내 친구가 되어줄래?
nae chin-guga doeeojullae?
The phrase "can you be my friend?" in Korean is expressed as 내 친구가 되어줄래? (nae chin-guga doeeojullae?)
This phrase is a request used to ask someone to start a friendship with you.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'Will you become my friend?' where 내 means 'my', 친구 means 'friend' and 되어줄래 means 'will you become (for me)'.
Which one should you use?
The form 되어줄래? (doeeojullae?) specifically implies a request for the other person to do something for the speaker's benefit, rather than just a simple question of 'will you be'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The default form uses the informal/casual ending -ㄹ래?, which is appropriate for people of the same age or younger, but would be considered impolite if used toward a stranger or someone older. Other informal variations include 친구가 되어 줄래? (Will you be my friend?) and 친구가 될래? (Do you want to be my friend?).
How do you pronounce it?
nae chin-guga doeeojullae?
Did you know?
- In Korean culture, people often establish a 'friendship' only after confirming they were born in the same calendar year, as age strictly dictates social hierarchy and language use.
- Because the syllable 내 (nae) has so many homophones, the native Korean word for 'smoke' was eventually replaced by the Sino-Korean word 연기 (yeon-gi) to avoid confusion.
- In Korea, asking 내 친구가 되어줄래? (can you be my friend?) is common among children, but adults typically let friendships form organically without a formal request.
Examples in context
- 내 친구가 되어줄래?nae chin-gu-ga doe-eo-jul-lae?Can you be my friend?
Example conversation
Hyunwoo approaches Subin at a school club.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo수빈아, 내 친구가 되어줄래?Subin-a, nae chin-gu-ga doe-eo-jul-lae?Subin, can you be my friend?
- 수빈 Su-bin응, 좋아!eung, jo-a!Yes, I'd love to!
- 현우 Hyeon-woo정말 고마워.jeong-mal go-ma-wo.Thank you so much.
- 수빈 Su-bin우리 친하게 지내자.u-ri chin-ha-ge ji-nae-ja.Let's be close.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 내, CC BY-SA 4.0.
