Verbs · Regular

죽다 conjugation

to die · jukda · sounds like [죽따]

Short answer: “To die” in Korean is 죽다 (jukda). Polite present: 죽어요 (jugeoyo); past: 죽었어요 (jugeosseoyo); future: 죽을 거예요. It is regular.

Present죽어요[주거요] · jugeoyo
Past죽었어요[주거써요] · jugeosseoyo
Future죽을 거예요[주글 꺼예요] · jugeul geoyeyo
Negative안 죽어요[안 주거요] · an jugeoyo

Opposite: 살다 — to live

Respect form: 돌아가시다 — “to pass away” said about someone you respect

죽다 in sentences

물을 안 주면 식물이 죽어요.Plants die if you don’t water them.
화분의 꽃이 죽었어요.The flowers in the pot died.

All forms of 죽다

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	죽어요	[주거요]	jugeoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	죽습니다	[죽씀니다]	jukseumnida
casual-아/어	죽어	[주거]	jugeo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	죽는다	[중는다]	jungneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	죽습니까?	[죽씀니까]	jukseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	죽고 있어요	[죽꼬 이써요]	jukgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	죽었어요	[주거써요]	jugeosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	죽었습니다	[주걷씀니다]	jugeotseumnida
casual-았/었어	죽었어	[주거써]	jugeosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	죽었다	[주걷따]	jugeotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	죽을 거예요	[주글 꺼예요]	jugeul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	죽을 겁니다	[주글 껌니다]	jugeul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	죽을 거야	[주글 꺼야]	jugeul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	죽겠습니다	[죽껟씀니다]	jukgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 죽어요	[안 주거요]	an jugeoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 죽었어요	[안 주거써요]	an jugeosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	죽지 않아요	[죽찌 아나요]	jukji anayo
cannot못 …	못 죽어요	[몯 쭈거요]	mot jugeoyo

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	죽으세요	[주그세요]	jugeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	죽으셨어요	[주그셔써요]	jugeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	죽으십니다	[주그심니다]	jugeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	죽고	[죽꼬]	jukgo
… so / and then-아/어서	죽어서	[주거서]	jugeoseo
if …-(으)면	죽으면	[주그면]	jugeumyeon
… but-지만	죽지만	[죽찌만]	jukjiman
because …-(으)니까	죽으니까	[주그니까]	jugeunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	죽는데	[중는데]	jungneunde
even if …-아/어도	죽어도	[주거도]	jugeodo
while …-(으)면서	죽으면서	[주그면서]	jugeumyeonseo
before …-기 전에	죽기 전에	[죽끼 저네]	jukgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	죽은 후에	[주근 후에]	jugeun 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	죽는	[중는]	jungneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	죽은	[주근]	jugeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	죽을	[주글]	jugeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	죽고 싶어요	[죽꼬 시퍼요]	jukgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	죽을 수 있어요	[주글 쑤 이써요]	jugeul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	죽을 수 없어요	[주글 쑤 업써요]	jugeul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	죽어야 해요	[주거야 해요]	jugeoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	죽어도 돼요	[주거도 돼요]	jugeodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	죽으면 안 돼요	[주그면 안 돼요]	jugeumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	죽기	[죽끼]	jukgi

How 죽다 changes

죽 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 죽어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 죽으면, 죽을. 죽다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “die” in Korean?

“To die” is 죽다 (jukda), pronounced [죽따]. In a sentence: 물을 안 주면 식물이 죽어요. — Plants die if you don’t water them.

What is the past tense of 죽다?

죽었어요 (jugeosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 죽다 (“to die”). Formal: 죽었습니다; casual: 죽었어.

How do you say 죽다 politely?

Everyday polite: 죽어요 (jugeoyo). Formal: 죽습니다. Casual, with close friends: 죽어.

Is 죽다 irregular?

No. 죽 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 죽어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 죽으면, 죽을. 죽다 is regular.

More regular words like 죽다

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