64 KiB
Lesson 7: Korean Irregulars
Vocabulary
The vocabulary is separated into nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs for the purpose of simplicity.
A PDF file neatly presenting all of these words, example sentences and extra information can be found here.
You can try to find all of the words from this lesson, and all of the words from every lesson in Unit 1 in a package of twenty five Word Searches.
Nouns:
눈썹 = eyebrow
Common Usages:
- 속눈썹 = eyelashes
Examples:
- 그 사람의 눈썹은 짙어요 = That person’s eyebrows are thick
- 저도 그런 눈썹이 있었으면 좋겠어요 = I wish I had that type of eyebrows, too
교사 = teacher
Notes: 교사 refers more to the position of a teacher. You would usually refer to a teacher by calling him/her “선생님.” However, if you wanted to tell somebody what your position was, you could use 교사 (선생님 would also work here as well).
Examples:
- 저는 영어교사예요 = I am an English teacher
- 대학교 때 자유롭게 공부하고 싶으면 지도교사가 전공을 나중에 선택하라고 말했어요
- If you want to study freely in university, my guidance counselor told me to choose my major later
반 = class of students in school
Common Usages:
- 우리 반 = our class
- 2학년 3반 = class 2-3
- 반장 = class president
Examples:
- 몇 반이에요? = What class are you in?
- 그 여자는 우리 반에서 제일 못생긴 여자예요 = That girl is the ugliest in our class
직장 = location of work
The pronunciation of this word is closer to “직짱”
Notes: In English, we say “work” to refer to what is being done and where it is being done. For example “I am doing work at work.” 직장 refers to the location in which you work.
Examples:
- 그는 직장에서 일찍 퇴근했어요 = He left work early
- 직장에서 더 멀리 이사하게 되었어요 = I ended up moving farther away from work
- 학업을 진행하면서 직장도 다녀요 = As I progress/continue my studies, I also go to work
- 저는 일반적으로 그 사람을 직장에서 보지 못해요 = I generally don’t see that person at work
- 자신감에 찬 표정으로 새로운 직장에 들어갔어요 = He went into a new workplace with a face full of confidence
벽 = wall
Common Usages:
- 벽지 = wallpaper
- 절벽 = cliff
- 벽에 기대다 = to lean against a wall
Examples:
- 저는 사진을 벽에 걸었어요 = I hung a picture on a wall
- 그림은 벽에 걸려 있어요 = The picture is hanging on the wall
- 벽에 붙어 있는 광고를 봤어요? = Did you see the advertisement that is attached to the wall?
- 노동자들이 무너질 것 같은 벽을 안정시켰어요
- The workers stabilized the wall that was probably going to collapse
- 사람들이 모두 볼 수 있게 안내문을 벽에 붙였다
- (I) posted (attached) an information sign on the wall so that all the people (can) see it
털 = hair (not on head), fur
Common Usages:
- 코털 = nose hair
- 깃털 = feathers
- 솜털 = soft, fine hair (“peach fuzz”)
Notes: In English, we say “hair” for all of the hair on our body. However, in Korean, 털 is used to refer to any hair that is not on your head. It is also used to refer to the fur of an animal.
Examples:
- 저는 팔에 털이 많아요 = I have a lot of hair on my arms
- 한국사람들이 가슴에 털이 없어요 = Korean people don’t have hair on their chest
- 내일 해변에 갈 거라서 겨드랑이 털을 면도할 수밖에 없어요
- I am going to the beach tomorrow, so I have no choice but to shave my armpit hair
- 기린의 털 때문에 기린이 노란색 옷을 입은 것 같이 보였다. 나는 기린이 목이 길어서 무서울 줄 알았는데 오히려 귀여웠다.
- Because of their fur, it looked like the giraffes were wearing yellow clothes. Giraffes have long necks, therefore I thought they would be scary, rather, they were cute.
머리카락 = hair (on head)
Examples:
- 그 여자의 머리카락은 길어요 = That girl’s hair is long
- 저의 머리카락을 꼬지 말아 달라고 했어요 = I told her to please stop twisting my hair
저녁 = dinner, evening
Notes:
The word “저녁” can refer to the evening time, or the meal that is eaten at that time (dinner). To distinguish between them, 저녁식사 (dinner) and 저녁시간 (the evening) can also be used.
Examples:
- 저녁으로 뭐 먹었어요? = What did you eat for dinner?
- 엄마가 온 후에 저는 저녁식사를 먹을 거예요 = After mom comes home, I will eat dinner
- 요리사들은 저녁을 부엌에서 준비했어요 = The chefs prepared the dinner in the kitchen
- 저는 저녁에 공부했어요 = I studied in the evening
- 저는 일요일에 저녁을 안 먹었어요 = I didn’t eat dinner on Sunday
점심 = lunch, noonish
Notes:
The word “점심” can refer to the time around noon, or the meal that is eaten at that time (lunch). To distinguish between them, 점심식사 (lunch) and 점심시간 (noonish) can also be used.
Examples:
- 점심으로 뭐 먹고 싶어요? = What do you want to eat for lunch?
- 저는 보통 점심식사로 과일만 먹어요 = I usually only eat fruit for lunch
- 점심은 어땠어요? = How was lunch?
- 점심을 먹었어? = Did you eat lunch?
