9 Korean Phrases for Making Plans with a Friend

Quick answer: To make plans with a Korean friend, start with 이번 주말에 시간 있어? ("Are you free this weekend?"), then settle the details with 언제 볼까? (eonje bolkka? — "When shall we meet?") and 어디서 볼까? ("Where shall we meet?"). The word for a plan with a person is 약속 (yaksok), so 나 약속 있어 means "I have plans," not "I made a promise."

Making plans is one of the first real conversations you'll have in Korean, and it's short. Koreans don't usually write a paragraph about their weekend availability — they fire off four or five quick lines and it's done. Below are the nine lines that do almost all the work, in 반말 (casual speech, for friends your age or younger) with the 해요체 version right after, so you can use the same phrase with a coworker or someone you've just met.

The 9 phrases

1. 이번 주말에 시간 있어? — "Are you free this weekend?"

This is the standard opener. Koreans say 시간 있어? ("do you have time?") far more often than any direct translation of "are you free?" Swap the time word as needed: 내일, 금요일 저녁, 다음 주. Polite version: 이번 주말에 시간 있어요? If you want it softer, put 혹시 in front — 혹시 이번 주말에 시간 있어? sounds like you're leaving room for a no.

2. 우리 언제 볼까? — "When shall we meet?"

보다 is "to see," and friends use it for meeting up the way English uses "see": 우리 언제 봐? / 언제 볼까? 만나다 is also correct, but it can feel a touch more formal or more like a first meeting, so 보다 is the everyday choice between friends. The -(으)ㄹ까 ending is what makes it a suggestion rather than a question about facts — if that ending is still fuzzy, the -(으)ㄹ까요? pattern is worth a closer look. Polite: 우리 언제 볼까요?

3. 토요일 어때? — "How about Saturday?"

The fastest way to put a specific option on the table. No particle needed, no verb — just the day and 어때. It works for anything: 한식 어때? ("How about Korean food?"), 7시 어때? ("How about 7?"). Polite: 토요일 어때요? This is the line you'll use most once the conversation gets going.

4. 그날은 약속 있어. — "I have plans that day."

약속 is a plan you made with a person. Saying 나 약속 있어 is the normal, complete, non-rude way to decline — you don't have to explain who or what. If you want to be gentler, add 좀: 그날은 좀 그래 ("that day's a bit... ") trails off on purpose and every Korean reads it as a polite no. Polite: 그날은 약속이 있어요.

5. 몇 시에 만날까? — "What time shall we meet?"

Times use the native numbers — 한 시, 두 시, 세 시 — while the minutes use the Sino-Korean ones: 두 시 삼십 분. That split catches everyone at first; the two Korean number systems are worth drilling once properly. A common reply: 2시 어때? 아니면 3시? ("How about 2? Or 3?")

6. 어디서 볼까? — "Where shall we meet?"

Note the 서 — you need 에서 for the place where an action happens, and in speech it shrinks to 어디서. Korean friends almost always answer with a station and an exit number: 강남역 2번 출구에서 보자. ("Let's meet at Gangnam Station Exit 2.") Exits are the default meeting point in Korean cities, so learning to say and hear 몇 번 출구 pays off immediately — the same vocabulary shows up when you ask a stranger how to get somewhere.

7. 그럼 그때 봐! — "See you then!"

This is how a plan gets closed. 그럼 ("then / in that case") plus 그때 봐 signals the negotiation is over. Variations by timing: 이따 봐 (later today), 내일 봐 (tomorrow), 주말에 봐 (at the weekend). Polite: 그럼 그때 봐요. Dropping 그럼 and just texting 봐 sounds abrupt, so keep it.

8. 미안, 나 못 갈 것 같아. — "Sorry, I don't think I can make it."

When the plan falls apart, this is the line. Koreans soften cancellations with -(으)ㄹ 것 같다 ("I think / it seems") rather than saying 못 가 flatly — 못 가 alone sounds blunt and final. Notice it's 못, not 안: 못 means you can't, which is kinder than 안 ("I'm choosing not to"), and the 안 vs 못 difference matters more than learners expect. Polite: 죄송해요, 저 못 갈 것 같아요. Always follow it with #9.

9. 다음에 꼭 보자! — "Let's definitely meet next time!"

This is the repair phrase, and skipping it is what actually feels rude in Korean — cancelling without proposing a future is cold. 꼭 ("for sure, without fail") carries the sincerity. If you're the one being cancelled on, the generous reply is 괜찮아, 다음에 보자. ("It's fine, let's meet another time.") Polite: 다음에 꼭 봬요 or, more simply, 다음에 꼭 봐요.

When it goes off script

Two lines save you on the day itself. If you're behind: 좀 늦을 것 같아. 10분만 기다려 줘. ("I think I'll be a bit late. Give me just ten minutes.") If you're close: 거의 다 왔어. ("I'm almost there.") Koreans text 거의 다 왔어 constantly, sometimes generously early. And if you can't find your friend at the exit: 너 어디야? ("Where are you?")

Putting it together

A whole plan, start to finish, in 반말:

A: 이번 주말에 시간 있어? — Are you free this weekend?

B: 토요일은 약속 있고, 일요일은 괜찮아. — I have plans Saturday, but Sunday's fine.

A: 그럼 일요일에 볼까? 뭐 먹고 싶어? — Then shall we meet Sunday? What do you want to eat?

B: 아무거나. 네가 정해. — Anything. You pick.

A: 그럼 12시에 강남역 2번 출구에서 보자. — Then let's meet at 12 at Gangnam Station Exit 2.

B: 알겠어. 그때 봐! — Got it. See you then!

Six lines. That's genuinely all it takes, and 아무거나 ("anything") is the most honest word in the exchange.

FAQ

How do you say "are you free?" in Korean?

Say 시간 있어? to a close friend, or 시간 있어요? to someone you'd use polite speech with. Literally it's "do you have time?", and it's the normal way Koreans check availability. Add the time at the front: 내일 시간 있어요? ("Are you free tomorrow?")

What does 약속 mean in Korean?

약속 means both "promise" and "an arrangement to meet someone," and in daily conversation it's almost always the second one. 나 약속 있어 means "I have plans," not "I made a promise." Koreans also say 약속 잡자 — "let's set up a time to meet."

How do you cancel plans politely in Korean?

Use 못 갈 것 같아요 ("I don't think I can make it") rather than a flat 못 가요, apologise with 미안해 or 죄송해요, and then offer a next time: 다음에 꼭 봐요. In Korean the offer of a next meeting is the part that makes the cancellation feel polite rather than dismissive.

Practice

Translate into Korean (use 반말 — you're texting a close friend):

1. Are you free Friday?
2. Where shall we meet?
3. I have plans that day.
4. Sorry, I don't think I can make it.
5. Then see you then!