Korean verb conjugation can appear a bit difficult while you first dive into the language. However don’t fear! Korean conjugation isn’t as tough because it first seems.
The truth is, Korean verb conjugation is loads easier than another languages, like English or Spanish. And in case you’re studying this – you most likely have already got a local or working understanding of English grammar. So you possibly can undoubtedly grasp Korean grammar too!
There are a couple of distinctive factors to Korean conjugation although, similar to the extent of ritual you could use primarily based on who you’re talking with.
On the flip aspect, you don’t have to fret about subject-verb settlement or the conjugation altering primarily based on who’s talking/the topic.
This turns into intuitive the extra you converse and apply Korean, although. So don’t get too caught up in it. You’ll study all you could know right here!
Korean Verb Conjugation
Let’s knock out some primary FAQs first:
Does Korean have verb conjugation?
Clearly, in case you’re right here, you most likely know that Korean does, actually, conjugate verbs.
How do verbs work in Korean?
So, how do you conjugate Korean verbs? Korean verbs are made up of a verb stem and a suffix or suffixes. To conjugate verbs, you’ll change the suffix to the tense or grammatical sample you want.
Right here’s what this seems to be like:
먹다, meokda, “to eat” in its infinitive (dictionary) kind→ drop 다, da, so that you just solely have the verb stem 먹 → Add 어요, eoyo → 먹어요, meogeoyo, “eat” in current tense.
So verb conjugation works by studying the stem and altering the suffixes. We’ll dive extra into this in a second.
Additionally, in Korean, the sentence construction is totally different than in English. As an alternative of Topic-Verb-Object (SVO) format, Korean follows the Topic-Object-Verb (SOV) sample.
This implies verbs are all the time on the finish of Korean sentences.
What number of verb conjugations are there in Korean?
Lots. However there are about 40 verb endings you could know. These verbs can then be mixed in varied methods to make different verb conjugations. So verb suffixes can get fairly lengthy!
For those who ever get confused, wish to verify your conjugation, or search for a verb and its varieties, I’ve a useful resource for you. You need to use an automatic Korean verb conjugator like Dongsa Korean Verb Conjugator or Verbix to search for verb patterns.
I nonetheless advocate studying the grammar patterns by yourself, although, and never counting on these too closely!
Right here’s a take a look at what we’re going to study: the 4 primary Korean verb conjugations.
| Informal | Well mannered | Formal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Tense | Verb stem + 아 / 어 | Verb stem + 아요 / 어요 | Verb stem + ㅂ니다 / 습니다 |
| Previous Tense | Verb stem + 았어 / 었어 | Verb stem + 았어요 / 었어요 | Verb stem + 았습니다 / 었습니다 |
| Steady Tense | Verb stem + 고 있어 | Verb stem + 고 있어요 | Verb stem + 고 있습니다 |
| Future Tense | Verb stem + ㄹ/을 거야 | Verb stem + ㄹ/을 거예요 | Verb stem + ㄹ/을 겁니다 |
Korean Formalities: An Essential Side of Korean Conjugation
You’ll discover on the chart that there are totally different formalities. This impacts the way you conjugate a verb.
In Korean, there are numerous ranges of politeness and ritual which you could use relying on three key components: scenario, familiarity, and age.
Sure, age! Age is big in Korean tradition.
If somebody is older than you, even by just a little, you could use extra formal speech than in the event that they’re the identical age as you or youthful.
The three fundamental ranges of politeness are:
- Informal speech: For mates, individuals youthful than you, and generally household. For newbies with out family and friends who converse Korean, you gained’t use this one an excessive amount of proper now.
- Casual well mannered speech: That is the speech sample you’ll use in most conditions, particularly while you’re not acquainted or near the individuals you’re speaking to.
- Formal well mannered speech: Largely utilized in conditions just like the office, talking to clients in a retailer, public service bulletins, or when exhibiting respect to these older than you. Some Koreans are transferring towards casual well mannered speech, although, in a few of these conditions, so comply with the lead of these round you.
Tips on how to Conjugate Korean Verbs: Current Tense
First up, you could know the right way to conjugate Korean verbs in current tense. That is additionally the way you conjugate adjectives as nicely in Korean!