- 오빠는 바닥에 앉아서 점심을 먹었어요 = My brother ate lunch sitting on the floor
옷 = clothes
Common Usages:
- 옷을 입다 = to put on clothes
- 옷을 벗다 = to take off clothes
- 옷을 벗기다 = to take clothes off of another person
- 옷을 갈아입다 = to change clothes
- 비옷 = rain clothes
- 겉옷 = some kind of outer clothing
Notes: One way and one form of telling somebody to put on clothes is to say “옷 입어.” This sounds like “온 이버”
Examples:
- 저는 저의 옷을 벗었어요 = I took off my clothes
- 저는 자주 옷을 충동적으로 사요 = I often buy clothes impulsively
- 저는 따뜻한 옷을 입고 싶어요 = I want to wear (put on) warm clothes
- 옷을 갈아입으러 탈의실에 갔어요 = He went to the change-room to change his clothes
- 여행할 때 옷을 많이 챙길 필요가 없어요 = I/you don’t need to pack a lot of clothes when you travel
- 우리가 똑같은 옷을 입고 있어요 = We are wearing exactly the same clothes
오전 = morning
Notes:
This generally refers to any time before noon, but to refer to specifically refer to something early in the morning “새벽” can be used. “아침” refers to the time from breakfast until around noon.
Examples:
- 저는 내일 오전에 교회에 가야 돼요 = I have to go to church tomorrow in the morning
- 우리 영업시간은 오전 8시부터 오후 5시까지입니다 = Our business hours are from 8 am to 5 pm
- 오늘 일대일 면접이 오후에 있어서 오전 내내 면접 준비를 해야 해요 = Today I have a one on one interview in the afternoon, so all morning I need to prepare for it
오후 = afternoon
Notes: To refer to a time later than 5:00 or so “밤” or “저녁” would more commonly be used
Examples:
- 오후에 뭐 할 거예요? = What are you doing in the afternoon?
- 저는 오늘 오후에 낮잠을 잤어요 = I took a nap in the afternoon today
- 오후에 비가 올지 모르겠어요 = It might rain in the afternoon tomorrow
- 오후가 되면 햇살이 강해져요 = In the afternoon, the sun gets stronger
- 우리 부장님께서 오늘 오후에 출발할 예정이십니다 = Our boss is scheduled to depart this afternoon
- 이 의견에 동의하지 않는 사람은 제 사무실로 오후에 찾아오세요 = People who don’t agree with this opinion, please come and see (“find”) me in my office this afternoon
여름 = summer
Common Usages:
- 여름 방학 = summer vacation
Notes: For more information, words and sentences about seasons check out our Weather Theme Lesson.
Examples:
- 이번 여름은 너무 더워요 = This summer is too hot
- 여름에 저는 공부하겠어요 = I will study in the summer
- 논문을 여름까지 끝낼 수 없을까 봐 걱정돼요 = I’m worried that I won’t finish my thesis by summer
- 놀이동산에 여름에는 사람이 많아요 = There are many people at the amusement park in the summer
- 매년 여름, 이 지역에는 홍수가 나요 = A flood occurs every summer in this area
- 한국에서는 겨울 방학이 여름 방학보다 더 길어요
- In Korea, winter vacation is longer than summer vacation
- 제가 여름을 제일 좋아하는 이유는 긴 휴가가 있기 때문이에요
- The reason I like summer the most is because there is a long holiday
가을 = fall
Example:
- 가을이 시원해서 좋아요 = Fall is nice because it is cool
- 가을에 잎의 색깔은 변해요 = The color of the leaves changes in the fall
- 가을에는 낙엽이 많이 떨어져요 = In the fall, a lot of leaves fall to the ground
- 가을에는 단풍놀이를 가는 많은 사람들을 볼 수 있어요 = In the fall, you can see many people who go out to see the autumn colors
겨울 = winter
Common Usages:
- 겨울 방학 = winter vacation
- 겨울잠 = hibernation
Example:
- 너무 추워서 저는 겨울이 싫어요 = I don’t like winter because it is too cold
- 캐나다는 겨울이 추운 나라예요 = Canada is a country of/with cold winters
- 겨울에 한국 사람들이 문을 왜 안 닫는지 이해가 안 돼요
- I don’t understand why Korean people don’t close the door in the winter
- 피부가 너무 약해서 겨울에도 로션을 발라야 돼요
- I even need to out on lotion in the winter because my skin is weak
봄 = spring
Example:
- 나무는 봄에 예뻐요 = The trees are pretty in spring
- 한국에는 황사가 중국에서 봄마다 와요 = Yellow dust comes to Korea every spring from China
- 봄에는 꽃가루 알레르기를 조심해 야 해요 = You need to be careful about pollen allergies in the spring
Verbs:
찾다 = to search for, find
가르치다 = to teach
일하다 = to work
짓다 = to build
가지다 = to own, to possess
잠그다 = to lock
잊다 = to forget
돕다 = to help
주다 = to give
맞다 = to be correct
Adjectives:
쉽다 = to be easy
덥다 = to be hot
그립다 = to miss (a thing)
귀엽다 = to be cute
춥다 = to be cold
어렵다 = to be difficult
더럽다 = to be dirty
바쁘다 = to be busy
같다 = to be the same
안전하다 = to be safe
딱딱하다 = to be hard, to be rigid
부드럽다 = to be soft
가능하다 = to be possible
불가능하다 = to be impossible
예쁘다 = to be pretty
Adverbs:
일찍 = early
매일 = everyday
You might also want to try listening to all of the words on loop with this Vocabulary Practice video.
