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In this lesson, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Korean conjugation.
We’ll explain what Korean conjugation is, how to use it, and when to use it.
Let’s go over some common Korean conjugations – and rules related to them – so that you can get kickstarted on creating your own, conjugated sentences!
• Contents
1 What is Korean conjugation?
2 Are Korean conjugation rules different for verbs and adjectives?
3 How many conjugations are there in Korean?
3.1 Korean verb endings
3.2 Korean Present Tense
3.3 Korean Past Tense
3.4 Korean Future Tense
3.5 Korean verb conjugator
4 How do you conjugate verbs in Korean?
5 What’s the common Korean verb conjugation?
6 How important is it to learn Korean Conjugation?
7 Which part of the verb do you conjugate?
8 How to make the conjugation form of the verbs?
9 How do I combine the verb stem and a conjugation?
10 Common Korean conjugations
10.1 Conjugating 보다 (boda) “to watch/see”
10.2 Conjugating 만들다 (mandeulda) “to make”
10.3 Conjugating 하다 (hada) “to do”
10.4 Conjugating 이다 (ida) “to be”
10.5 Conjugating 없다 (eopda) “to not have”
What is Korean conjugation?
Korean conjugations in Korean grammar determine the meaning, tense, tone, and mood of sentences. It’s important to learn conjugation as you progress in learning Korean.
For example, let’s say you’re going to use the verb “go” in a sentence. The base form is in Korean is:
Base Form: 가다 (gada) – to go
However, you need to change it to the present tense.
Conjugated Korean verb: 저는 가요 (I go)
We’ve added 저는 (“I”) as the subject, and then conjugated 가다 (to go).
However, unlike in any other language, Korean grammar takes conjugation to another level. Conjugations in Korean aren’t limited to Korean verbs. Other parts of speech such as adjectives can be conjugated.
Are Korean conjugation rules different for verbs and adjectives?
Most of the conjugation rules for Korean verbs also apply to adjectives. Once you learn the Korean verb conjugation rules, it’ll be easy to conjugate adjectives.
How many conjugations are there in Korean?
"There are 40 basic verb endings but there are over 400 verb endings when all are combined."
They are made up of the different Korean grammar categories such as the different tenses (past, present, and future tense), honorifics, and voices to name a few.
Korean verb endings
These are a few of the common Korean verb endings you can use for verb conjugation.
입니다, 이에요 or 예요 – Is, am, are
있다 – To have, To exist and
없다 – Not to have, To not exist
~지 않아요 – Don’t
~지 않았어요 – Didn’t
~지 않을 거예요 – Won’t
~지 못 해요 –Can’t
~지 했어요 – Couldn’t
~지 할 거예요 – Won’t be able to
Korean Present Tense
When expressing Korean verbs in the present, the Korean verb conjugation used are 아요 or 어요 and ㅂ니다 or 습니다.
Korean Past Tense
When expressing Korean verbs in the past, the Korean verb conjugation used are the 았어요 and 었어요.
Korean Future Tense
The Korean verb conjugation used for future tense is the 겠어요 and (으)ㄹ 거예요.
Korean verb conjugator
If you want to easily make a verb conjugation, you can use a Korean verb conjugator. You can use the link below for making a verb conjugation:
Korean Verb Conjugator
Korean verb conjugation can be a bit tough to learn when you’re just beginning to learn Korean. It’ll become easier as you progress by learning more Korean verb endings and practice using them more often.
How do you conjugate verbs in Korean?
Korean verb conjugation is pretty easy to do. All you need to do is to drop the 다 verb endings from the verb stem and then add the appropriate verb endings. The correct verb endings to be used when conjugating verbs are determined by the final or last vowel after dropping the 다 verb endings from the verb stem.
We’ll get more into the details of conjugations in Korean in a while.
What’s the common Korean verb conjugation?
The common Korean verb conjugation is the use of 아요 and 어요 which gives the Korean verb its polite and present tense form.
