Verbs · Regular

찾다 conjugation

to look for; to find; to withdraw (money) · chatda · sounds like [찯따]

Short answer: “To look for” in Korean is 찾다 (chatda), which also means to find; to withdraw (money). Polite present: 찾아요 (chajayo); past: 찾았어요 (chajasseoyo); future: 찾을 거예요. It is regular.

Present찾아요[차자요] · chajayo
Past찾았어요[차자써요] · chajasseoyo
Future찾을 거예요[차즐 꺼예요] · chajeul geoyeyo
Negative안 찾아요[안 차자요] · an chajayo

찾다 in sentences

열쇠를 찾고 있어요.I’m looking for my keys.
은행에서 돈을 찾았어요.I withdrew money at the bank.

All forms of 찾다

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.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-아/어요	찾아요	[차자요]	chajayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	찾습니다	[찯씀니다]	chatseumnida
casual-아/어	찾아	[차자]	chaja
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	찾는다	[찬는다]	channeunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	찾습니까?	[찯씀니까]	chatseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	찾고 있어요	[찯꼬 이써요]	chatgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	찾았어요	[차자써요]	chajasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	찾았습니다	[차잗씀니다]	chajatseumnida
casual-았/었어	찾았어	[차자써]	chajasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	찾았다	[차잗따]	chajatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	찾을 거예요	[차즐 꺼예요]	chajeul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	찾을 겁니다	[차즐 껌니다]	chajeul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	찾을 거야	[차즐 꺼야]	chajeul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	찾겠습니다	[찯껟씀니다]	chatgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 찾아요	[안 차자요]	an chajayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 찾았어요	[안 차자써요]	an chajasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	찾지 않아요	[찯찌 아나요]	chatji anayo
cannot못 …	못 찾아요	[몯 차자요]	mot chajayo

Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
honorific — present-(으)세요	찾으세요	[차즈세요]	chajeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	찾으셨어요	[차즈셔써요]	chajeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	찾으십니다	[차즈심니다]	chajeusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	찾으세요	[차즈세요]	chajeuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	찾아 주세요	[차자 주세요]	chaja juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	찾지 마세요	[찯찌 마세요]	chatji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	찾읍시다	[차즙씨다]	chajeupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	찾자	[찯짜]	chatja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	찾아라	[차자라]	chajara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	찾고	[찯꼬]	chatgo
… so / and then-아/어서	찾아서	[차자서]	chajaseo
if …-(으)면	찾으면	[차즈면]	chajeumyeon
… but-지만	찾지만	[찯찌만]	chatjiman
because …-(으)니까	찾으니까	[차즈니까]	chajeunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	찾는데	[찬는데]	channeunde
even if …-아/어도	찾아도	[차자도]	chajado
while …-(으)면서	찾으면서	[차즈면서]	chajeumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	찾으려고	[차즈려고]	chajeuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	찾으러	[차즈러]	chajeureo
before …-기 전에	찾기 전에	[찯끼 저네]	chatgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	찾은 후에	[차즌 후에]	chajeun hue

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that) … now-는	찾는	[찬는]	channeun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	찾은	[차즌]	chajeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	찾을	[차즐]	chajeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	찾고 싶어요	[찯꼬 시퍼요]	chatgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	찾을 수 있어요	[차즐 쑤 이써요]	chajeul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	찾을 수 없어요	[차즐 쑤 업써요]	chajeul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	찾아야 해요	[차자야 해요]	chajaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	찾아도 돼요	[차자도 돼요]	chajado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	찾으면 안 돼요	[차즈면 안 돼요]	chajeumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	찾기	[찯끼]	chatgi

How 찾다 changes

찾 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 찾아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 찾으면, 찾을. 찾다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “look for” in Korean?

“To look for” is 찾다 (chatda), pronounced [찯따]. In a sentence: 열쇠를 찾고 있어요. — I’m looking for my keys.

What is the past tense of 찾다?

찾았어요 (chajasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 찾다 (“to look for”). Formal: 찾았습니다; casual: 찾았어.

How do you say 찾다 politely?

Everyday polite: 찾아요 (chajayo). Formal: 찾습니다. Casual, with close friends: 찾아.

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

찾고 싶어요 (chatgo sipeoyo), pronounced [찯꼬 시퍼요].

Is 찾다 irregular?

No. 찾 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 찾아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 찾으면, 찾을. 찾다 is regular.

More regular words like 찾다

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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