Irregulars
As with all languages, there are some irregular conjugations that you need to know. Irregulars are applied to certain verbs or adjectives when adding something to the stem of the word. Korean grammar is based on these “additions” that are added to stems. I mentioned this in Lesson 5, but I want to reiterate it here.
There are hundreds of additions that you can add to the stem of a verb or adjective. Some of these additions are conjugations and some of them are grammatical principles that have meaning in a sentence.
You have learned about some of these additions now. For example:
- ~ㄴ/는다 to conjugate to the plain form
- ~아/어 to conjugate to the informal low respect form
- ~아/어요 to conjugate to the informal high respect form
- ~ㅂ/습니다 to conjugate to the formal high respect form
- ~았/었어 to conjugate to the informal low respect form in the past tense
- ~ㄴ/은 added to an adjective to describe an upcoming noun
In future lessons, you will learn about many more of these additions. For example, some of them are:
- ~ㄴ/은 후에 to mean “after”
- ~기 전에 to mean “before”
- ~기 때문에 to mean “because”
- ~아/어서 to mean “because”
- ~(으)면 to mean “when”
- ~아/어야 하다 to mean “one must”
- ~아/어서는 안 되다 to mean “one should not”
Notice that some of these additions start with a vowel, and some of them start with a consonant. Most of the irregulars are applied when adding a vowel to a stem. The ㄹ irregular that is introduced at the end of the lesson is the only irregular that applies when adding a consonant to a stem.
Let’s look at one example before I introduce each irregular one by one. Let’s say we want to conjugate the word “어렵다” into the past tense using the informal low respect form. The following would happen:
어렵다 + ~았/었어 = 어려웠어
Here, you can see that the actual stem of the word changed. This is referred to as the “ㅂ irregular” because the same phenomenon happens with many (but not all) words whose stem ends in “ㅂ”.
As I mentioned previously, most of these irregulars are applied when adding a vowel to a stem. There are many additions that start with a vowel, and you got a start on learning some of those conjugations in Lessons 5 and 6:
- ~아/어
- ~아/어요
- ~았/었어
- ~았/었어요
- ~았/었습니다
- ~았/었다
As such, this lesson will present the Korean irregulars and how they change as a result of adding these conjugations. In later lessons when you learn about other additions, you can apply what you learned in this lesson to those concepts. For now, let’s get started.
ㅅ Irregular
If the last letter of a word stem ends in ㅅ (for example: 짓다 = to build), the ㅅ gets removed when adding a vowel. For example, when conjugating:
짓다 = to make/build 짓 + 어 = 지어 나는 집을 지어 = I build a house
짓 + 었어요 = 지었어요 저는 집을 지었어요 = I built a house
Notice that this only happens when adding a vowel. When conjugating to the plain form, for example, you only add “~는다” to a stem and thus ㅅ does not get removed. For example:
집을 짓는다 = to build a house
The reason this irregular is done is to avoid changing the sound of a word completely after conjugating it.
Pronouncing 짓다 sounds like ‘jit-da.’ Pronouncing 지어 sounds like ‘ji-uh’ Pronouncing 짓어 sounds like ‘jis-suh’
The third one (which is incorrect) completely changes the sound of the word stem when a vowel is added (from ‘jit’ to ‘jis.’ Whereas in the second one, the sound of the word stem only changes from ‘jit’ to ‘ji,’ which is much smaller of a difference (especially considering the ‘t’ in the pronunciation of 짓 is not aspirated – which makes it barely audible). I know that is confusing, but if you can’t understand why it is done, that’s fine. Just know that it must be done.
Some other examples of words that follow this irregular are (these words are too difficult for you right now, but I’m just showing you):
낫다 = better (adjective) – You will learn more about this word in Lesson 19 잇다 = to continue (verb)
Common words that this does not apply to are:
웃다 (to laugh) = 저는 웃었어요 = I laughed 벗다 (to take off clothes) = 저는 저의 옷을 벗었어요 = I took off my clothes 씻다 (to wash) = 저는 저의 손을 씻었어요 = I washed my hands
Here is a table with the word “짓다 (to build)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
| 짓다 = build | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 지었어 | 지어 | 짓겠어 |
| Informal high | 지었어요 | 지어요 | 짓겠어요 |
| Plain form | 지었다 | 짓는다 | 짓겠다 |
| Formal high | 지었습니다 | 짓습니다 | 짓겠습니다 |
Note that when a word stem has ㅅ as the fourth consonant, this irregular does not apply. For example, this does not apply to 없다*, which you will learn about in the next lesson.*
ㄷ irregular
If the last letter of a word stem ends in ㄷ (for example: 걷다 = to walk), the ㄷ gets changed to ㄹ when adding a vowel. This is only done with verbs. For example:
걷다 = to walk 걷 + 어 = 걸어 저는 걸어요 = I walk
걷 + 었어요 = 걸었어요 저는 걸었어요 = I walked
I don’t mean to confuse you, but I will:
걷다 means “to walk.” When conjugating, by adding a vowel it changes to 걸어 Another meaning of 걷다 is “to tuck.” But this meaning of 걷다 does not follow the irregular rule. So when conjugating by adding a vowel, it simply stays as 걷어. 걸다 means “to hang.” When conjugating, by adding a vowel it stays as 걸어
Confusing enough? Let’s look at all three:
걷다 To walk 걷다 To tuck 걸다 To hang Past (Informal High) 걸었어요 걷었어요 걸었어요 Present (Informal High) 걸어요 걷어요 걸어요 Future (Informal High) 걷겠어요 걷겠어요 걸겠어요
Honestly, though, the whole 걷다/걷다/걸다 thing is probably the most confusing part of this conjugation, and don’t worry too much about it. “Walk” is a word that is used much more frequently than “tuck,” so it is not something that comes up a lot.