Let’s use the Korean verbs 자다 and 먹다 as an example. These 2 verbs are both in their verb stem form.
As mentioned earlier, verb conjugations in Korean happen by dropping the 다 verb endings from the verb stem.
For the Korean verbs 자다 and 먹다, we’ll need to drop the 다 verb endings which will make them:
자다 → 자
먹다 → 먹
If the final or last vowel after dropping 다 is either ㅏ or ㅗ, you’ll use 아요. But if the final or last vowel after dropping 다 is ㅓ, ㅣ, or ㅜ, you’ll use 어요. So for the 2 example verbs above, they’ll become
자 → 자요
먹 → 먹어요
How important is it to learn Korean Conjugation?
When learning the Korean language particularly the Korean grammar, Korean verb conjugation is very important to learn. As mentioned earlier, it sets the tense, tone, and meaning of your sentences which are basically all essential elements you’ll need when communicating.
Koreans give emphasis to politeness in everything including their language. Korean verb conjugation will help you show your respect and politeness towards a person.
Once you get familiar with the different conjugations, it’ll be easy for you to convey and appear to be respectful and polite.
Which part of the verb do you conjugate?
Before learning which part of the Korean verb we need to conjugate, we need to take note that each Korean verb, adverb, and adjective consist of two pieces: a stem and an ending. The first part is the stem and 다 is the ending. These are usually their dictionary form.
When you conjugate any word, you will drop the 다 and replace it with the conjugation. Whenever you conjugate a verb, you only need to think of your tense and tone. The conjugation doesn’t change for the first person, second person, multiple people, etc.
Let’s take a quick look at some common Korean verbs in their basic form or dictionary form!
말하다 (malhada) : to speak
만나다 (mannada) : to meet
가르치다 (gareuchida) : to teach
These Korean verbs are made up of a verb stem and a 다 ending.
How to make the conjugation form of the verbs?
In addition to what we already know about how we conjugate verbs in Korean, there are many conjugations that come together with a small puzzle piece that connects the stem to the conjugation in the most natural way. Let’s look at some simple examples of this.
말하다 + -아/어 → 말해요
만나다 + -아/어 → 만나요
닫다 + -아/어 → 닫아요
가르치다 + -아/어 → 가르쳐요
As you can see, the puzzle piece slightly changes the verb stem it joins. Most of the time the Korean verbs play nice with them, so the rules are easy to learn.
How do I combine the verb stem and a conjugation?
Simply, when 아 meets 아, it drops out. And when 아 meets 오, they connect together into one syllable; for example, 보 becomes 봐. When the verb stem ends in a consonant after 아 or 오, 아 becomes its own syllable.
For all other verb stems, you connect them with 어. When the verb stem ends with 이 the 이 + 어 combination cooks up 여. Only the verb 하다 is different and turns into 해.
Some conjugations also require the puzzle piece 으 connected to stems ending with a consonant. (으)면, which we will introduce below, is one such conjugation. We’ll go over how to conjugate irregular verbs at a later time.
Common Korean conjugations
In this part of the lesson, we’ll be showing the different conjugations for 2 of the commonly used Korean verb 보다 and 만들다.
보다 and 만들다 are the dictionary form of the verbs “to watch or to see” and “to make”. They both are made up of a verb stem and a 다 ending.
Let’s go over how to conjugate these common Korean verbs so that you can immediately see how all this works!
Conjugating 보다 (boda) “to watch/see”
Below is a table with the different conjugations for the verb 보다 (boda) following the different tenses and tones.
Korean Romanization English Tone
봐 bwa I see Informal
봐요 bwayo I see (Present Tense) Polite/Neutral
봅니다 bomnida I see Formal
봤어 bwasseo I saw Informal
봤어요 bwasseoyo I saw (Past Tense) Polite/Neutral
봤습니다. bwasseumnida I saw Formal
볼 거야 bol geoya Will see Informal
볼 거예요bol geoyeyo Will see (Future Tense) Polite/Neutral
볼 겁니다. bol geomnnida Will see Formal
The verb 보다 (boda) can also take other forms of conjugation. Let’s take a look at the table below to get familiar with them.
