Verbs · Regular

갚다 conjugation

to pay back · gapda · sounds like [갑따]

Short answer: “To pay back” in Korean is 갚다 (gapda). Polite present: 갚아요 (gapayo); past: 갚았어요 (gapasseoyo); future: 갚을 거예요. It is regular.

Present갚아요[가파요] · gapayo
Past갚았어요[가파써요] · gapasseoyo
Future갚을 거예요[가플 꺼예요] · gapeul geoyeyo
Negative안 갚아요[안 가파요] · an gapayo

갚다 in sentences

다음 주에 돈을 갚을 거예요.I’ll pay the money back next week.
빌린 돈을 다 갚았어요.I paid back all the money I borrowed.

All forms of 갚다

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	갚아요	[가파요]	gapayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	갚습니다	[갑씀니다]	gapseumnida
casual-아/어	갚아	[가파]	gapa
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	갚는다	[감는다]	gamneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	갚습니까?	[갑씀니까]	gapseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	갚고 있어요	[갑꼬 이써요]	gapgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	갚았어요	[가파써요]	gapasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	갚았습니다	[가팓씀니다]	gapatseumnida
casual-았/었어	갚았어	[가파써]	gapasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	갚았다	[가팓따]	gapatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	갚을 거예요	[가플 꺼예요]	gapeul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	갚을 겁니다	[가플 껌니다]	gapeul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	갚을 거야	[가플 꺼야]	gapeul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	갚겠습니다	[갑껟씀니다]	gapgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 갚아요	[안 가파요]	an gapayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 갚았어요	[안 가파써요]	an gapasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	갚지 않아요	[갑찌 아나요]	gapji anayo
cannot못 …	못 갚아요	[몯 까파요]	mot gapayo

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	갚으세요	[가프세요]	gapeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	갚으셨어요	[가프셔써요]	gapeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	갚으십니다	[가프심니다]	gapeusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	갚으세요	[가프세요]	gapeuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	갚아 주세요	[가파 주세요]	gapa juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	갚지 마세요	[갑찌 마세요]	gapji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	갚읍시다	[가픕씨다]	gapeupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	갚자	[갑짜]	gapja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	갚아라	[가파라]	gapara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	갚고	[갑꼬]	gapgo
… so / and then-아/어서	갚아서	[가파서]	gapaseo
if …-(으)면	갚으면	[가프면]	gapeumyeon
… but-지만	갚지만	[갑찌만]	gapjiman
because …-(으)니까	갚으니까	[가프니까]	gapeunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	갚는데	[감는데]	gamneunde
even if …-아/어도	갚아도	[가파도]	gapado
while …-(으)면서	갚으면서	[가프면서]	gapeumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	갚으려고	[가프려고]	gapeuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	갚으러	[가프러]	gapeureo
before …-기 전에	갚기 전에	[갑끼 저네]	gapgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	갚은 후에	[가픈 후에]	gapeun 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	갚는	[감는]	gamneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	갚은	[가픈]	gapeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	갚을	[가플]	gapeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	갚고 싶어요	[갑꼬 시퍼요]	gapgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	갚을 수 있어요	[가플 쑤 이써요]	gapeul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	갚을 수 없어요	[가플 쑤 업써요]	gapeul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	갚아야 해요	[가파야 해요]	gapaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	갚아도 돼요	[가파도 돼요]	gapado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	갚으면 안 돼요	[가프면 안 돼요]	gapeumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	갚기	[갑끼]	gapgi

How 갚다 changes

갚 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 갚아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 갚으면, 갚을. 갚다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “pay back” in Korean?

“To pay back” is 갚다 (gapda), pronounced [갑따]. In a sentence: 다음 주에 돈을 갚을 거예요. — I’ll pay the money back next week.

What is the past tense of 갚다?

갚았어요 (gapasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 갚다 (“to pay back”). Formal: 갚았습니다; casual: 갚았어.

How do you say 갚다 politely?

Everyday polite: 갚아요 (gapayo). Formal: 갚습니다. Casual, with close friends: 갚아.

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

갚고 싶어요 (gapgo sipeoyo), pronounced [갑꼬 시퍼요].

Is 갚다 irregular?

No. 갚 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 갚아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 갚으면, 갚을. 갚다 is regular.

More regular words like 갚다

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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