The reason this conjugation is done is simply because the sounds flows off your tongue better. It is similar to pronouncing the word “butter” in English. When pronouncing “butter” we don’t say “butt-tter,” we just say “bud-er.” Like the ㄷ irregular, it is simply to avoid saying a hard consonant.
This is done to most stems ending in ㄷ. Common words that this does not apply to (like 걷다 = to tuck) are:
받다 (to get/receive) = 돈을 받았어요 = I received money 묻다 = 묻어요 (to bury) = 저는 저의 강아지를 묻었어요 = I buried my dog 닫다 = 닫아요 (to close) = 저는 문을 닫았어요 = I closed the door
Here is a table with the word “걷다 (to walk)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
| 걷다 = walk | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 걸었어 | 걸어 | 걷겠어 |
| Informal high | 걸었어요 | 걸어요 | 걷겠어요 |
| Plain form | 걸었다 | 걷는다 | 걷겠다 |
| Formal high | 걸었습니다 | 걷습니다 | 걷겠습니다 |
ㅂ Irregular
If the last letter of a word stem ends in ㅂ (쉽다 = easy), the ㅂ changes to 우 when adding a vowel. 우 then gets added to the next syllable in the conjugated word.
This is mostly done with adjectives. Many verbs end with ㅂ but this rule is rarely applied to verbs (some of the few verbs where this rule applies are: 줍다 (to pick up), 눕다 (to lie down)). For example:
쉽다 = to be easy 쉽 + 어 = 쉬 + 우 + 어 = 쉬워 그것은 쉬워 = That is easy
어렵다 = to be difficult 어렵 + 어요 = 어려 + 우 + 어요 = 어려워요 그것은 어려워요 = That is difficult
귀엽다 = cute 귀엽 + 어요 = 귀여 + 우 + 어요 = 귀여워요 그 여자는 귀여워요 = That girl is cute
In the words “돕다” (to help) and “곱다” (an uncommon way to say “beautiful”) ㅂ changes to 오 instead of 우. For example:
돕다 = to help 돕 + 았어요 = 도 + 오 + 았어요 = 도왔어요 저는 저의 어머니를 도왔어요 = I helped my mother
Note: The ㅂ in 돕다 and 곱다 changes to 오 only when ~아/어 (or any derivative like ~았/었다 or ~아/어요*) is added. When adding any other vowel,* ㅂ changes to 우*. As of now, you haven’t learned when you would need to add a different vowel. For example, in future lessons you will learn about adding ~ㄹ/을 to verbs. When this gets added to 돕다, it changes to* 도울*. This isn’t immediately pressing to you now, but you should make a mental note of it.*
Because the ㅂ irregular is found in adjectives, you will be conjugating it not only at the end of a sentence, but also in the middle of a sentence (before a noun). Remember the difference between these two sentences.
사과는 크다 = Apples are big 나는 큰 사과를 좋아한다 = I like big apples
In the first sentence, ‘big’ is an adjective that describes the noun (apple) at the end of the sentence. In the second, ‘big’ describes the apple (as ‘a big apple’) and then “like” acts on the noun. In Lesson 4, you learned how to describe a noun by placing an adjective with ~ㄴ/은 before it. Adding ~ㄴ/은 to adjectives where the stem ends in “ㅂ” causes this irregular to come into play.
When placing an adjective (who’s stem ends in “ㅂ”) before a noun to describe it, you add ~ㄴ to the newly formed 우/오 syllable:
귀엽 + ㄴ = 귀여 + 우 + ㄴ = 귀여운 저는 귀여운 여자를 좋아해요 = I like cute girls
More examples: 쉽다 = easy 쉽 + ㄴ = 쉬 + 우 + ㄴ = 쉬운 저는 쉬운 일을 했어요 = I did easy work
부드럽다 = soft 부드럽 + ㄴ = 부드러 + 우 + ㄴ = 부드러운 나는 부드러운 손이 있어 = I have soft hands
춥다 = cold 춥 + ㄴ = 추 + 우 + ㄴ = 추운 저는 추운 날씨를 좋아해요 = I like cold weather
Note that in most irregulars, the word changes differently if the last vowel in the stem is ㅗ OR ㅏ. However, in the ㅂ irregular, except for 돕다 and 곱다, all applicable words are changed by adding 우. Therefore, even in words where the last vowel in the stem is ㅏ (ex: 아름답다) or ㅗ (ex: 새롭다), 우 is added. For example:
아름답다 = beautiful: 아름답 + 어요 = 아름다 + 우 + 어요 = 아름다워요 그 여자는 아름다워요 = That girl is beautiful
새롭다 = new 새롭 + 어요 = 새로 + 우 + 어요 = 새로워요 그 학교는 새로워요 = That school is new 그것은 새로운 학교예요 = That (thing) is a new school
Probably the most confusing of all irregulars, mainly because it seems strange that ㅂ can change to 우/오. The reason this happens is similar to the ㅅ irregular. As you know already, when pronouncing a syllable with the last letter ㅂ, you don’t really pronounce the ‘B’ sound. If you don’t know what I mean, check out the Pronunciation guide. But, if you add a vowel after ㅂ the sound of ‘B’ would be pronounced. The purpose of the irregular is to eliminate the ‘B’ sound which isn’t actually in the word. Confusing? Yes, I know, but again, you don’t really need to care about why it is done.
