KoreanSum

Verbs · 르 irregular

자르다 conjugation

to cut · jareuda · sounds like [자르다]

Short answer: “To cut” in Korean is 자르다 (jareuda). Polite present: 잘라요 (jallayo); past: 잘랐어요 (jallasseoyo); future: 자를 거예요. It is a 르 irregular verb.

자르다 in sentences

All forms of 자르다

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/어요잘라요[잘라요]jallayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다자릅니다[자름니다]jareumnida
casual-아/어잘라[잘라]jalla
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다자른다[자른다]jareunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?자릅니까?[자름니까]jareumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요자르고 있어요[자르고 이써요]jareugo isseoyo
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요잘랐어요[잘라써요]jallasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다잘랐습니다[잘랃씀니다]jallatseumnida
casual-았/었어잘랐어[잘라써]jallasseo
plain (written)-았/었다잘랐다[잘랃따]jallatda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요자를 거예요[자를 꺼예요]jareul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다자를 겁니다[자를 껌니다]jareul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야자를 거야[자를 꺼야]jareul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다자르겠습니다[자르겓씀니다]jareugetseumnida
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …안 잘라요[안 잘라요]an jallayo
did not안 …았/었어요안 잘랐어요[안 잘라써요]an jallasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요자르지 않아요[자르지 아나요]jareuji anayo
cannot못 …못 잘라요[몯 짤라요]mot jallayo
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)세요자르세요[자르세요]jareuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요자르셨어요[자르셔써요]jareusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다자르십니다[자르심니다]jareusimnida
Requests
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
please …-(으)세요자르세요[자르세요]jareuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요잘라 주세요[잘라 주세요]jalla juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요자르지 마세요[자르지 마세요]jareuji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다자릅시다[자릅씨다]jareupsida
let’s … (casual)-자자르자[자르자]jareuja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라잘라라[잘라라]jallara
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고자르고[자르고]jareugo
… so / and then-아/어서잘라서[잘라서]jallaseo
if …-(으)면자르면[자르면]jareumyeon
… but-지만자르지만[자르지만]jareujiman
because …-(으)니까자르니까[자르니까]jareunikka
… and / but (background)-는데자르는데[자르는데]jareuneunde
even if …-아/어도잘라도[잘라도]jallado
while …-(으)면서자르면서[자르면서]jareumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고자르려고[자르려고]jareuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러자르러[자르러]jareureo
before …-기 전에자르기 전에[자르기 저네]jareugi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에자른 후에[자른 후에]jareun hue
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that) … now-는자르는[자르는]jareuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ자른[자른]jareun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ자를[자를]jareul
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
I want to …-고 싶어요자르고 싶어요[자르고 시퍼요]jareugo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요자를 수 있어요[자를 쑤 이써요]jareul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요자를 수 없어요[자를 쑤 업써요]jareul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요잘라야 해요[잘라야 해요]jallaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요잘라도 돼요[잘라도 돼요]jallado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요자르면 안 돼요[자르면 안 돼요]jareumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기자르기[자르기]jareugi

How 자르다 changes

르 irregular: before 아/어, 르 loses its vowel and an extra ㄹ appears → 잘라요, 잘랐어요. Other endings are regular: 자르면, 자릅니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “cut” in Korean?

“To cut” is 자르다 (jareuda), pronounced [자르다]. In a sentence: 머리를 잘랐어요. — I had my hair cut.

What is the past tense of 자르다?

잘랐어요 (jallasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 자르다 (“to cut”). Formal: 잘랐습니다; casual: 잘랐어.

How do you say 자르다 politely?

Everyday polite: 잘라요 (jallayo). Formal: 자릅니다. Casual, with close friends: 잘라.

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

자르고 싶어요 (jareugo sipeoyo), pronounced [자르고 시퍼요].

Is 자르다 irregular?

Yes — 르 irregular: before 아/어, 르 loses its vowel and an extra ㄹ appears → 잘라요, 잘랐어요. Other endings are regular: 자르면, 자릅니다.

More 르 irregular words like 자르다

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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