Korean Romanization English Tone
봐라 bwara. See! Informal Command
보세요 boseyo. See! Polite Command
보십시오 bosibsio. See! Formal Command
보자 boja Let's. see Informal/Neutral
봅시다. bopsida. Let's see Polite/Formal
보고 bogo I. see, and
보면 bomyeon. When/if I see
볼 수 있어 bol su isseo. Can see Informal
볼 수 있어요 bol su isseoyo Can see Neutral/Polite
볼 수 있습니다 bol su isseumnida Can see Formal
볼 수 없어 bol su eopseo Cannot see Informal
볼 수 없어요 bol su eopseoyo. Cannot see Neutral/Polite
볼 수 없습니다 bol su eopseumnida Cannot see Formal
봐야 해. bwaya hae Must see Informal
봐야 해요. bwaya haeyo Must see Neutral/Polite
봐야 합니다. bwaya hamnida. Must see formal
보고 싶어. bogo sipeo Want to see Informal
보고 싶어요. bogo sipeoyo. Want to see Neutral/Polite
보고 싶습니다. bogo sipseumnida. Want to see Formal
보고 싶지 않아. bogo sipji ana. Don't want to see Informal
보고 싶지 않아요 bogo sipji anayo. Don't want to see Neutral/Polite
보지 않아. boji ana. Not see Informal
보지 않아요. boji anayo. Not see Neutral/Polite
보지 않습니다. boji anseumnida. Not see Formal
보고 있어. bogo isseo. Am/are/is seeing Informal
보고 있어요. bogo isseoyo. Am/are/is seeing Neutral/Polite
보고 있습니다. bogo isseumnida. Am/are/is seeing Formal
볼까. bolkka. Shall we see? Informal
볼까요. bolkkayo. Shall we see? Neutral/Polite
봤더라. bwatdeora. Saw it Informal Fact Declaration
봤던데요. bwatdeondeyo. Saw it Neutral/Polite Fact Declaration
Conjugating 만들다 (mandeulda) “to make”
Below is a table with the different conjugations for the verb 만들다 (mandeulda) following the different tenses (Past, Present, and Future Tense) and tones.
Korean Romanization English Tone
만들어. mandeureo. I make Informal
만들어요. mandeureoyo. I make (Present Tense) Polite/Neutral
만듭니다. mandeumnida I. make Formal
만들었어. mandeureosseo. I made Informal
만들었어요. mandeureosseoyo. I made (Past Tense) Polite/Neutral
만들었습니다mandeureosseumnida I made Formal
만들 거야. mandeul geoya. Will make Informal
만들 거예요. mandeul geoyeyo. Will make (Future Tense) Polite/Neutral
만들 겁니다. mandeul geomnnida. Will make Formal
The verb 만들다 (mandeulda) can also take other forms of conjugation. Let’s take a look at the table below to get familiar with them.