This is done to some words ending in ㅂ. Some common words in which this does not apply:
좁다 (narrow) = 이 방은 좁아요 = This room is narrow 잡다 (to catch/grab) = 저는 공을 잡았어요 = I caught the ball 넓다 (wide) 이 방은 넓어요 = This room is wide (Korean people often describe a room/place being “big” by saying it is “wide”)
Here is a table with the word “춥다 (cold)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
| 춥다 = cold | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 추웠어 | 추워 | 춥겠어 |
| Informal high | 추웠어요 | 추워요 | 춥겠어요 |
| Plain form | 추웠다 | 춥다 | 춥겠다 |
| Formal high | 추웠습니다 | 춥습니다 | 춥겠습니다 |
| Adjective form | 추운 날씨 = cold weather |
ㅡ Irregular
If the final letter in a stem is ㅡ (for example: 잠그다 = to lock), when adding ~아/어, you can not determine whether you need to add ~어 or ~아 to the stem by looking at ㅡ. Instead, you must look at the vowel in the second last syllable. For example, in the word 잠그다, the second last syllable in the stem is 잠, and the vowel here is ㅏ. We use the same rules as above to determine whether 아 or 어 is added. If the vowel in the second last syllable is ㅏ or ㅗ, 아 is added. If the vowel in the second last syllable is anything other than ㅏ or ㅗ, 어 is added. For example:
Where the vowel in the second last syllable is ㅏ or ㅗ: 잠그다 + ~아/어 = 잠그아
Where the vowel in the second last syllable is anything butㅏ or ㅗ: 슬프다 + ~아/어 = 슬프어
Unfortunately, that is not all that happens. When ~아/어 is added to a stem where the last letter is ㅡ, ~아/어 merges to the stem and the ㅡ is eliminated. That is quite confusing, so let’s look at examples of how this is done.
잠그다 = to lock This stem ends in ㅡ. If we were to add ~아/어, we need to look at the second last syllable, which is 잠. The vowel in this syllable is ㅏ, so ~아 needs to be added to the stem. 잠그 + 아 ~아 merges to the stem and the ㅡ is eliminated: 잠그 + 아 = 잠가
바쁘다 = to be busy This stem ends in ㅡ. If we were to add ~아/어, we need to look at the second last syllable, which is 바. The vowel in this syllable is ㅏ, so ~아 needs to be added to the stem. 바쁘 + 아 ~아 merges to the stem and the ㅡ is eliminated: 바쁘 + 아 = 바빠
예쁘다 = pretty This stem ends in ㅡ. If we were to add ~아/어, we need to look at the second last syllable, which is 예. The vowel in this syllable is not ㅏ or ㅗ, so ~어 needs to be added to the stem. 예쁘 + 어 ~어 merges to the stem and the ㅡ is eliminated: 예쁘 + 어 = 예뻐
슬프다 = to be sad This stem ends in ㅡ. If we were to add ~아/어, we need to look at the second last syllable, which is 슬. The vowel in this syllable is not ㅏ or ㅗ, so ~어 needs to be added to the stem. 슬프 + 어 ~어 merges to the stem and the ㅡ is eliminated: 슬프 + 어 = 슬퍼
This merging of ~아/어 to the stem occurs when ~아/어 is added, or any of its derivatives, including ~아/어요 and past tense conjugations like ~았/었어 or ~았/었어요. For example:
저는 문을 잠갔어요 = I locked the door 저는 바빠요 = I am busy 그 여자는 예뻐요 = That girl is pretty 저는 아주 슬퍼요 = I am very sad
Some stems only have one syllable. For example, the stem of 크다 is just 크. In this case, we know that we need to use the ㅡ irregular, but there is no previous syllable to draw on to determine what should be added to the stem. In these cases, ~어 is added to the stem. For example:
크다 = to be big This stem ends in ㅡ. If we were to add ~아/어, we need to look at the second last syllable, but there is none, so ~어 needs to be added to the stem. 크 + 어 ~어 merges to the stem and the ㅡ is eliminated: 크 + 어 = 커 그 집은 커요 = That house is big
Sometimes the last vowel of a stem is ㅡ, but the stem ends in a consonant. In these cases, there is no merging and ~어 is always chosen instead of ~아. For example:
긁다 = to scratch The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. However, the stem does not end in ㅡ and instead ends with a consonant. Therefore, 어 is added. 긁 + 어요 = 긁어요 저는 머리를 긁었어요 = I scratched my head
듣다 = to hear The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. However, the stem does not end in ㅡ and instead ends with a consonant. Therefore, 어 is added. 듣 + 었어요 = 듣었어요
But wait! Don’t forget the ㄷ irregular.
