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Verbs · 하다 word

부탁하다 conjugation

to ask a favour · butakada · sounds like [부타카다]

Short answer: “To ask a favour” in Korean is 부탁하다 (butakada). Polite present: 부탁해요 (butakaeyo); past: 부탁했어요 (butakaesseoyo); future: 부탁할 거예요. It is a 하다 verb: 하 + 아/어 always becomes 해.

Note: with noun + 하다 verbs, 안 and 못 go before 하다 — 부탁 안 해요, not 안 부탁해요.

부탁하다 in sentences

All forms of 부탁하다

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/어요부탁해요[부타캐요]butakaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다부탁합니다[부타캄니다]butakamnida
casual-아/어부탁해[부타캐]butakae
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다부탁한다[부타칸다]butakanda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?부탁합니까?[부타캄니까]butakamnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요부탁하고 있어요[부타카고 이써요]butakago isseoyo
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요부탁했어요[부타캐써요]butakaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다부탁했습니다[부타캗씀니다]butakaetseumnida
casual-았/었어부탁했어[부타캐써]butakaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다부탁했다[부타캗따]butakaetda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요부탁할 거예요[부타칼 꺼예요]butakal geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다부탁할 겁니다[부타칼 껌니다]butakal geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야부탁할 거야[부타칼 꺼야]butakal geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다부탁하겠습니다[부타카겓씀니다]butakagetseumnida
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …부탁 안 해요[부탁 안 해요]butak an haeyo
did not안 …았/었어요부탁 안 했어요[부탁 안 해써요]butak an haesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요부탁하지 않아요[부타카지 아나요]butakaji anayo
cannot못 …부탁 못 해요[부탕 모태요]butak mot haeyo
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)세요부탁하세요[부타카세요]butakaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요부탁하셨어요[부타카셔써요]butakasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다부탁하십니다[부타카심니다]butakasimnida
Requests
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
please …-(으)세요부탁하세요[부타카세요]butakaseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요부탁해 주세요[부타캐 주세요]butakae juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요부탁하지 마세요[부타카지 마세요]butakaji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다부탁합시다[부타캅씨다]butakapsida
let’s … (casual)-자부탁하자[부타카자]butakaja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라부탁해라[부타캐라]butakaera
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고부탁하고[부타카고]butakago
… so / and then-아/어서부탁해서[부타캐서]butakaeseo
if …-(으)면부탁하면[부타카면]butakamyeon
… but-지만부탁하지만[부타카지만]butakajiman
because …-(으)니까부탁하니까[부타카니까]butakanikka
… and / but (background)-는데부탁하는데[부타카는데]butakaneunde
even if …-아/어도부탁해도[부타캐도]butakaedo
while …-(으)면서부탁하면서[부타카면서]butakamyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고부탁하려고[부타카려고]butakaryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러부탁하러[부타카러]butakareo
before …-기 전에부탁하기 전에[부타카기 저네]butakagi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에부탁한 후에[부타칸 후에]butakan hue
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that) … now-는부탁하는[부타카는]butakaneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ부탁한[부타칸]butakan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ부탁할[부타칼]butakal
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
I want to …-고 싶어요부탁하고 싶어요[부타카고 시퍼요]butakago sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요부탁할 수 있어요[부타칼 쑤 이써요]butakal su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요부탁할 수 없어요[부타칼 쑤 업써요]butakal su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요부탁해야 해요[부타캐야 해요]butakaeya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요부탁해도 돼요[부타캐도 돼요]butakaedo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요부탁하면 안 돼요[부타카면 안 돼요]butakamyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기부탁하기[부타카기]butakagi

How 부탁하다 changes

Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 부탁해요, 부탁했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 부탁합니다, 부탁하면.

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

Questions

How do you say “ask a favour” in Korean?

“To ask a favour” is 부탁하다 (butakada), pronounced [부타카다]. In a sentence: 잘 부탁합니다. — I look forward to working with you.

What is the past tense of 부탁하다?

부탁했어요 (butakaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 부탁하다 (“to ask a favour”). Formal: 부탁했습니다; casual: 부탁했어.

How do you say 부탁하다 politely?

Everyday polite: 부탁해요 (butakaeyo). Formal: 부탁합니다. Casual, with close friends: 부탁해.

How do you say “I want to ask a favour” in Korean?

부탁하고 싶어요 (butakago sipeoyo), pronounced [부타카고 시퍼요].

Is 부탁하다 irregular?

No. Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 부탁해요, 부탁했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 부탁합니다, 부탁하면.

More 하다 words like 부탁하다

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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