Korean irregular Verbs conjugations (ㅡ/르/ㅂ irregular)

Hello, language learners! Welcome back to our journey of mastering Korean.
Today we will master Korean irregular verbs and adjectives! We will cover “르”, “ㅂ”, “ㅡ” irregularities!

In our previous post, we covered the basics of verb conjugation in the present tense.
Today, we’re going to delve deeper into the world of Korean verbs by exploring some irregular verbs and essential grammar points. These will help you form more complex and natural sentences.

So, let’s dive right in and learn more verbs with irregularities and some additional grammar tips!

Part 1,
Let’s grasp the concept of grammar

Basic Korean verbs & adjectives (present tense conjugations) #2

Do you remember from the last post?
If there are two vowels, we contract them to make it shorter, or if there is a double sound, we eliminate one.
Today, we will look at more examples of vowel & adjectives contraction cases.

Here’s the list of verbs we will go through together:

1. ㅣ Vowel Contraction

When the verb stem ends in ㅣ, it contracts with 어 to form 여.

Let’s look at this verb: 마시다 (to drink)
First, we will remove the ending 다, leaving us with the verb stem “시“.
Here, the verb stem’s vowel is ” l “, right?
If the vowel is neither ㅏ or ㅗ, we will add 어요.

So, It becomes 마시어요, We then combine 시 + 어, which turns into 셔.
Therefore, 마시어요 becomes 마셔요.

Example: 저는 물을 마셔요. (I drink water.)

Here’s more cases:

기다리다(to wait) → 기다리어요 → 기다려요
Example: 저는 친구를 기다려요. (I wait for my friend.)

가르치다(to teach) → 가르치어요 → 가르쳐요
Example: 저는 한국어를 가르쳐요. (I teach Korean.)

다니다(to attend, to go regularly) → 다니어요 → 다녀요
Example: 저는 회사에 다녀요. ( I go to a company = I work)

2. “ㅡ” irregularity

For “ㅡ” irregular verbs, when conjugating to the present tense, you drop the “ㅡ” from the stem.
Then, you look at the vowel before the “ㅡ” (if there is one) to determine the appropriate conjugation:

Let’s look at this adjective: 바쁘다 (to be busy)
First, we will remove the ending 다, leaving us with the verb stem “쁘”.
Here, the verb stem’s vowel is ” ㅡ “, right?
We will drop the ㅡ part of the verb stem., and If the vowel before “ㅡ” is ㅏ or ㅗ, you add 아요.
If the vowel before “ㅡ” is any other vowel, you add 어요.
For 바쁘다, The vowel before “ㅡ” is ㅏ (in “바”), so we add 아요.
Therefore, 바쁘다 becomes 바빠요.

Example: 우리 아빠는 주말에 바빠요. (My dad is busy on the weekend.)


Here’s more cases:

예쁘다(to be pretty) → 예뻐요 (The vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅖ”, hence we add 어요)
Example: 내 친구는 정말 예뻐요. (My friend is really pretty.)

아프다(to hurt) → 아파요 (The vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅏ”, hence we add 아요)
Example: 다리가 아파요. (My legs hurt)

크다 (to be big) → 커요 (There is no prior vowel, the general rule is to add 어요)
Example: 이 박스는 정말 커요. (This box is really big)

쓰다 (to use, write and wear(glasses and hat) ) → 써요 (There is no prior vowel, add 어요)
Example: 편지를 써요. (I write a letter)
선글라스를 써요. (I wear sunglasses)
아이폰을 써요. (I use iPhone)

3. “ㄷ” Exceptions!!

There are some verbs with a final “ㄷ” batchim that change to “ㄹ” when conjugated.
Though they aren’t numerous, it’s best to simply memorize them.

Let’s look at this verb: 듣다 (to listen)
First, we will remove the ending 다, leaving us with the verb stem “듣”.
Here, the verb stem ends in ” ㄷ “(final consonant), right? we will change to “ㄹ”.
And since the vowel is ㅡ, we add 어요. It becomes 들어요.

Example: 항상 K-pop을 들어요. (I always listen to K-pop.)

There are only a few, let’s just memorize them!

걷다(to walk) → 걸어요
깨닫다(to realize) → 깨달아요
묻다(to ask) → 물어요
싣다(to load) → 실어요

Regular “ㄷ”ending verbs.

믿다(to believe) → 믿어요
닫다(to close) → 닫아요
받다(to get, receive) → 받아요

4. “르” irregularity

When the verb stem ends in 르, an additional ㄹ is added before conjugating,
and the 르 changes to 라 or 러 depending on the preceding vowel.

Let’s look at this verb: 모르다 (to not know)
Here, the verb stem ends in 르, we add ㄹ to the prior syllable 모, which becomes 몰.
Since the vowel before 르 is “ㅗ”, we conjugate with 아요, resulting in 몰라요.

