Verbs · Regular

잃다 conjugation

to lose · ilta · sounds like [일타]

Short answer: “To lose” in Korean is 잃다 (ilta). Polite present: 잃어요 (ireoyo); past: 잃었어요 (ireosseoyo); future: 잃을 거예요. It is regular.

Present잃어요[이러요] · ireoyo
Past잃었어요[이러써요] · ireosseoyo
Future잃을 거예요[이를 꺼예요] · ireul geoyeyo
Negative안 잃어요[안 이러요] · an ireoyo

잃다 in sentences

길을 잃었어요.I got lost.
그 사고로 많은 것을 잃었어요.I lost a lot in that accident.

All forms of 잃다

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	잃어요	[이러요]	ireoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	잃습니다	[일씀니다]	ilseumnida
casual-아/어	잃어	[이러]	ireo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	잃는다	[일른다]	illeunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	잃습니까?	[일씀니까]	ilseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	잃고 있어요	[일코 이써요]	ilko isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	잃었어요	[이러써요]	ireosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	잃었습니다	[이럳씀니다]	ireotseumnida
casual-았/었어	잃었어	[이러써]	ireosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	잃었다	[이럳따]	ireotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	잃을 거예요	[이를 꺼예요]	ireul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	잃을 겁니다	[이를 껌니다]	ireul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	잃을 거야	[이를 꺼야]	ireul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	잃겠습니다	[일켇씀니다]	ilketseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 잃어요	[안 이러요]	an ireoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 잃었어요	[안 이러써요]	an ireosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	잃지 않아요	[일치 아나요]	ilchi anayo
cannot못 …	못 잃어요	[몯 이러요]	mot ireoyo

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	잃으세요	[이르세요]	ireuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	잃으셨어요	[이르셔써요]	ireusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	잃으십니다	[이르심니다]	ireusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	잃고	[일코]	ilko
… so / and then-아/어서	잃어서	[이러서]	ireoseo
if …-(으)면	잃으면	[이르면]	ireumyeon
… but-지만	잃지만	[일치만]	ilchiman
because …-(으)니까	잃으니까	[이르니까]	ireunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	잃는데	[일른데]	illeunde
even if …-아/어도	잃어도	[이러도]	ireodo
while …-(으)면서	잃으면서	[이르면서]	ireumyeonseo
before …-기 전에	잃기 전에	[일키 저네]	ilki jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	잃은 후에	[이른 후에]	ireun 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	잃는	[일른]	illeun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	잃은	[이른]	ireun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	잃을	[이를]	ireul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	잃고 싶어요	[일코 시퍼요]	ilko sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	잃을 수 있어요	[이를 쑤 이써요]	ireul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	잃을 수 없어요	[이를 쑤 업써요]	ireul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	잃어야 해요	[이러야 해요]	ireoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	잃어도 돼요	[이러도 돼요]	ireodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	잃으면 안 돼요	[이르면 안 돼요]	ireumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	잃기	[일키]	ilki

How 잃다 changes

잃 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 잃어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 잃으면, 잃을. 잃다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “lose” in Korean?

“To lose” is 잃다 (ilta), pronounced [일타]. In a sentence: 길을 잃었어요. — I got lost.

What is the past tense of 잃다?

잃었어요 (ireosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 잃다 (“to lose”). Formal: 잃었습니다; casual: 잃었어.

How do you say 잃다 politely?

Everyday polite: 잃어요 (ireoyo). Formal: 잃습니다. Casual, with close friends: 잃어.

Is 잃다 irregular?

No. 잃 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 잃어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 잃으면, 잃을. 잃다 is regular.

More regular words like 잃다

Look up another word

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