What's the difference between the ways to say "try", 시도하다, 노력하다, 하려고 하다, and 해 보다?

Question

There's some confusion between different ways to say "try": - 시도하다 - 노력하다 - ~려고 하다 - ~어/아 보다 Are they used differently, or are the interchangeable?

Answer 1

The ideal way of expressing "to try" in Korean is saying "해 보다."

시도하다 - to attempt

노력하다 - to try really hard, to show a lot of effort

하려고 하다 - "was going to do" or "want to try to do"

These would be the main differences, and similar to English, it just depends on the severity of the situation and what you are actually trying to do. They are interchangeable but just depends on the context.

i.e.

1. I tried to open this jar of pickles.
2. There was a valid attempt made by the athletes.
3. Stephanie put in a lot of effort into her science project.
4. I want to try snowboarding.