Verbs · Regular

돌아가다 conjugation

to go back; to return · doragada · sounds like [도라가다]

Short answer: “To go back” in Korean is 돌아가다 (doragada), which also means to return. Polite present: 돌아가요 (doragayo); past: 돌아갔어요 (doragasseoyo); future: 돌아갈 거예요. It is regular.

Present돌아가요[도라가요] · doragayo
Past돌아갔어요[도라가써요] · doragasseoyo
Future돌아갈 거예요[도라갈 꺼예요] · doragal geoyeyo
Negative안 돌아가요[안 도라가요] · an doragayo

돌아가다 in sentences

고향에 돌아갈 거예요.I’m going back to my hometown.
오늘은 일찍 돌아가요.I’m going back early today.

All forms of 돌아가다

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	돌아가요	[도라가요]	doragayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	돌아갑니다	[도라감니다]	doragamnida
casual-아/어	돌아가	[도라가]	doraga
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	돌아간다	[도라간다]	doraganda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	돌아갑니까?	[도라감니까]	doragamnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	돌아가고 있어요	[도라가고 이써요]	doragago isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	돌아갔어요	[도라가써요]	doragasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	돌아갔습니다	[도라갇씀니다]	doragatseumnida
casual-았/었어	돌아갔어	[도라가써]	doragasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	돌아갔다	[도라갇따]	doragatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	돌아갈 거예요	[도라갈 꺼예요]	doragal geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	돌아갈 겁니다	[도라갈 껌니다]	doragal geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	돌아갈 거야	[도라갈 꺼야]	doragal geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	돌아가겠습니다	[도라가겓씀니다]	doragagetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 돌아가요	[안 도라가요]	an doragayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 돌아갔어요	[안 도라가써요]	an doragasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	돌아가지 않아요	[도라가지 아나요]	doragaji anayo
cannot못 …	못 돌아가요	[몯 또라가요]	mot doragayo

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	돌아가세요	[도라가세요]	doragaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	돌아가셨어요	[도라가셔써요]	doragasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	돌아가십니다	[도라가심니다]	doragasimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	돌아가세요	[도라가세요]	doragaseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	돌아가 주세요	[도라가 주세요]	doraga juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	돌아가지 마세요	[도라가지 마세요]	doragaji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	돌아갑시다	[도라갑씨다]	doragapsida
let’s … (casual)-자	돌아가자	[도라가자]	doragaja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	돌아가라	[도라가라]	doragara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	돌아가고	[도라가고]	doragago
… so / and then-아/어서	돌아가서	[도라가서]	doragaseo
if …-(으)면	돌아가면	[도라가면]	doragamyeon
… but-지만	돌아가지만	[도라가지만]	doragajiman
because …-(으)니까	돌아가니까	[도라가니까]	doraganikka
… and / but (background)-는데	돌아가는데	[도라가는데]	doraganeunde
even if …-아/어도	돌아가도	[도라가도]	doragado
while …-(으)면서	돌아가면서	[도라가면서]	doragamyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	돌아가려고	[도라가려고]	doragaryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	돌아가러	[도라가러]	doragareo
before …-기 전에	돌아가기 전에	[도라가기 저네]	doragagi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	돌아간 후에	[도라간 후에]	doragan 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	돌아가는	[도라가는]	doraganeun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	돌아간	[도라간]	doragan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	돌아갈	[도라갈]	doragal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	돌아가고 싶어요	[도라가고 시퍼요]	doragago sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	돌아갈 수 있어요	[도라갈 쑤 이써요]	doragal su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	돌아갈 수 없어요	[도라갈 쑤 업써요]	doragal su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	돌아가야 해요	[도라가야 해요]	doragaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	돌아가도 돼요	[도라가도 돼요]	doragado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	돌아가면 안 돼요	[도라가면 안 돼요]	doragamyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	돌아가기	[도라가기]	doragagi

How 돌아가다 changes

돌아가 ends in a vowel, so 돌아가 + 아/어 becomes 돌아가 → 돌아가요, 돌아갔어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 돌아가면, 돌아갈. 돌아가다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “go back” in Korean?

“To go back” is 돌아가다 (doragada), pronounced [도라가다]. In a sentence: 고향에 돌아갈 거예요. — I’m going back to my hometown.

What is the past tense of 돌아가다?

돌아갔어요 (doragasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 돌아가다 (“to go back”). Formal: 돌아갔습니다; casual: 돌아갔어.

How do you say 돌아가다 politely?

Everyday polite: 돌아가요 (doragayo). Formal: 돌아갑니다. Casual, with close friends: 돌아가.

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

돌아가고 싶어요 (doragago sipeoyo), pronounced [도라가고 시퍼요].

Is 돌아가다 irregular?

No. 돌아가 ends in a vowel, so 돌아가 + 아/어 becomes 돌아가 → 돌아가요, 돌아갔어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 돌아가면, 돌아갈. 돌아가다 is regular.

More regular words like 돌아가다

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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