듣 + 었다 = 들었다 저는 쥐를 들었어요 = I heard a mouse
만들다 = to make The last vowel in the stem is ㅡ. However, the stem does not end in ㅡ and instead ends with a consonant. Therefore, 어 is added. Regardless of what the vowel in the previous stem is, because the stem ends in a consonant, 어 is added. 만들다 + ~아/어요 = 만들어요
Here is a table with the word “잠그다 (to lock – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
| 잠그다 = lock | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 잠갔어 | 잠가 | 잠그겠어 |
| Informal high | 잠갔어요 | 잠가요 | 잠그겠어요 |
| Plain form | 잠갔다 | 잠근다 | 잠그겠다 |
| Formal high | 잠갔습니다 | 잠급니다 | 잠그겠습니다 |
And here is a table with the word “예쁘다 (pretty – which is an adjective)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
| 예쁘다 = pretty | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 예뻤어 | 예뻐 | 예쁘겠어 |
| Informal high | 예뻤어요 | 예뻐요 | 예쁘겠어요 |
| Plain form | 예뻤다 | 예쁘다 | 예쁘겠다 |
| Formal high | 예뻤습니다 | 예쁩니다 | 예쁘겠습니다 |
Finally, here is a table with the word “만들다 (to make – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far.
| 만들다 = to make | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 만들었어 | 만들어 | 만들겠어 |
| Informal high | 만들었어요 | 만들어요 | 만들겠어요 |
| Plain form | 만들었다 | 만든다 | 만들겠다 |
| Formal high | 만들었 습니다 | 만듭니다 | 만들겠습니다 |
You will learn how 만든다 and 만듭니다 are formed later in the lesson when you learn about the ㄹ irregular.
르 Irregular
If the final syllable in a stem is 르 (마르다), it is conjugated differently when adding ~아/어. This irregular only applies when adding ~아/어(or any of its derivatives) to a stem and not when adding any other grammatical principles that starts with a vowel or consonant. Up until now, you haven’t learned about any of these other grammatical principles, that can start with anything other than 아/어, so don’t worry about this distinction too much.
When adding ~아/어 to these words, an additional ㄹ is created and placed in the syllable preceding 르 as the last consonant. The 르 also gets changed to either 러 or 라 (depending on if you are adding 어 or 아). This is done to both verbs and adjectives (the only exceptions are 따르다 = to follow/to pour; and 푸르다 = to be calming blue). This is difficult to explain, and much easier to show with examples:
다르다 = different 다르 + 아요 = 다 + ㄹ + 라요 = 달라요 그것은 달라요 = That thing is different
빠르다 = to be fast 빠르 + 아요 = 빠 + ㄹ + 라요 = 빨라요 그 남자는 빨라요 = That man is fast
부르다 = to call somebody’s name 부르 + 었어요 = 부 + ㄹ + 렀어요 = 불렀어요 저는 저의 누나를 불렀어요 = I called my sister
Here is a table with the word “고르다 (to choose – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
| 고르다 = choose | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 골랐어 | 골라 | 고르겠어 |
| Informal high | 골랐어요 | 골라요 | 고르겠어요 |
| Plain form | 골랐다 | 고른다 | 고르겠다 |
| Formal high | 골랐습니다 | 고릅니다 | 고르겠습니다 |
And here is a table with the word “마르다 (thin – which is an adjective)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~아/어 (or one of its derivatives like ~았/었어요) is added to the verb stem.
| 마르다 = thin | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 말랐어 | 말라 | 마르겠어 |
| Informal high | 말랐어요 | 말라요 | 마르겠어요 |
| Plain form | 말랐다 | 마르다 | 마르겠다 |
| Formal high | 말랐습니다 | 마릅니다 | 마르겠습니다 |
| Adjective form | 마른 여자 = thin girl |
ㄹ Irregular
Okay, last one, I promise.
As you know, there are times when you must choose between two things to add to a stem. For example:
~아/어 means you must choose between adding ~아 or ~어 ~ㄴ/은 means you must choose between adding ~ㄴ or ~은 ~ㅂ/습 means you must choose between adding ~ㅂ or ~습 ~ㄹ/을 means you must choose between adding ~ㄹ or ~을
As you know, you choose the correct addition based on the stem.
If the final letter of a stem is ㄹ AND you add any of the following:
~ㄴ/은 ~ㄴ/는 ~ㅂ/습 ~ㄹ/을
The first option (~ㄴ/ ~ㅂ / ~ㄹ ) should be used. In addition, the ㄹ is removed from the stem and the ~ㄴ / ~ㅂ / ~ㄹ is added directly to the stem. Let’s look at each one individually.