Korean Romanization English Tone
만들어라. mandeureora. Make! Informal Command
만드세요. mandeuseyo. Make! polite command
만드십시오. mandeusibsio. Make! formal command
만들자. mandeulja. Let's make Informal/Neutral
만듭시다. mandeupsida. Let's make Polite/Formal
만들고. mandeulgo I. make, and
만들면. mandeulmyeon. When/if I make
만들 수 있어 mandeul su isseo. Can make Informal
만들 수 있어요. mandeul su isseoyo. Can make Neutral/Polite
만들 수 있습니다 mandeul su isseumnida Can make Formal
만들 수 없어 mandeul su eopseo. Cannot make Informal
만들 수 없어요. mandeul su eopseoyo. Cannot make Neutral/Polite
만들 수 없습니다 mandeul su eopseumnida Cannot make Formal
만들어야 해 mandeureoya hae. Must make Informal
만들어야 해요. mandeureoya haeyo. Must make Neutral/Polite
만들어야 합니다 mandeureoya hamnida. Must make Formal
만들고 싶어. mandeulgo sipeo. Want to make Informal
만들고 싶어요 mandeulgo sipeoyo. Want to make Neutral/Polite
만들고 싶습니다 mandeulgo sipseumnida. Want to make Formal
만들고 싶지 않아 mandeulgo sipji ana. Don't want to make Informal
만들고 싶지 않아요 mandeulgo sipji anayo Don't want to make Neutral/Polite
만들지 않아 mandeulji ana. Not make Informal
만들지 않아요. mandeulji anayo. Not make Neutral/Polite
만들지 않습니다 mandeulji anseumnida. Not make Formal
만들고 있어. mandeulgo isseo. Am/are/is making Informal
만들고 있어요. mandeulgo isseoyo. Am/are/is making Neutral/Polite
만들고 있습니다 mandeulgo isseumnida. Am/are/is making Formal
만들까. mandeulkka. Shall we make? Informal
만들까요. mandeulkkayo. Shall we make? Neutral/Polite
만들었더라. mandeureotdeora. Made it Informal Fact Declaration
만들었던데요. mandeureotdeondeyo. Made it Neutral/Polite Fact Declaration
Conjugating 하다 (hada) “to do”
The verb 하다 (hada) generally means “to do” in English. It is usually attached to words to make them either action verbs or descriptive verbs. For example:
공부 (gongbu | study) + 하다 (hada | to do)= 공부하다 (gongbuhada | to study)
요리 (yori | cook)+ 하다 (hada | to do) = 요리하다 (yorihada | to cook)
Below are the conjugation examples of the verb 하다 (hada):
- 하다 (hada) = standard form
- 해요 (haeyo) = polite/formal ending verb for a noun that ends in a vowel or consonant, present
- 했어요 (haesseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel or consonant, past*
- 했었어요 (haesseosseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel or consonant, past perfect*
Conjugating 이다 (ida) “to be”
The verb 이다 (ida) is the Korean equivalent of “to be” in English. It is usually used to identify people and objects. When using it to form sentences, it can be used with the following sentence structure:
Subject and particle + Noun입니다
Here are conjugation examples for the verb 이다 (ida) – to be.
입니다 (imnida) = honorific verb, present tense
입니까 (imnikka) = honorific question verb, present
이에요 (ieyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a consonant, present
예요 (yeyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel, present
이었어요 (ieosseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a consonant, past*
였어요 (yeosseoyo) = polite/formal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel, past*
야 (ya) = casual/informal ending verb for nouns ending in a vowel, present
이야 (iya) = casual/informal ending verb for nouns ending in a consonant, present
*Note: if you wish to use the past tense for 이다 (ida) on a casual level, use this form and simply drop the 요 (yo) from its tail
You may be thinking, “that’s quite a bit of vocabulary to remember!”
It gets easier with practice, and this grammar rule allows sentences to be more specific. Read these example sentences for 이다 (ida) to see:
저는 조아나입니다. (jeoneun joanaimnida) = I am Joana
몇 살입니까? (myeot sarimnikka) = How old are you?
저는 베트남 사람이에요. (jeoneun beteunam saramieyo)
= I am a Vietnamese
저는 가수예요. (jeoneun gasuyeyo) = I am a singer.
그는 군인이었어요. (geuneun guninieosseoyo) = He was a soldier.
그는 좋은 친구였어요. (geuneun joeun chinguyeosseoyo)
= He was a good friend.
나는 남자야. (naneun namjaya) = I am a man
나는 학생이야. (naneun haksaengiya) = I am a student
Let’s take a closer look at the verb, 있다 (itda) – to have. Here are its basic conjugations in Korean grammar:
있습니다 (itseumnida) = honorific verb, present
있습니까? (itseumnikka) = honorific verb, present
있었습니다 (isseotseumnida) = honorific verb, past
있어요 (isseoyo) = polite/formal verb, present*
있었어요 (isseosseoyo) = polite/formal verb, past*
*Note: To create the casual/informal form, simply use these without the 요 (yo) at the end
You’ll notice that 있다 (itda) conjugate verbs much like 이다 (itda), with only slight changes in the letters because of the word itself.
