-겠어요 (Conjecture)
Used to express the speaker's guess, supposition, or strong presumption based on some factual evidence or situation they just saw/heard.
Summary
Equivalent
Looks like / Sounds like / Must be
Also: -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 (Seems like - less certain)
Example
You couldn't sleep yesterday, so you must be tired.
어제 잠을 못 자서 피곤하겠어요.
Grammar rules
- Attach directly to verbs or adjectives.
- It usually has a third-person subject (or second-person in questions).
- Because it is based on immediate evidence, it sounds like an instant reaction ('Wow, that looks delicious!').
- It is not used to state objective future facts or the speaker's own intentions when used with this meaning. It is strictly a guess based on the current situation.
정말 맛있겠어요! (That looks really delicious! - based on seeing the food)
Patterns
All Verbs/Adjectives
Present/Conjecture · Stem + 겠어요
Past Tense Conjecture
Past · Stem + 았/었/했겠어요
Example sentences
You couldn't sleep yesterday, so you must be tired.
어제 잠을 못 자서 피곤하겠어요.
It looks like it will be really hard to do it all alone.
혼자 다 하려면 정말 힘들겠어요.
Since you studied a lot, I guess you'll do well on the exam.
공부를 많이 했으니까 시험을 잘 받겠어요.
Conversation
A: I did my homework all night yesterday.
어제 밤새도록 숙제를 했어요.
B: Really? You must have been really tired. (Past conjecture)
그래요? 정말 피곤했겠어요.
Practice
Fill in the blank
Select the correct form indicating an immediate guess.
Eating.
Working.