KoreanSum

Verbs · 하다 word

일하다 conjugation

to work · ilhada · sounds like [일하다]

Short answer: “To work” in Korean is 일하다 (ilhada). Polite present: 일해요 (ilhaeyo); past: 일했어요 (ilhaesseoyo); future: 일할 거예요. It is a 하다 verb: 하 + 아/어 always becomes 해.

Note: with noun + 하다 verbs, 안 and 못 go before 하다 — 일 안 해요, not 안 일해요.

일하다 in sentences

All forms of 일하다

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/어요일해요[일해요]ilhaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다일합니다[일함니다]ilhamnida
casual-아/어일해[일해]ilhae
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다일한다[일한다]ilhanda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?일합니까?[일함니까]ilhamnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요일하고 있어요[일하고 이써요]ilhago isseoyo
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요일했어요[일해써요]ilhaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다일했습니다[일핻씀니다]ilhaetseumnida
casual-았/었어일했어[일해써]ilhaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다일했다[일핻따]ilhaetda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요일할 거예요[일할 꺼예요]ilhal geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다일할 겁니다[일할 껌니다]ilhal geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야일할 거야[일할 꺼야]ilhal geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다일하겠습니다[일하겓씀니다]ilhagetseumnida
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …일 안 해요[일 안 해요]il an haeyo
did not안 …았/었어요일 안 했어요[일 안 해써요]il an haesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요일하지 않아요[일하지 아나요]ilhaji anayo
cannot못 …일 못 해요[일 모태요]il mot haeyo
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)세요일하세요[일하세요]ilhaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요일하셨어요[일하셔써요]ilhasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다일하십니다[일하심니다]ilhasimnida
Requests
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
please …-(으)세요일하세요[일하세요]ilhaseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요일해 주세요[일해 주세요]ilhae juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요일하지 마세요[일하지 마세요]ilhaji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다일합시다[일합씨다]ilhapsida
let’s … (casual)-자일하자[일하자]ilhaja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라일해라[일해라]ilhaera
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고일하고[일하고]ilhago
… so / and then-아/어서일해서[일해서]ilhaeseo
if …-(으)면일하면[일하면]ilhamyeon
… but-지만일하지만[일하지만]ilhajiman
because …-(으)니까일하니까[일하니까]ilhanikka
… and / but (background)-는데일하는데[일하는데]ilhaneunde
even if …-아/어도일해도[일해도]ilhaedo
while …-(으)면서일하면서[일하면서]ilhamyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고일하려고[일하려고]ilharyeogo
(go) to …-(으)러일하러[일하러]ilhareo
before …-기 전에일하기 전에[일하기 저네]ilhagi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에일한 후에[일한 후에]ilhan hue
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that) … now-는일하는[일하는]ilhaneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ일한[일한]ilhan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ일할[일할]ilhal
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
I want to …-고 싶어요일하고 싶어요[일하고 시퍼요]ilhago sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요일할 수 있어요[일할 쑤 이써요]ilhal su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요일할 수 없어요[일할 쑤 업써요]ilhal su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요일해야 해요[일해야 해요]ilhaeya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요일해도 돼요[일해도 돼요]ilhaedo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요일하면 안 돼요[일하면 안 돼요]ilhamyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기일하기[일하기]ilhagi

How 일하다 changes

Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 일해요, 일했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 일합니다, 일하면.

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

Questions

How do you say “work” in Korean?

“To work” is 일하다 (ilhada), pronounced [일하다]. In a sentence: 저는 회사에서 일해요. — I work at a company.

What is the past tense of 일하다?

일했어요 (ilhaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 일하다 (“to work”). Formal: 일했습니다; casual: 일했어.

How do you say 일하다 politely?

Everyday polite: 일해요 (ilhaeyo). Formal: 일합니다. Casual, with close friends: 일해.

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

일하고 싶어요 (ilhago sipeoyo), pronounced [일하고 시퍼요].

Is 일하다 irregular?

No. Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 일해요, 일했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 일합니다, 일하면.

More 하다 words like 일하다

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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