Verbs · ㅂ irregular

굽다 conjugation

to bake; to grill; to roast · gupda · sounds like [굽따]

Short answer: “To bake” in Korean is 굽다 (gupda), which also means to grill; to roast. Polite present: 구워요 (guwoyo); past: 구웠어요 (guwosseoyo); future: 구울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular verb.

Present구워요[구워요] · guwoyo
Past구웠어요[구워써요] · guwosseoyo
Future구울 거예요[구울 꺼예요] · guul geoyeyo
Negative안 구워요[안 구워요] · an guwoyo

굽다 in sentences

고기를 구워요.I’m grilling the meat.
어제 빵을 구웠어요.I baked bread yesterday.

All forms of 굽다

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	구워요	[구워요]	guwoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	굽습니다	[굽씀니다]	gupseumnida
casual-아/어	구워	[구워]	guwo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	굽는다	[굼는다]	gumneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	굽습니까?	[굽씀니까]	gupseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	굽고 있어요	[굽꼬 이써요]	gupgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	구웠어요	[구워써요]	guwosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	구웠습니다	[구웓씀니다]	guwotseumnida
casual-았/었어	구웠어	[구워써]	guwosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	구웠다	[구웓따]	guwotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	구울 거예요	[구울 꺼예요]	guul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	구울 겁니다	[구울 껌니다]	guul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	구울 거야	[구울 꺼야]	guul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	굽겠습니다	[굽껟씀니다]	gupgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 구워요	[안 구워요]	an guwoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 구웠어요	[안 구워써요]	an guwosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	굽지 않아요	[굽찌 아나요]	gupji anayo
cannot못 …	못 구워요	[몯 꾸워요]	mot guwoyo

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	구우세요	[구우세요]	guuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	구우셨어요	[구우셔써요]	guusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	구우십니다	[구우심니다]	guusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	구우세요	[구우세요]	guuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	구워 주세요	[구워 주세요]	guwo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	굽지 마세요	[굽찌 마세요]	gupji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	구웁시다	[구웁씨다]	guupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	굽자	[굽짜]	gupja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	구워라	[구워라]	guwora

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	굽고	[굽꼬]	gupgo
… so / and then-아/어서	구워서	[구워서]	guwoseo
if …-(으)면	구우면	[구우면]	guumyeon
… but-지만	굽지만	[굽찌만]	gupjiman
because …-(으)니까	구우니까	[구우니까]	guunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	굽는데	[굼는데]	gumneunde
even if …-아/어도	구워도	[구워도]	guwodo
while …-(으)면서	구우면서	[구우면서]	guumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	구우려고	[구우려고]	guuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	구우러	[구우러]	guureo
before …-기 전에	굽기 전에	[굽끼 저네]	gupgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	구운 후에	[구운 후에]	guun 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	굽는	[굼는]	gumneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	구운	[구운]	guun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	구울	[구울]	guul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	굽고 싶어요	[굽꼬 시퍼요]	gupgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	구울 수 있어요	[구울 쑤 이써요]	guul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	구울 수 없어요	[구울 쑤 업써요]	guul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	구워야 해요	[구워야 해요]	guwoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	구워도 돼요	[구워도 돼요]	guwodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	구우면 안 돼요	[구우면 안 돼요]	guumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	굽기	[굽끼]	gupgi

How 굽다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 굽 + 어 → 구워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 구우면, 구울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 굽습니다, 굽고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “bake” in Korean?

“To bake” is 굽다 (gupda), pronounced [굽따]. In a sentence: 고기를 구워요. — I’m grilling the meat.

What is the past tense of 굽다?

구웠어요 (guwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 굽다 (“to bake”). Formal: 구웠습니다; casual: 구웠어.

How do you say 굽다 politely?

Everyday polite: 구워요 (guwoyo). Formal: 굽습니다. Casual, with close friends: 구워.

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

굽고 싶어요 (gupgo sipeoyo), pronounced [굽꼬 시퍼요].

Is 굽다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 굽 + 어 → 구워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 구우면, 구울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 굽습니다, 굽고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 굽다

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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