Expression of the Week

Byun Han-soo：고마워, 여보. 

Thank you, honey.

내가 더 잘할게. 

I’ll do better.

정말이야. 더, 더 잘할게. 

I’m telling the truth. I’ll try harder to do better. 

Na Young-sil：녹음해야 돼. 

I need to record that.

Byun Han-soo：그래. 녹음해, 녹음.

Yes, record it. Record it.

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내가 더 잘할게 (I’ll do better)

내 – A format of ‘나’ (I) when the postpositional particle ‘가’ is attached to it

가 – postpositional particle referring to a subject under a certain state or situation, or the subject of an act 

더 – (adv.) more or higher than something being compared or a certain threshold

잘하다 – (v.) to do right or to do well 

Casual – 내가 더 잘할게.

Semi-polite – 제가 더 잘할게요.

Polite – 제가 더 잘 하겠습니다.

>>[내가 더 잘할게] literally means ‘I will do better’ or ‘I will do a better job’. The expression is often used following an apology or with apologetic sentiments between people who are close (e.g. couples). 

>>In the scene Han-soo, feels like he hasn’t been doing a good job as a husband, or he feels apologetic that he put his wife and family through a difficult time. He says [내가 더 잘할게] as a form of apology for putting his wife through difficulty but also as a promise that he will do better or he will improve.  

>>A classic example of using this expression would be in the following scenario where the couple is about to break up.  

A: 이제 그만 만나. I think we should stop seeing each other. 

B: 안돼. 내가 더 잘할게. We can’t break up. I promise to improve.