ㄹ Irregular: Adding ~ㄴ/은 to words
You have learned about adding ~ㄴ/은 to adjective stems when describing nouns. Usually, you add ~ㄴ directly to the stem of an adjective ending in a vowel, and ~은 to the stem of an adjective ending in a consonant, for example:
크다 = 큰 남자 작다 = 작은 남자
When adding ~ㄴ/은 to a stem which ends in ㄹ, the ㄹ is removed and ㄴ is added to the stem:
길다 = long 길 + ㄴ = 긴 저는 긴 거리를 건넜어요 = I crossed the long street
멀다 = far away 멀 + ㄴ = 먼 저는 먼 병원에 갔어요 = I went to a far away hospital (a hospital that is far away)
There will be times when you have to add ~ㄴ/은 to verbs stems as well, but you haven’t learned about this yet. I introduce this concept in Lesson 26, and then talk about the irregular being applied in Lesson 28. I don’t want you to think about this too much until those lessons, but just so you know, the concept is the same as adding ~ㄴ/은 to an adjective. For example:
열다 = to open 열 + ㄴ = 연
Although you haven’t learned about adding ~ㄴ/은 to stems, you have learned about adding ~ㄴ/는다 to verb stems. Normally, you add ~ㄴ다 to the stem of a verb ending in a vowel, and ~는다 to the stem of a verb ending in a consonant. For example:
나는 집에 간다 = I go home 나는 밥을 먹는다 = I eat rice
But when adding ~ㄴ/는다 to a verb stem that ends in ㄹ, you must remove ㄹ and add ~ㄴ다 to the verb stem:
나는 문을 연다 = I open the door 나는 케이크를 만든다 = I make a cake
ㄹ Irregular: Adding ~ㅂ/습 to words
You have also learned about adding ~ㅂ/습니다 to verb and adjective stems when conjugating in the Formal high respect form: Normally, you add ~ㅂ니다 to the stem of a word ending in a vowel, and ~습니다 to the stem of a word ending in a consonant. For example:
Verbs: 저는 집에 갑니다 = I go home 저는 밥을 먹습니다 = I eat rice
Adjectives: 그 여자는 예쁩니다 = That girl is pretty 이 방은 넓습니다 = This room is big/wide
But when adding ~ㅂ니다 to the stem of a word that ends in ㄹ, you must remove ㄹ and add ~ㅂ directly to the stem. For example:
Verbs: 저는 문을 엽니다 = I open the door 저는 케이크를 만듭니다 = I make a cake
Adjectives: 그 병원은 멉니다 = That hospital is far 그 여자의 머리카락은 깁니다 = That girls hair is long
머리 can mean ‘head’ or ‘hair’ depending on the context. If you want to specifically mention your hair, you can say 머리카락, which always means the hair on one’s head. 머리 or 머리카락 does not refer to the hair on an animal, or the body hair of a human. This hair is referred to as “털” and extends to most of the hair that can be found on animals (fur, the wool on a sheep, etc).
The addition of ~ㅂ/습니다 only affects words that end in ㄹ. There is no irregular that occurs if adding ~ㅂ/습니다 to any other type of stem. For example, notice how only the stem of 길다 changes as a result of adding this:
| Irregular | Example Word | + ~ㅂ/습니다 |
|---|---|---|
| ㅅ Irregular | 짓다 | 짓습니다 |
| ㄷ Irregular | 걷다 | 걷습니다 |
| ㅂ Irregular | 쉽다 | 쉽습니다 |
| ㅡ Irregular | 예쁘다 | 예쁩니다 |
| 르 Irregular | 마르다 | 마릅니다 |
| ㄹ Irregular | 길다 | 깁니다 |
Here is a table with the word “열다 (to open – which is a verb)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. The irregular conjugations are in bold. Notice that this only occurs when ~ㄴ or ~ㅂ is added to the verb stem.
| 열다 = open | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 열었어 | 열어 | 열겠어 |
| Informal high | 열었어요 | 열어요 | 열겠어요 |
| Plain form | 열었다 | 연다 | 열겠다 |
| Formal high | 열었습니다 | 엽니다 | 열겠습니다 |
And here is a table with the word “길다 (long – which is an adjective)” being conjugated using all the honorific forms you have learned so far. Notice that this only occurs when ~ㄴ or ~ㅂ is added to the verb stem (it would happen when ~ㄴ is added, but you don’t add ~ㄴ/는 to an adjective when you conjugate it like this. There are times, however, when this would happen, but you haven’t even gotten close to learning about them yet. For example, in Lesson 76, we talk about the addition of ~ㄴ/는데 to clauses. This would make 길다 turn into 긴데. Please don’t even think about looking ahead to Lesson 76 until you’ve finished with this lesson, and the 69 lessons in between.
| 길다 = long | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 길었어 | 길어 | 길겠어 |
| Informal high | 길었어요 | 길어요 | 길겠어요 |
| Plain form | 길었다 | 길다 | 길겠다 |
| Formal high | 길었습니다 | 깁니다 | 길겠습니다 |
| Adjective form | 긴 거리 = long road |
I don’t want to confuse you too much more because I am sure you are already really confused. Just the amount of content on this page alone is enough to make somebody cry. That being said, I think it is a very good exercise to try to compare how the words 듣다 and 들다 differ in their conjugations. Don’t worry about the meaning of 들다 yet (it is a very complex word that has many meanings), but just assume it is a verb in this case. For now, let’s just focus on how they are conjugated.
