~(으)/ㄹ 생각/계획/예정이다 (~eul saeng-ga-gi-da/~eul gye-hoi-gi-da/~eul ye-jeong-i-da) – thinking of doing something/planning to do something/expected or scheduled to do something
The above three variations are just three different ways of expressing one’s plans of doing something in the future.
But there is still slight differences in nuance among the three.
~(으)/ㄹ 생각이다
Like suggested in this phrase, this is about one’s internalised thoughts, something that is uncertain. If anything, ~(으)/ㄹ 생각이다 is at the extreme end of the uncertainty scale among the three.
If we’re unsure about a plan, we would use ~(으)/ㄹ 생각이다 instead of the other two.
Examples:
오늘은 날씨가 갑자기 너무 추워져서 점심 시간 감자탕을 먹을 생각이에요.
Because today’s weather suddenly turned cold, I’m thinking of eating pork spine soup during lunch time.
다음 주에 할 회의가 많으니까 제 약속은 다른 날로 미룰 생각이에요.
I have many meetings to attend next week so I’m thinking of postponing my appointment to another day.
~(으)/ㄹ 계획이다
We would use this instead of ~(으)/ㄹ 생각이다 if we have something more concrete to talk about. ~(으)/ㄹ 계획이다 is probably somewhere in the middle of the certainty scale.
When we use ~(으)/ㄹ 계획이다, we’ve at least decided that we’re going to do it, just not exactly sure of an exact date.
Examples:
올해 설날은 우리 가족 모임이 1주일 미리 계획이에요.
We are planning our family gathering 1 week in advance for this year’s Lunar New Year.
이번 겨울에는 날씨가 너무 추우니까 해외 여행을 갈 계획이에요.
This year’s winter will be very cold so we’re planning an overseas vacation.
~(으)/ㄹ 예정이다
We see ~(으)/ㄹ 예정이다 in a lot of press releases, news articles, basically anything that is carved in stone, certain, official.
We wouldn’t use ~(으)/ㄹ 예정이다 in everyday life simply because it has a formal tone to it. Usually only companies or organisations use this.
Examples:
이번 주 토요일에는 이 호텔에서 국가적인 발표회가 열 예정입니다.
A national press conference is scheduled to be held at this hotel this Saturday.
우리 회사가 다음 달부터 수리할 예정입니다.
Our office is scheduled to undergo renovation works starting from next month.
Key things to note
Just remember that…
Uncertain – ~(으)/ㄹ 생각이다
Decided and somewhat certain – ~(으)/ㄹ 계획이다
Decided and official – ~(으)/ㄹ 예정이다
