야 해요. → I must wake up early tomorrow.

쉽게 말하면, “해도 돼요”는 해도 되고 안 해도 되는 선택, “해야 해요”는 꼭 해야 하는 일이에요.

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Mistake 2. Forgetting the vowel rule

Many learners only use 어야 해요 and forget 아야 해요.

❌ 가어야 해요
✅ 가야 해요 (from 가다)

❌ 와어야 해요
✅ 와야 해요 (from 오다)

동사 어간에 ㅏ, ㅗ가 있으면 아야, 나머지는 어야라고 기억하세요.

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Mistake 3. Using only 하다 and forgetting to conjugate

In natural speech we usually say 해야 해요 / 해야 합니다, not just 해야 하다 by itself.

❌ 숙제를 해야 하다. (dictionary style, sounds incomplete)

✅ 숙제를 해야 해요. (spoken) / 숙제를 해야 합니다. (formal)

문장에서 쓸 때는 항상 시제와 높임을 붙여서 “해야 해요, 해야 했어요, 해야 합니다”처럼 바꿔 주세요.

💡 Useful Expressions with -아/어야 하다

• 지금 출근해야 해요. → I have to go to work now.
• 오늘 안에 이메일을 보내야 해요. → I must send the email by today.
• 회의에 꼭 참석해야 합니다. → I must attend the meeting.
• 건강을 위해서 운동을 시작해야 해요. → I have to start exercising for my health.
• 한국에 가기 전에 비자를 받아야 해요. → I must get a visa before going to Korea.

🙋 Practice Dialogue

A: 오늘 저녁에 같이 영화 볼래요?
Do you want to watch a movie this evening?

B: 미안해요. 오늘은 숙제를 해야 해요.
Sorry. I have to do my homework today.

A: 주말에는 시간 있어요?
Do you have time on the weekend?

B: 토요일에는 아르바이트를 해야 해요. 일요일에는 괜찮아요.
I have to work part-time on Saturday. Sunday is okay.

📝 Pop Quiz

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of -아/어야 하다.

1. (가다) 저는 지금 집에 _______ 해요.
2. (먹다) 감기 걸려서 약을 _______ 합니다.
3. (하다) 오늘 안에 숙제를 _______ 해요.
4. (입다) 추우니까 코트를 _______ 해요.
5. (읽다) 보고서를 끝까지 _______ 합니다.

💡 Click to see the answers

1. 가야
2. 먹어야
3. 해야
4. 입어야
5. 읽어야

👩‍🏫 Teacher’s Tips

-아/어야 하다 is very useful in daily conversation, exams, and business situations. To sound more natural, don’t just say what you “must” do — also explain why.

예를 들어:

• 회의에 참석해야 합니다. → I must attend the meeting.
• 중요한 발표가 있어서 회의에 참석해야 합니다. → I must attend the meeting because there is an important presentation.

이렇게 이유를 같이 말하면, 듣는 사람이 상황을 더 잘 이해하고 공감하기도 쉬워요.

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In spoken Korean, people usually say 해야 해요 rather than the full dictionary form 해야 하다. However, in written Korean (emails, reports, TOPIK writing) it’s better to use more formal forms like 해야 합니다.

Try to choose the style based on the situation: friends → 해야 해요, boss / exam → 해야 합니다.

🌀 Say What?

어쩔 수 없지. → “It can’t be helped.”

Use this when you have to do something, even if you don’t really want to.

예) 비가 많이 와서 우체국에 걸어가야 해요. 어쩔 수 없지… → It’s raining a lot, but I have to walk to the post office. It can’t be helped…

📌 Did You Know?

In Korea, many students say:

“공부해야 해서 못 가요.” → “I can’t go because I have to study.”

This pattern “–아/어서 + -아/어야 해요” is very common when explaining your reason for not joining a plan.

📝 It’s Your Turn

• Write 3 sentences about things you must do this week using -아/어야 해요.
• Write 2 sentences contrasting permission and necessity, for example: “오늘은 쉬어도 돼요. 하지만 내일은 일해야 해요.”
• Say your sentences out loud with feeling. Record your voice and check your pronunciation.

❓ FAQ

Q1. What is the difference between -아/어야 해요 and -아/어야 돼요?
A. In daily conversation they are almost the same. Both mean “must / have to.” 예) 지금 가야 해요 = 지금 가야 돼요.

Q2. Can I use -아/어야 하다 in past tense?
A. Yes. You can say -아/어야 했어요 to mean “had to.” 예) 어제 야근해야 했어요. → I had to work overtime yesterday.

Q3. Is -아/어야 하다 too strong or rude?
A. It is strong, but not rude. It just shows necessity. If you want to be softer, you can add words like “좀, 아마, 먼저”: 예) 먼저 가야 할 것 같아요. → I think I should go first.

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