Notice that when conjugating 듣다, you need to consider the following irregular patterns:
- ㄷ irregular (because it ends in ㄷ)
- ㅡ irregular (because the final vowel is ㅡ)
The following table shows how 듣다 should be conjugated across the honorifics and tenses you have learned so far: (Irregular conjugations are in bold)
| 듣다 = to hear | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 들었어 | 들어 | 듣겠어 |
| Informal high | 들었어요 | 들어요 | 듣겠어요 |
| Plain form | 들었다 | 듣는다 | 듣겠다 |
| Formal high | 들었습니다 | 듣습니다 | 듣겠습니다 |
Notice when conjugating 들다, you need to consider the following irregular patterns:
- ㄹ irregular (because it ends in ㄹ)
- ㅡ irregular (because the final vowel is ㅡ)
The following table shows how 들다 should be conjugated across the honorifics and tenses you have learned so far: (Irregular conjugations are in bold)
| 들다 | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal low | 들었어 | 들어 | 들겠어 |
| Informal high | 들었어요 | 들어요 | 들겠어요 |
| Plain form | 들었다 | 든다 | 들겠다 |
| Formal high | 들었습니다 | 듭니다 | 들겠습니다 |
I feel that comparing these two is a very good exercise because you can see that sometimes, because of the irregular conjugations, 듣다 might look exactly like 들다. For example, in all of the past tense conjugations, there is no way to distinguish between the two based on sound, and the only way to distinguish them is by context in a sentence.
There is no easy way around memorizing stuff like this. The only words of encouragement I can give you is that – as you become more and more familiar with the language, and as you expose yourself to it more and more, it does become second nature. I know you can’t believe that now, but it does.
Adding ~ㄴ/은 to Adjectives
I mentioned this in some of the sections above, but I would like to organize it all here. In Lesson 4, you learned how to add ~ㄴ/은 to adjectives to describe an upcoming noun. Some irregulars will come into play when doing this because of the possibility of adding a vowel to a stem. Let’s look at the word “어렵다” as an example. 어렵다 has a consonant as its final letter, which means that ~은 must be added (instead of ~ㄴ). Therefore, we end up with:
어렵은
Because of this, we now have the final consonant “ㅂ” followed by a vowel, which causes the ㅂ irregular to be applied. The correct conjugation of 어렵다 + ~ㄴ/은 is therefore “어려운.”
Below is a table that shows how irregular adjectives can change because of adding ~ㄴ/은:
| Irregular | Example Word | Does this apply? | Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅅ Irregular | 낫다 (better) | YES | 나은 |
| ㄷ Irregular | NA | NA | NA |
| ㅂ Irregular | 쉽다 (easy) | YES | 쉬운 |
| ㅡ Irregular | 바쁘다 (busy) | NO | 바쁜 |
| 르 Irregular | 빠르다 (fast) | NO | 빠른 |
| ㄹ Irregular | 길다 (long) | YES | 긴 |
Looking Ahead to Grammatical Principles that you will Learn in Future Lessons
There are many additions that you will learn in future lessons. You will learn the meaning and usage of all of these when they become important for your level of study. When you learn about a new addition in a future lesson, I will explain how it causes irregular words to change.
The good thing is – if you learn how one format of addition causes irregulars to change, every addition with the same initial letters will cause the same change. For example, adding ~아/어 causes ㅅ to be eliminated in words that follow the ㅅ irregular. Likewise, any other addition that starts with ~아/어 causes the same change. For example, if I add ~아/어 or ~았/었다 to 짓다, we see the same change to the word stem – that is 짓다 changes to 지어 and 지었다 respectively.
This same idea can be applied to grammatical additions that will be introduced in later lessons. For example, in Lesson 43 you will learn how ~(으)면 causes irregular words to change. The change that results from adding ~(으)면 is exactly the same as the change that results from adding similar additions like ~(으)며 and ~(으)면서. Therefore, you don’t need to memorize how each one affects irregulars, but rather how the general format of adding ~(으)ㅁ… will affect irregulars. I know the road ahead to memorizing these new additions and their effects on irregulars looks daunting, but this grouping of formats will allow your brain to compartmentalize the information.
Each time a new format/style of addition is introduced in my lessons, I will explain how irregulars adapt to it. This only needs to be done once for each format, because each successive addition with the same format will create the same change to irregulars. Below is a list of grammatical principles you will learn in future lessons. Each one follows a particular style. In each of these lessons, I will explain how they cause irregular words to change. Furthermore, I will explain the other grammatical principles that follow the same format that will create the same change:
~ㄹ/을 (Lesson 9) ~니 (Lesson 21) ~ㅁ/음 (Lesson 29) ~(으)려고 (Lesson 32) ~(으)시다 (Lesson 39) ~(으)면 (Lesson 43) ~(으)니까 (Lesson 81)
For now, focus on the concepts that were introduced in this lesson. When you reach each of the lessons above, I will bring up the discussion of irregulars again. At that point, we can talk about how that grammatical principle causes irregular words to change.
Check out our Irregular Guide if you are confused (I’m sure you are!).
Everybody is confused when they learn these irregulars. Eventually you will reach a point where all of these will come natural to you. Whenever you learn a new word where the stem ends in ㅅ/ㄹ/ㅂ/ㄷ/르/ㅡ just make a mental note about how you should conjugate that word in the future. I don’t even have to think about these irregulars anymore because they just flow out naturally. If you can’t memorize them all right now, just try to understand them, which will allow you to recognize them later. Eventually, you will memorize them simply from using and hearing them so much.
These videos are available to reinforce this lesson: Sentence Practice, Conjugation Practice, Dictation, Lesson Recap
Click here for a free PDF of this lesson.
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