Verbs · Regular

돌아오다 conjugation

to come back; to return · doraoda · sounds like [도라오다]

Short answer: “To come back” in Korean is 돌아오다 (doraoda), which also means to return. Polite present: 돌아와요 (dorawayo); past: 돌아왔어요 (dorawasseoyo); future: 돌아올 거예요. It is regular.

Present돌아와요[도라와요] · dorawayo
Past돌아왔어요[도라와써요] · dorawasseoyo
Future돌아올 거예요[도라올 꺼예요] · doraol geoyeyo
Negative안 돌아와요[안 도라와요] · an dorawayo

돌아오다 in sentences

언제 돌아와요?When are you coming back?
여행에서 어제 돌아왔어요.I came back from my trip yesterday.

All forms of 돌아오다

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	돌아와요	[도라와요]	dorawayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	돌아옵니다	[도라옴니다]	doraomnida
casual-아/어	돌아와	[도라와]	dorawa
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	돌아온다	[도라온다]	doraonda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	돌아옵니까?	[도라옴니까]	doraomnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	돌아오고 있어요	[도라오고 이써요]	doraogo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	돌아왔어요	[도라와써요]	dorawasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	돌아왔습니다	[도라왇씀니다]	dorawatseumnida
casual-았/었어	돌아왔어	[도라와써]	dorawasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	돌아왔다	[도라왇따]	dorawatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	돌아올 거예요	[도라올 꺼예요]	doraol geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	돌아올 겁니다	[도라올 껌니다]	doraol geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	돌아올 거야	[도라올 꺼야]	doraol geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	돌아오겠습니다	[도라오겓씀니다]	doraogetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 돌아와요	[안 도라와요]	an dorawayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 돌아왔어요	[안 도라와써요]	an dorawasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	돌아오지 않아요	[도라오지 아나요]	doraoji anayo
cannot못 …	못 돌아와요	[몯 또라와요]	mot dorawayo

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	돌아오세요	[도라오세요]	doraoseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	돌아오셨어요	[도라오셔써요]	doraosyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	돌아오십니다	[도라오심니다]	doraosimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	돌아오세요	[도라오세요]	doraoseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	돌아와 주세요	[도라와 주세요]	dorawa juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	돌아오지 마세요	[도라오지 마세요]	doraoji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	돌아옵시다	[도라옵씨다]	doraopsida
let’s … (casual)-자	돌아오자	[도라오자]	doraoja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	돌아와라	[도라와라]	dorawara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	돌아오고	[도라오고]	doraogo
… so / and then-아/어서	돌아와서	[도라와서]	dorawaseo
if …-(으)면	돌아오면	[도라오면]	doraomyeon
… but-지만	돌아오지만	[도라오지만]	doraojiman
because …-(으)니까	돌아오니까	[도라오니까]	doraonikka
… and / but (background)-는데	돌아오는데	[도라오는데]	doraoneunde
even if …-아/어도	돌아와도	[도라와도]	dorawado
while …-(으)면서	돌아오면서	[도라오면서]	doraomyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	돌아오려고	[도라오려고]	doraoryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	돌아오러	[도라오러]	doraoreo
before …-기 전에	돌아오기 전에	[도라오기 저네]	doraogi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	돌아온 후에	[도라온 후에]	doraon 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	돌아오는	[도라오는]	doraoneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	돌아온	[도라온]	doraon
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	돌아올	[도라올]	doraol

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	돌아오고 싶어요	[도라오고 시퍼요]	doraogo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	돌아올 수 있어요	[도라올 쑤 이써요]	doraol su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	돌아올 수 없어요	[도라올 쑤 업써요]	doraol su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	돌아와야 해요	[도라와야 해요]	dorawaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	돌아와도 돼요	[도라와도 돼요]	dorawado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	돌아오면 안 돼요	[도라오면 안 돼요]	doraomyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	돌아오기	[도라오기]	doraogi

How 돌아오다 changes

돌아오 ends in a vowel, so 돌아오 + 아/어 becomes 돌아와 → 돌아와요, 돌아왔어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 돌아오면, 돌아올. 돌아오다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “come back” in Korean?

“To come back” is 돌아오다 (doraoda), pronounced [도라오다]. In a sentence: 언제 돌아와요? — When are you coming back?

What is the past tense of 돌아오다?

돌아왔어요 (dorawasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 돌아오다 (“to come back”). Formal: 돌아왔습니다; casual: 돌아왔어.

How do you say 돌아오다 politely?

Everyday polite: 돌아와요 (dorawayo). Formal: 돌아옵니다. Casual, with close friends: 돌아와.

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

돌아오고 싶어요 (doraogo sipeoyo), pronounced [도라오고 시퍼요].

Is 돌아오다 irregular?

No. 돌아오 ends in a vowel, so 돌아오 + 아/어 becomes 돌아와 → 돌아와요, 돌아왔어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 돌아오면, 돌아올. 돌아오다 is regular.

More regular words like 돌아오다

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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