KoreanSum

Verbs · ㄹ stem

들다 conjugation

to lift; to hold; to cost (money); to enter · deulda · sounds like [들다]

Short answer: “To lift” in Korean is 들다 (deulda), which also means to hold; to cost (money); to enter. Polite present: 들어요 (deureoyo); past: 들었어요 (deureosseoyo); future: 들 거예요. It is regular, but its ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.

들다 in sentences

All forms of 들다

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/어요들어요[드러요]deureoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다듭니다[듬니다]deumnida
casual-아/어들어[드러]deureo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다든다[든다]deunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?듭니까?[듬니까]deumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요들고 있어요[들고 이써요]deulgo isseoyo
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요들었어요[드러써요]deureosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다들었습니다[드럳씀니다]deureotseumnida
casual-았/었어들었어[드러써]deureosseo
plain (written)-았/었다들었다[드럳따]deureotda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요들 거예요[들 꺼예요]deul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다들 겁니다[들 껌니다]deul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야들 거야[들 꺼야]deul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다들겠습니다[들겓씀니다]deulgetseumnida
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …안 들어요[안 드러요]an deureoyo
did not안 …았/었어요안 들었어요[안 드러써요]an deureosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요들지 않아요[들지 아나요]deulji anayo
cannot못 …못 들어요[몯 뜨러요]mot deureoyo
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)세요드세요[드세요]deuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요드셨어요[드셔써요]deusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다드십니다[드심니다]deusimnida
Requests
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
please …-(으)세요드세요[드세요]deuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요들어 주세요[드러 주세요]deureo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요들지 마세요[들지 마세요]deulji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다듭시다[듭씨다]deupsida
let’s … (casual)-자들자[들자]deulja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라들어라[드러라]deureora
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고들고[들고]deulgo
… so / and then-아/어서들어서[드러서]deureoseo
if …-(으)면들면[들면]deulmyeon
… but-지만들지만[들지만]deuljiman
because …-(으)니까드니까[드니까]deunikka
… and / but (background)-는데드는데[드는데]deuneunde
even if …-아/어도들어도[드러도]deureodo
while …-(으)면서들면서[들면서]deulmyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고들려고[들려고]deullyeogo
(go) to …-(으)러들러[들러]deulleo
before …-기 전에들기 전에[들기 저네]deulgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에든 후에[든 후에]deun hue
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that) … now-는드는[드는]deuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ든[든]deun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ들[들]deul
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
I want to …-고 싶어요들고 싶어요[들고 시퍼요]deulgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요들 수 있어요[들 쑤 이써요]deul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요들 수 없어요[들 쑤 업써요]deul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요들어야 해요[드러야 해요]deureoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요들어도 돼요[드러도 돼요]deureodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요들면 안 돼요[들면 안 돼요]deulmyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기들기[들기]deulgi

How 들다 changes

들다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 드는, 듭니다, 드세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 들면, 들. Everything else is regular: 들어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

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

Questions

How do you say “lift” in Korean?

“To lift” is 들다 (deulda), pronounced [들다]. In a sentence: 이 가방 좀 들어 주세요. — Please hold this bag for me.

What is the past tense of 들다?

들었어요 (deureosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 들다 (“to lift”). Formal: 들었습니다; casual: 들었어.

How do you say 들다 politely?

Everyday polite: 들어요 (deureoyo). Formal: 듭니다. Casual, with close friends: 들어.

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

들고 싶어요 (deulgo sipeoyo), pronounced [들고 시퍼요].

Is 들다 irregular?

No. 들다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 드는, 듭니다, 드세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 들면, 들. Everything else is regular: 들어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

More ㄹ-stem words like 들다

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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