Example: 한국어 잘 몰라요. (I don’t know Korean well.)

Here’s more cases:

다르다(to be different) → 달라요 (The vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅏ”, hence we add 아요)
Example: 한국어랑 영어는 달라요. (Korean and English are different)

빠르다(to be fast) → 빨라요 (The vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅏ”, hence we add 아요)
Example: 치타는 정말 빨라요. (Cheetahs are really fast)

부르다 (to call) → 불러요 (The vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅜ”, hence we add 어요)
Example: 엄마가 나를 불러요. (My mom calls me)

게으르다 (to be lazy) → 게을러요 (The vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅡ”, hence we add 어요)
Example: 나는 가끔 게을러요. (I’m lazy sometimes)

5. “ㅂ” irregularity

For “ㅂ” irregular verbs, the verb stem’s batchim “ㅂ” changes to “우”.
Then, “우” combine with “어요”, forming “워요”.

Let’s look at this verb: 춥다 (to be cold)
Here, the verb stem ends in ㅂ, we change ㅂ to 우, which becomes 추우.
Since the vowel is “ㅜ”, we conjugate with 어요, resulting in 추워요.
Always, it’s conjugated as 워요. You can simply memorize it.

Example: 한국 겨울은 추워요. (Korean winter is cold.)

Here’s more cases:

덥다(to be hot) → 더워요
Example: 필리핀은 정말 더워요. (Philippines is really hot)

어렵다 (to be difficult) → 어려워요
Example: 중국어는 어려워요. (Chinese is difficult)

쉽다 (to be easy) → 쉬워요
Example: 한국어는 쉬워요 (Korean is easy)

귀엽다 (to be cute) → 귀여워요
Example: 우리 강아지는 귀여워요 (My dog(puppy) is cute)
* 강아지 means puppy, but we often use it to refer to a dog in general. The term 개 (dog) can sound harsh!

There are more irregularities, but we won’t focus on them right now.
As you continue learning Korean, you’ll encounter and learn them naturally.
Our main goal now is to practice making sentences together using these verbs. Let’s get started!

1. I drink coffee
(drink:마시다)

2. My mom teaches English
(teach:가르치다 / English:영어)

3. I don’t know Chinese well
(to not know:모르다/ Chinese:중국어 / well:잘)

4. My parents are busy on the weekend
(busy:바쁘다/ parents:부모님/ weekend:주말)

5. I listen to K-pop often
(listen:듣다 / often:자주)

6. Summer is hot
(hot:덥다 / summer:여름)

7. I believe you
(believe:믿다)

8. My house is really big
(big:크다 / house:집 / really:진짜)

9. I’m sometimes lazy, especially on the weekend
(lazy:게으르다 / sometimes:가끔 / especially:특히/ weekend: 주말)

10. My sister is pretty. And I’m cute
(pretty:예쁘다 / sister:언니(older sister) / and:그리고(to connect sentences)/ cute: 귀엽다)

11. On my birthday, I receive gifts.
(get:받다 / gift:선물 / birthday: 생일)

12. My head hurts often.
(hurt:아프다 / head:머리 / often: 자주)

13. Korean is difficult. So I study hard
(difficult:어렵다 / So: 그래서 / study: 공부하다/ hard: 열심히)

14. I sometimes feel sad at night.
(feel sad:슬프다 / night: 밤 / sometimes: 가끔)

15. I always use a Samsung laptop.
(use:쓰다 / laptop: 노트북 / always: 항상)

These are the answers:

1. I drink coffee
(drink:마시다)

나는 커피를 마셔요.

* 마시다 is a verb with a “ㅣ” contraction. 마시어요 contracts to 마셔요.
* Coffee is the object here, so we add the object particle 를 since it ends in a vowel.
* You can also use 내가, or 저는 제가(formal)

2. My mom teaches English
(teach:가르치다 / English:영어)

우리 엄마는 영어를 가르쳐요

* 가르치다 is a verb with a “ㅣ” contraction. 가르치어요 contracts to 가르쳐요.
* English is the object here, so we add the object particle 를 since it ends in a vowel.
* You can also say 우리 엄마가!

3. I don’t know Chinese well
(to not know:모르다/ Chinese:중국어 / well:잘)

나는 중국어를 잘 몰라요.

* 모르다 is a “르” irregular verb. 모르다 changes to 몰라요.
* Chinese is the object here, so we add the object particle 를 since it ends in a vowel.
* Usually, adverbs (like “well”) are placed in front of verbs!