있다 operates more like an adjective than a verb, changing how it works with particles. Hopefully, these examples will help illustrate that:
질문이 있습니다. (jilmuni itseumnida) = I have a question
질문이 있습니까?. (jilmuni itseumnikka) = Do you have a question?
저는 여자친구가 있었습니다. (jeoneun yeojachinguga isseotseumnida) = I had a girlfriend
나는 남동생이 있어요. (naneun namdongsaengi isseoyo)
= I have a little brother
나는 가방이 있어요. (naneun gabangi isseoyo) = I have a bag
나는 남자친구가 있었어요. (naneun namjachinguga isseosseoyo) = I had a boyfriend
나는 약속이 있었어요. (naneun yaksogi isseosseoyo)
= I had an appointment
Conjugating 없다 (eopda) “to not have”
Next, 없다 (eopda) is the opposite of 있다(itda), meaning “to not have”. It is conjugated the same as 있다 (itda). Here are some grammar examples:
저는 언니가 없어요. (jeoneun eonniga eopseoyo) = I don’t have a big sister
나는 차가 없어. (naneun chaga eopseo) = I don’t have a car
나는 시간이 없었어요. (naneun sigani eopseosseoyo) = I didn’t have time
나는 현금이 없어요. (naneun hyeongeumi eopseoyo) = I don’t have cash
Success! You’ve finished learning how to conjugate Korean words and are now ready to start putting Korean conjugations to use in your Korean studies.
There are a lot of useful conjugations in here, so make sure you refer to this list often. Slowly, you will be able to master Korean verb conjugation. In addition to these verb conjugations, there are many more you’ll later get to learn. You can also learn about Korean particles and how they fit into Korean grammar in general.
What Korean verb conjugation do you think is most useful? Let us know in the comments below!
21 replies to "Korean Conjugation – How to Use Verbs & Adjectives"
Avatar for AnaAna
July 15, 2021
Also in the Korean verb endings section, the lists of endings for present tense, past tense and future tense are incomplete (not specifying the informal, formal and polite endings), compared to the actual verb conjugation examples later on. I think it would help to have the same information in both sections to make it less confusing.
Reply
Avatar for 90 Day Korean90 Day Korean
July 27, 2021
Thanks for your suggestions, Ana! I’ll talk to the team about updating the article. ^^
Reply
Avatar for AnaAna
July 15, 2021
Typo: in the Korean verb endings section there is an unfinished second sentence (You ca)
Reply
Avatar for 90 Day Korean90 Day Korean
July 19, 2021
Thanks for your correction, Ana! We will correct it soon. ^^
Reply
Avatar for LivieLivie
June 5, 2021
I am just starting to learning Korean and have a question on conjugation. I have a basic rules down on how to conjugate. You drop the 더 and depending on the last consonant or vowel you add the proper ending. But what does for example 가요 mean? Like is it I go? She goes? And depending on the subject or topic do I have to add a different ending?
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Avatar for 90 Day Korean90 Day Korean
June 21, 2021
Hi, Livie! “가요” usually means “Let’s go” if no subject was attached. ^^
Reply
Avatar for LivieLivie
July 3, 2021
Thank you for replying. How do I add a subject? Do you have a lesson on adding subjects to a verb or adjective?
Reply
Avatar for EmEm
May 25, 2021
annyeong, i would like to learn more in Korean Language and correct pronunciation of it. Any recommendation? Gamsahabnida!
Reply
Avatar for 90 Day Korean90 Day Korean
May 30, 2021
Hi, Em! You can start by learning the Korean alphabet! ^^ (https://www.90daykorean.com/how-to-learn-the-korean-alphabet/) Also, please check our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/90daykoreanofficial/) for Korean videos with the correct pronunciation. ^^
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