K-pop · Beginner · Oct 21, 2026

오늘 밤 너와 걸을래

o-neul bam neo-wa geo-reul-lae

“Tonight, I want to walk with you”

Example line · ballad-style K-pop chorus

오늘 밤 너와 걸을래o-neul bam neo-wa geo-reul-lae
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Word by word

The line, explained

This line is only four words, but it does something clever: it turns a plain verb — to walk — into an invitation. The trick is the ending -ㄹ래, and once you hear it you will notice it everywhere in K-pop.

Start with the first two words. 오늘 means today and 밤 means night, so 오늘 밤 is literally 'today night' — tonight. Korean puts the time first, before anything else happens in the sentence.

너와 is 'with you'. 너 is the casual you, the one you only use with close friends, people younger than you, or someone you are singing a love song to. The little 와 after it means 'with'. (After a consonant it becomes 과, so 친구와 but 밥과.)

Then the verb. 걷다 is 'to walk'. When you attach an ending that starts with a vowel, the ㄷ at the bottom turns into ㄹ — that is why you get 걸을래 and not 걷을래. This ㄷ→ㄹ switch happens with a handful of common verbs (듣다 to listen → 들을래, 묻다 to ask → 물을래), so it is worth remembering.

And finally -ㄹ래 / -을래: 'I want to', but softer and more spontaneous than 하고 싶다. It is what you say in the moment — 'I feel like walking with you tonight.' Turn it into a question, 걸을래?, and it becomes 'do you want to walk with me?' — one of the gentlest ways to ask someone out in Korean.

Grammar · -(으)ㄹ래

“I want to…” / “Shall I…?”

Attach -ㄹ래 to a verb stem ending in a vowel, -을래 after a consonant. It states what *you* feel like doing, casually — the kind of thing you say to a close friend or someone you like. As a question (걸을래?) it becomes a gentle 'do you want to?'

  • 집에 갈래.I want to go home.
  • 같이 먹을래?Do you want to eat together?
  • 나 여기 있을래.I'll stay here.

Why it hits

Night walks are a real thing in Korea — 밤 산책 (bam san-chaek). Convenience stores, river parks and bright streets make a late walk feel safe and ordinary, which is why so many love songs happen at night.

Practice

Make it yours

Swap one word and the line becomes your own.

오늘 밤 너와 걸을래

Tonight, I want to walk with you

Quick check

Which ending turns 걷다 into 'I want to walk'?