4. My parents are busy on the weekend
(busy:바쁘다/ parents:부모님/ weekend:주말)

우리 부모님은 주말에 바빠요

* 바쁘다 is a “ㅡ” irregular verb. We drop “ㅡ” and add 아요 since the vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅏ”.
* Do you remember the general sentence order?!
It’s is subject – time – location – object – verb. While this is the general order, it’s not fixed!
So here, you can start with “주말에”. 주말에 우리 부모님은 바빠요 works ! (In this case you want to emphasize the time a bit more)
* If you don’t remember the usage of “에”, check out my previous post!

5. I listen to K-pop often
(listen:듣다 / often:자주)

나는 K-pop(케이팝)을 자주 들어요

* 듣다 is a “ㄷ” exception verb. We drop “ㄷ” and switch to “ㄹ”. It becomes 들어요!
* 케이팝 is the object here, so we add the object particle 을 since it ends in a batchim(ㅂ).
* Usually, adverbs (like “often”) are placed in front of verbs!

6. Summer is hot
(hot:덥다 / summer:여름)

여름은 더워요

* 덥다 is a “ㅂ” irregular adjective. ㅂ changes to 우, and it conjugates with 어요, becoming 워요.
* You can say “여름이” as well!

7. I believe you
(believe:믿다)

나는 너를 믿어요

* 믿다 is a regular verb, we conjugate it normally 🙂
* You is the object here, so we add the particle 를 since it ends in a vowel.

8. My house is really big
(big:크다 / house:집 / really:진짜)

우리 집은 진짜 커요

* 크다 is “ㅡ” irregular verb. We drop “ㅡ” and add 어요!
* You can say ” 내 집” as well.
*우리 집이 is also correct
* Usually, adverbs (like “really”) are placed in front of verbs!

9. I’m sometimes lazy, especially on the weekend
(lazy:게으르다 / sometimes:가끔 / especially:특히/ weekend: 주말)

나는 가끔 게을러요. 특히 주말에!

* 게으르다 is a “르” irregular verb. It changes to 게을러요!
* We put “에” after indicating time, dates, or locations.
* Usually, adverbs (like “sometimes”) are placed in front of verbs!

10. My sister is pretty. And I’m cute
(pretty:예쁘다 / sister:언니(older sister) / and:그리고(to connect sentences)/ cute: 귀엽다)

우리 언니는 예뻐요. 그리고 나는 귀여워요.

*예쁘다 is a “ㅡ”irregular verb. We drop “ㅡ” and add 어요 since the vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅖ”.
* 귀엽다 is a “ㅂ” irregular adjective. ㅂ changes to 우, and it conjugates with 어요, becoming 워요.
* You can say “내 언니”, or “우리 언니가”.


11. On my birthday, I receive gifts.
(get:받다 / gift:선물 / birthday: 생일)

내 생일에, 나는 선물을 받아요

* 받다 is a regular verb, we conjugate it normally 🙂
* “Gifts” is the object here, so we add the particle 을 since it ends in a batchim(ㄹ).
* You can say “선물들” to make it plural, but “선물” sounds natural.



12. My head hurts often.
(hurt:아프다 / head:머리 / often: 자주)

(1)내 머리는 자주 아파요.
(2)나는 머리가 자주 아파요.

*아프다 is a “ㅡ”irregular verb. We drop “ㅡ” and add 아요 since the vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅏ”.
* (1) is a literal translation, but (2) sounds more natural, like “I – head – often – hurts.” We use the 이/가 particle with adjectives. So, using the particles twice here sounds natural.



13. Korean is difficult. So I study hard
(difficult:어렵다 / So: 그래서 / study: 공부하다/ hard: 열심히)

한국어는 어려워요. 그래서 나는 열심히 공부해요.

* 어렵다 is a “ㅂ” irregular adjective. ㅂ changes to 우, and it conjugates with 어요, becoming 워요.
*공부하다 is a regular verb! 하다 →해요

14. I sometimes feel sad at night.
(feel sad:슬프다 / night: 밤 / sometimes: 가끔)

나는 가끔 밤에 슬퍼요.

*슬프다 is a “ㅡ”irregular verb. We drop “ㅡ” and add 어요 since the vowel before “ㅡ” is “ㅡ”.
*Don’t forget to put “에” after indicating the time!
*You can change the order. 나는 밤에 가끔 슬퍼요 – It doesn’t make a difference.



15. I always use a Samsung laptop.
(use:쓰다 / laptop: 노트북 / always: 항상)

나는 항상 삼성 노트북을 써요

* 쓰다 is “ㅡ” irregular verb. We drop “ㅡ” and add 어요!
* “laptop” is the object here, so we add the particle 을 since it ends in a batchim(ㄱ).
*You can change the order. 나는 삼성 노트북을 항상 써요 – It doesn’t make a difference.

Great job!
In the next post, we will learn how to make negative sentences, along with additional grammar points to help us construct more complex sentences. You’ve been doing an excellent job! Keep up the good work!

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