KoreanSum

Verbs · ㅂ irregular

돕다 conjugation

to help · dopda · sounds like [돕따]

Short answer: “To help” in Korean is 돕다 (dopda). Polite present: 도와요 (dowayo); past: 도왔어요 (dowasseoyo); future: 도울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular verb.

돕다 in sentences

All forms of 돕다

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/어요도와요[도와요]dowayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다돕습니다[돕씀니다]dopseumnida
casual-아/어도와[도와]dowa
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다돕는다[돔는다]domneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?돕습니까?[돕씀니까]dopseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요돕고 있어요[돕꼬 이써요]dopgo isseoyo
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요도왔어요[도와써요]dowasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다도왔습니다[도왇씀니다]dowatseumnida
casual-았/었어도왔어[도와써]dowasseo
plain (written)-았/었다도왔다[도왇따]dowatda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요도울 거예요[도울 꺼예요]doul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다도울 겁니다[도울 껌니다]doul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야도울 거야[도울 꺼야]doul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다돕겠습니다[돕껟씀니다]dopgetseumnida
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …안 도와요[안 도와요]an dowayo
did not안 …았/었어요안 도왔어요[안 도와써요]an dowasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요돕지 않아요[돕찌 아나요]dopji anayo
cannot못 …못 도와요[몯 또와요]mot dowayo
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)세요도우세요[도우세요]douseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요도우셨어요[도우셔써요]dousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다도우십니다[도우심니다]dousimnida
Requests
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
please …-(으)세요도우세요[도우세요]douseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요도와 주세요[도와 주세요]dowa juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요돕지 마세요[돕찌 마세요]dopji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다도웁시다[도웁씨다]doupsida
let’s … (casual)-자돕자[돕짜]dopja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라도와라[도와라]dowara
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고돕고[돕꼬]dopgo
… so / and then-아/어서도와서[도와서]dowaseo
if …-(으)면도우면[도우면]doumyeon
… but-지만돕지만[돕찌만]dopjiman
because …-(으)니까도우니까[도우니까]dounikka
… and / but (background)-는데돕는데[돔는데]domneunde
even if …-아/어도도와도[도와도]dowado
while …-(으)면서도우면서[도우면서]doumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고도우려고[도우려고]douryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러도우러[도우러]doureo
before …-기 전에돕기 전에[돕끼 저네]dopgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에도운 후에[도운 후에]doun hue
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that) … now-는돕는[돔는]domneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ도운[도운]doun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ도울[도울]doul
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
I want to …-고 싶어요돕고 싶어요[돕꼬 시퍼요]dopgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요도울 수 있어요[도울 쑤 이써요]doul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요도울 수 없어요[도울 쑤 업써요]doul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요도와야 해요[도와야 해요]dowaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요도와도 돼요[도와도 돼요]dowado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요도우면 안 돼요[도우면 안 돼요]doumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기돕기[돕끼]dopgi

How 돕다 changes

ㅂ irregular, 오 type: only 돕다 and 곱다 turn ㅂ into 오 before 아 → 도와요, 도왔어요. Before -(으) endings it is 우: 도우면, 도울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 돕습니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “help” in Korean?

“To help” is 돕다 (dopda), pronounced [돕따]. In a sentence: 제가 도와 드릴게요. — Let me help you.

What is the past tense of 돕다?

도왔어요 (dowasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 돕다 (“to help”). Formal: 도왔습니다; casual: 도왔어.

How do you say 돕다 politely?

Everyday polite: 도와요 (dowayo). Formal: 돕습니다. Casual, with close friends: 도와.

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

돕고 싶어요 (dopgo sipeoyo), pronounced [돕꼬 시퍼요].

Is 돕다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular, 오 type: only 돕다 and 곱다 turn ㅂ into 오 before 아 → 도와요, 도왔어요. Before -(으) endings it is 우: 도우면, 도울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 돕습니다.

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