Verbs · Regular

잡다 conjugation

to catch; to hold; to grab · japda · sounds like [잡따]

Short answer: “To catch” in Korean is 잡다 (japda), which also means to hold; to grab. Polite present: 잡아요 (jabayo); past: 잡았어요 (jabasseoyo); future: 잡을 거예요. It is regular.

Present잡아요[자바요] · jabayo
Past잡았어요[자바써요] · jabasseoyo
Future잡을 거예요[자블 꺼예요] · jabeul geoyeyo
Negative안 잡아요[안 자바요] · an jabayo

잡다 in sentences

택시를 잡았어요.I caught a taxi.
제 손을 잡으세요.Hold my hand.

All forms of 잡다

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	잡아요	[자바요]	jabayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	잡습니다	[잡씀니다]	japseumnida
casual-아/어	잡아	[자바]	jaba
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	잡는다	[잠는다]	jamneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	잡습니까?	[잡씀니까]	japseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	잡고 있어요	[잡꼬 이써요]	japgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	잡았어요	[자바써요]	jabasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	잡았습니다	[자받씀니다]	jabatseumnida
casual-았/었어	잡았어	[자바써]	jabasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	잡았다	[자받따]	jabatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	잡을 거예요	[자블 꺼예요]	jabeul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	잡을 겁니다	[자블 껌니다]	jabeul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	잡을 거야	[자블 꺼야]	jabeul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	잡겠습니다	[잡껟씀니다]	japgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 잡아요	[안 자바요]	an jabayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 잡았어요	[안 자바써요]	an jabasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	잡지 않아요	[잡찌 아나요]	japji anayo
cannot못 …	못 잡아요	[몯 짜바요]	mot jabayo

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	잡으세요	[자브세요]	jabeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	잡으셨어요	[자브셔써요]	jabeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	잡으십니다	[자브심니다]	jabeusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	잡으세요	[자브세요]	jabeuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	잡아 주세요	[자바 주세요]	jaba juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	잡지 마세요	[잡찌 마세요]	japji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	잡읍시다	[자븝씨다]	jabeupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	잡자	[잡짜]	japja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	잡아라	[자바라]	jabara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	잡고	[잡꼬]	japgo
… so / and then-아/어서	잡아서	[자바서]	jabaseo
if …-(으)면	잡으면	[자브면]	jabeumyeon
… but-지만	잡지만	[잡찌만]	japjiman
because …-(으)니까	잡으니까	[자브니까]	jabeunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	잡는데	[잠는데]	jamneunde
even if …-아/어도	잡아도	[자바도]	jabado
while …-(으)면서	잡으면서	[자브면서]	jabeumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	잡으려고	[자브려고]	jabeuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	잡으러	[자브러]	jabeureo
before …-기 전에	잡기 전에	[잡끼 저네]	japgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	잡은 후에	[자븐 후에]	jabeun 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	잡는	[잠는]	jamneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	잡은	[자븐]	jabeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	잡을	[자블]	jabeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	잡고 싶어요	[잡꼬 시퍼요]	japgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	잡을 수 있어요	[자블 쑤 이써요]	jabeul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	잡을 수 없어요	[자블 쑤 업써요]	jabeul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	잡아야 해요	[자바야 해요]	jabaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	잡아도 돼요	[자바도 돼요]	jabado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	잡으면 안 돼요	[자브면 안 돼요]	jabeumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	잡기	[잡끼]	japgi

How 잡다 changes

잡 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 잡아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 잡으면, 잡을. 잡다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “catch” in Korean?

“To catch” is 잡다 (japda), pronounced [잡따]. In a sentence: 택시를 잡았어요. — I caught a taxi.

What is the past tense of 잡다?

잡았어요 (jabasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 잡다 (“to catch”). Formal: 잡았습니다; casual: 잡았어.

How do you say 잡다 politely?

Everyday polite: 잡아요 (jabayo). Formal: 잡습니다. Casual, with close friends: 잡아.

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

잡고 싶어요 (japgo sipeoyo), pronounced [잡꼬 시퍼요].

Is 잡다 irregular?

No. 잡 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 잡아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 잡으면, 잡을. 잡다 is regular.

More regular words like 잡다

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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