KoreanSum

Verbs · Regular

바꾸다 conjugation

to change; to exchange · bakkuda · sounds like [바꾸다]

Short answer: “To change” in Korean is 바꾸다 (bakkuda), which also means to exchange. Polite present: 바꿔요 (bakkwoyo); past: 바꿨어요 (bakkwosseoyo); future: 바꿀 거예요. It is regular.

바꾸다 in sentences

All forms of 바꾸다

Present
Polite (해요) is the everyday safe choice; formal (합니다) is for news, announcements and work; casual (반말) is for close friends and younger people.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-아/어요바꿔요[바꿔요]bakkwoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다바꿉니다[바꿈니다]bakkumnida
casual-아/어바꿔[바꿔]bakkwo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다바꾼다[바꾼다]bakkunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?바꿉니까?[바꿈니까]bakkumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요바꾸고 있어요[바꾸고 이써요]bakkugo isseoyo
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요바꿨어요[바꿔써요]bakkwosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다바꿨습니다[바꿛씀니다]bakkwotseumnida
casual-았/었어바꿨어[바꿔써]bakkwosseo
plain (written)-았/었다바꿨다[바꿛따]bakkwotda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요바꿀 거예요[바꿀 꺼예요]bakkul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다바꿀 겁니다[바꿀 껌니다]bakkul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야바꿀 거야[바꿀 꺼야]bakkul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다바꾸겠습니다[바꾸겓씀니다]bakkugetseumnida
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …안 바꿔요[안 바꿔요]an bakkwoyo
did not안 …았/었어요안 바꿨어요[안 바꿔써요]an bakkwosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요바꾸지 않아요[바꾸지 아나요]bakkuji anayo
cannot못 …못 바꿔요[몯 빠꿔요]mot bakkwoyo
Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
honorific — present-(으)세요바꾸세요[바꾸세요]bakkuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요바꾸셨어요[바꾸셔써요]bakkusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다바꾸십니다[바꾸심니다]bakkusimnida
Requests
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
please …-(으)세요바꾸세요[바꾸세요]bakkuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요바꿔 주세요[바꿔 주세요]bakkwo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요바꾸지 마세요[바꾸지 마세요]bakkuji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다바꿉시다[바꿉씨다]bakkupsida
let’s … (casual)-자바꾸자[바꾸자]bakkuja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라바꿔라[바꿔라]bakkwora
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고바꾸고[바꾸고]bakkugo
… so / and then-아/어서바꿔서[바꿔서]bakkwoseo
if …-(으)면바꾸면[바꾸면]bakkumyeon
… but-지만바꾸지만[바꾸지만]bakkujiman
because …-(으)니까바꾸니까[바꾸니까]bakkunikka
… and / but (background)-는데바꾸는데[바꾸는데]bakkuneunde
even if …-아/어도바꿔도[바꿔도]bakkwodo
while …-(으)면서바꾸면서[바꾸면서]bakkumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고바꾸려고[바꾸려고]bakkuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러바꾸러[바꾸러]bakkureo
before …-기 전에바꾸기 전에[바꾸기 저네]bakkugi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에바꾼 후에[바꾼 후에]bakkun hue
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that) … now-는바꾸는[바꾸는]bakkuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ바꾼[바꾼]bakkun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ바꿀[바꿀]bakkul
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
I want to …-고 싶어요바꾸고 싶어요[바꾸고 시퍼요]bakkugo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요바꿀 수 있어요[바꿀 쑤 이써요]bakkul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요바꿀 수 없어요[바꿀 쑤 업써요]bakkul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요바꿔야 해요[바꿔야 해요]bakkwoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요바꿔도 돼요[바꿔도 돼요]bakkwodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요바꾸면 안 돼요[바꾸면 안 돼요]bakkumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기바꾸기[바꾸기]bakkugi

How 바꾸다 changes

바꾸 ends in a vowel, so 바꾸 + 아/어 becomes 바꿔 → 바꿔요, 바꿨어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 바꾸면, 바꿀. 바꾸다 is regular.

How every verb type works → · Why it sounds like that →

Questions

How do you say “change” in Korean?

“To change” is 바꾸다 (bakkuda), pronounced [바꾸다]. In a sentence: 다른 색으로 바꿀 수 있어요? — Can I exchange it for another colour?

What is the past tense of 바꾸다?

바꿨어요 (bakkwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 바꾸다 (“to change”). Formal: 바꿨습니다; casual: 바꿨어.

How do you say 바꾸다 politely?

Everyday polite: 바꿔요 (bakkwoyo). Formal: 바꿉니다. Casual, with close friends: 바꿔.

How do you say “I want to change” in Korean?

바꾸고 싶어요 (bakkugo sipeoyo), pronounced [바꾸고 시퍼요].

Is 바꾸다 irregular?

No. 바꾸 ends in a vowel, so 바꾸 + 아/어 becomes 바꿔 → 바꿔요, 바꿨어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 바꾸면, 바꿀. 바꾸다 is regular.

More regular words like 바꾸다

Look up another word

Forms follow 한글 맞춤법 (Korean spelling rules); pronunciation follows 표준 발음법 and romanization follows 국어의 로마자 표기법 (Revised Romanization). Last updated October 16, 2026. How we check