Listed below are some verb examples:
| English | Korean | Romanized |
|---|---|---|
| To go | 가다 | gada |
| To eat | 먹다 | meokda |
| To reside | 살다 | salda |
| To return | 오다 | oda |
| To drink | 마시다 | masida |
| To study | 배우다 | baeuda |
| To pay | 내다 | naeda |
| To put in writing or to put on a hat | 쓰다 | sseuda |
| To do | 하다 | hada |
| To be | 이다 | ida |
| To be, have, or exist | 있다 | itda |
Current Formal Tense
To begin, we’re going to heat up with the best conjugation to study: formal well mannered speech.
Despite the fact that you gained’t use this one as typically except you intend to work in Korea, it’s nonetheless a good suggestion to discover ways to conjugate Korean verbs in formal well mannered speech. And it’s a great way to apply figuring out the verb stem and including a suffix.
To conjugate in current formal tense, drop 다, da, and add -ㅂ니다, mnida, if the verb stem ends in a vowel, or -습니다, seumnida, if it ends in a consonant.
Examples:
가다, gada, “to go” → 갑니다, gamnida
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹습니다, meokseumnida
Fairly easy, proper? And if you wish to make it a query, all you need to do is drop 다, da, and add –까, kka.
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹습니까?, meokseumnikka, “(Did you) eat?”
Current Well mannered Tense
Current well mannered tense – the commonest tense you’ll use, although – is a little more difficult. I do know it’ll appear to be loads to recollect, however I’ve received some excellent news!
One: This tense turns into very intuitive when you begin utilizing it. You’ll discover it conjugates the way in which it does as a result of it sounds smoother and is less complicated to pronounce. So while you mess up, you’ll discover it instantly.
Two: When you memorize this tense, it helps you with each different conjugation sample. All of them stem from this one. So placing the work in right here goes a LONG approach and pays off!
To conjugate in current well mannered tense, we have to take a look at what the final vowel sound is within the verb. (Even when a consonant comes after it.)
If the vowel ends inㅏ, a, or ㅗ, o, you’ll drop 다, da, and add -아요, ayo.
Examples:
가다, gada, “to go” → 가요, gayo
The final vowel is ㅏ, so that you don’t want two ㅏ. Simply add 요.
살다, salda, “to reside” → 살아요, sarayo
The final vowel is ㅏ, adopted by a consonant. Add 아요.
오다, oda, “to return” → 와요, wayo
The final vowel is ㅗ, so it contracts into 와.
If the vowel sound ends in the rest, you’ll drop 다, da, and add -어요, eoyo. However the guidelines change for every one:
Examples:
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹어요, meogeoyo
Verb ends in a consonant, so add -어요.
마시다, masida, “to drink” → 마셔요, masyeoyo
Verbs that finish in ㅣ contract into ㅕ.
배우다, baeuda, “to study” → 배워요, baewoyo
Verbs that finish in ㅜ contract into ㅝ.
내다, naeda, “to pay” → 내요, naeyo
For verbs that finish in ㅓ, ㅕ, or ㅐ, you’ll simply add 요.
쓰다, sseuda, “to jot down” and “to put on (a hat/on one’s head)” → 써요, sseoyo
Verbs ending in ㅡ, change ㅡ toㅓand add 요.
Current Casual Tense
This one is tremendous straightforward as soon as you understand well mannered kind!
The conjugation is precisely the identical, besides you don’t add 요.
Examples:
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹어, meogeo
가다, gada, “to go” → 가, ga
Tremendous straightforward!
Korean Irregular Verb Conjugation
There are fairly a couple of irregular verbs in Korean, however I wish to particularly present you two which can be actually widespread.
First is 하다, hada, “to do.” You’ll see this one on a regular basis by itself or mixed with nouns to make them a verb. It conjugates as follows:
- Current formal tense: 하다 → 합니다, hamnida
- Current well mannered tense: 하다 → 해요, haeyo
- Current informal tense: 하다 → 해, hae
The subsequent one is 이다, ida, “to be.” That is one other one you undoubtedly have to know, as a result of this can be a serving to verb that always ends sentences. Right here’s the way it conjugates:
- Current formal tense: 입니다, imnida
- Current well mannered tense: 이에요, ieyo, when the earlier phrase ends in a consonant and 예요, yeyo when it ends in a vowel
- Current informal tense: 이야, iya
Tips on how to Conjugate Korean Verbs: Previous Tense
How do you conjugate verbs in previous tense in Korean? Nicely, now that you understand the current tense, it’s not too laborious!
