Verbs are words that describe actions. They’re also used to convey an occurrence or state of being. In the Korean language, it is usually listed with the symbol -다.
A Korean verb is considered the most vital part of the sentence. It’s so crucial that you can use it on its own.
So if you’re looking to polish your grammar and vocabulary, you should refer to this complete Korean verbs list.
List of Regular Korean Verbs
These 규칙동사 or regular verbs only need to follow simple conjugation. This will help it ‘agree’ with the other words in the sentence.
To do so, you need to get rid of the 다 from the word’s verb stem or dictionary form.
As for the pattern, it varies according to tense.
Here are some common Korean verbs that have been conjugated. Make sure to practice speaking them:
- 가요 = 가다 – to go
- 봐요 = 보다 – to see
- 먹어요 = 먹다 – to eat
- 만나요 = 만나다 – to meet
- 배워요 = 배우다 – to learn
- 공부해요 =공부하다 – to study
List of Irregular Korean Verbs
Compared to the former, these irregular verbs—otherwise known as 불규칙 동사—get modified following conjugation. They follow special rules, such as the ones you need to do when using adjectives.
These words have 받침 or batchim, which is used to classify the word. Despite this feature, not all irregular verbs have batchims in them.
Here are some of the words you should exercise speaking:
1. Korean Words With ㄷ Batchim
- 걷다 – geotda – to walk
- 싣다 – sitda – to load
- 듣다 – deutda – to listen
- 묻다- mutda – to ask
- 깨닫다- kkaedatda – to realize
2. Korean Verbs Withㄹ Batchim
- 만들다- mandeulda – to make
- 알다 – alda – to know
- 살다 – salda – to live
- 들다 – deulda – to carry
- 놀다 – nolda – to play
- 울다 – ulda – to cry
- 팔다 – palda – to sell
3. Korean Words With ㅂ Batchim
- 돕다 – dopda – to help
- 밉다 – mipda – to hate
- 부럽다 – bureopda – to envy
4. Korean Verbs With 르 Batchim
- 고르다 – goreuda – to choose
- 기르다 – gireuda – to bring up
- 나르다 – nareuda – to carry
- 자르다 – jareuda – to cut
- 서두르다 – seodureuda – to hurry
- 부르다 – bureuda – to call
- 바르다 – bareuda – to put on or apply
5. Korean Words With ㅅ Batchim
- 낫다 – natda– to recover
- 짓다 – jitda – to build/construct
- 긋다 – geutda – to rule
- 잇다 – itda– – to join or connect something
6. Korean Words With 으 Batchim
- 애쓰다 – aesseuda – to try
- 끄다 – kkeuda – to close
- 뜨다 – tteuda – to rise
- 모으다 – moeuda – to gather
7. Korean Verbs With ㅎ Batchim
- 그렇다 – geureota – to be that way
- 어떻다 – eotteota – to be a certain way
Passive Verbs
When you learn Korean, another verb you’ll encounter is the passive verb or 피동사. It makes use of suffixes 되/돼, 이, 히, 리, or 기.
되/돼 are added to words ending with 하다 to make them passive.
As you see, the passive version of 사용하다 (to use) is 사용되다 (to be used). The passive word for 비교하다 (to compare) is 비교되다 (to be compared).
이, 히, 리, and 기, on the other hand, are used with non-하다 words. For example, instead of writing 열다 (to open), you can write 열다 – 열리다 (to be opened).
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하다 (hada) is a regular verb that means ‘to do’ in the Korean language. It is added to nouns to create a verb.
For example, the word 걱정 (worry) – with 하다 becomes geokjeonghada or 걱정하다 (to worry).
Other examples include:
- 대답하다 – daedapada – to answer
- 말하다 – malhada – to speak
- 사랑하다 – saranghada – to love
- 공부하다 – gongbuhada – to study
Korean Adjectives
Adjectives or 형용사 are also known as descriptive verbs. These words originate from verbs, though they can never be used as action verbs.
- 기쁘다 – gippeuda – to be glad, happy
- 화나다 – hwanada – to be angry
- 슬프다 – seulpeuda – to be sad
- 아프다 – apeuda – to be sick
Learning Korean Tenses
Just like the English language, the Korean language has three basic tenses:
- Past Tense: 과거 시제 or gwageo sije
- Present Tense: 현재 시제 or hyeonjae sije
- Future Tense: 미래 시제 or mirae sije
Here are two more tenses used in the Korean vocabulary:
- Progressive: 진행 시제 or jinhaeng sije
- Perfect: 완료 시제 or wallyo sije
As with most verbs, these categories are formed through conjugation.
More Korean Words to Practice
If you want to perfect the way you talk Korean, then you need to use these verbs in your sentences:
- 고르다 – goreuda – to choose or select
- 닫다 – datda – to close
- 오다 – oda – to come
- 결정하다 – gyeoljeonghada – to decide
- 들어오다 – deureooda – to enter
- 경험하다 – gyeongheomhada – to experience
- 끝나다 – keutnada – to finish
- 주다 – juda – to give
- 가다 – gada – to go
- 가지다 – gajida – to have
- 공부하다 – gongbuhada – to study
- 기다리다 – gidarida – to wait
- 걷다 – geotda – to walk
As you see in this list, you need to learn these Korean words to improve your grammar. So whenever you find yourself in a rut, all you need to do is search this comprehensive Korean verbs list.
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