We decided to go to Gangneung this weekend (Deciding to...)

Use '~기로 하다' to express a decision, plan, or promise to perform an action. It can be a decision made by oneself or an agreement made with others.

Meaning & Usage

Meaning: It translates to "decided to," "planned to," or "agreed to." It attaches to a verb stem to indicate that a choice has been made about a future action.

When to use: Use it when you want to clearly state a resolution or a plan that has been settled. For example, after discussing various options with a friend, you use '~기로 하다' to state the final decision. It’s also used for personal resolutions, like "I decided to quit smoking."

Conjugation Rules

Rule: This pattern is very simple. Just attach ~기로 하다 to the stem of any action verb, regardless of whether it ends in a vowel or a consonant. The 하다 part is then conjugated based on tense and politeness level (e.g., 해요, 했어요, 할 거예요).

Verb Stem + 기로 하다

'~기로 하다' is often paired with other words to add more specific meaning to the decision, such as who you are doing it with or when it will start.

같이/함께 + ~기로 하다 (Deciding to do together)

Context: When a decision is made jointly and the action will be performed together, adding 같이 (casual) or 함께 (more formal) emphasizes the shared nature of the plan.

Example: 우리는 주말에 같이 영화를 보기로 했어요. (We decided to watch a movie together this weekend.)

(Time)부터 + ~기로 하다 (Deciding to start from a certain time)

Context: To express a new resolution or habit that starts from a specific point in time (like "from tomorrow" or "from next month"), use a time word followed by the particle ~부터.

Example: 저는 내일부터 담배를 끊기로 했어요. (I decided to quit smoking starting from tomorrow.)

같이 + ~기로 하다 = Decide to do together / 내일부터 + ~기로 하다 = Decide to do from tomorrow

The grammar ~기로 하다 can be used to propose a decision or state one that's already made. The ending of the verb 하다 makes the difference.