Let’s begin with well mannered kind.
If the vowel ends inㅏ, a, or ㅗ, o, you’ll drop 다, da, and add -았어요, asseoyo.
Instance:
가다, gada, “to go” → 갔어요, gasseoyo
The final vowel is ㅏ, so that you don’t want two ㅏ, similar to in current tense.
오다, oda, “to return” → 왔어요, wasseoyo
The final vowel is ㅗ, so it contracts into 와, like in current tense.
If the vowel sound ends in the rest, you’ll drop 다, da, and add -었어요, eosseoyo.
Instance:
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹었어요, meogeosseoyo
The verb ends in a consonant, so add -었어요, eosseoyo, the identical as earlier than.
마시다, masida, “to drink” → 마셨어요, masyeosseoyo
Verbs that finish in ㅣ contract into ㅕ, the identical as in current tense
쓰다, sseuda, “to jot down” and “to put on (a hat/on one’s head)” → 썼어요, sseosseoyo
Verbs ending in ㅡ drop ㅡ and add -었어요. That is an irregular sample you’ll see with ㅡ verbs.
For those who’re talking casually, simply drop 요 from well mannered kind. All the things else stays the identical.
As for formal well mannered kind, it’s just like earlier than, however you’ll add -습니다, seumnida to -었 or -았 as a substitute of 어요.
Examples:
가다, gada → 갔습니다, gassseumnida
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹었습니다, meogeossseumnida
Tips on how to Conjugate Korean Verbs: Steady Tense
Steady tense, additionally referred to as current progressive tense, is the “-ing” kind in English. It’s what we use after we’re doing one thing now or over a time frame.
This tense is fairly straightforward. We drop 다, and add -고 있어요.
있다, itda, means “to exist,” “to be,” or “to have.” We use -고, go, to attach the 2 verbs, after which conjugate 있다 for formality and tense.
For formal speech, drop 다, da, and add 고 있습니다, go issseumnida.
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹고 있습니다, meokgo itseumnida, “consuming”
For well mannered speech, drop 다, da, and add -고 있어요, go isseoyo.
먹다, meokda → 먹고 있어요, meokgo isseoyo
For informal speech, drop 다, da, and add -고 있어, isseo.
먹다, meokda → 먹고 있어, meokgo isseo
For previous progressive (“was -ing”), you’ll use the previous tense type of 있다.
먹다, meokda → 먹고 있었어, meokgo isseosseo, “was consuming”
Tips on how to Conjugate Korean Verbs: Future Tense
The final fundamental Korean verb conjugation we’re going to cowl at present is future tense. If you wish to say you’re “going to” do one thing, that is the conjugation.
We’ll begin with well mannered kind once more.
For verbs ending in a vowel, you’ll drop 다, da, and add -ㄹ 거예요, l geoyeyo. If it ends in ㄹ, you’ll simply add -거예요.
Instance:
가다, gada, “to go” → 갈 거예요, gal geoyeyo
For verbs ending in a consonant (apart from ㄹ), you’ll drop 다, da, and add -을 거예요, eul geoyeyo.
Instance:
먹다, meokda, “to eat” → 먹을 거예요, meogeul geoyeoyo
For informal kind, drop 예요 and add 야, ya:
가다, gada, “to go” → 갈 거야, gal geoya
For formal kind, change to 거예요 to 겁니다, gamnida:
가다, gada, “to go” → 갈 겁니다, gal gamnida
You Made It! You’ve Accomplished Your Intro to Korean Verb Conjugation
Nice work! I do know that was a LOT to absorb, and there’s nonetheless a lot to study. However this can be a nice place to begin for expressing your self in most conditions.
For those who really feel overwhelmed, don’t sweat it. I promise it will get simpler with apply. So why not strive making some sentences of your personal?
