Verbs · ㅂ irregular

줍다 conjugation

to pick up (from the ground) · jupda · sounds like [줍따]

Short answer: “To pick up (from the ground)” in Korean is 줍다 (jupda). Polite present: 주워요 (juwoyo); past: 주웠어요 (juwosseoyo); future: 주울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular verb.

Present주워요[주워요] · juwoyo
Past주웠어요[주워써요] · juwosseoyo
Future주울 거예요[주울 꺼예요] · juul geoyeyo
Negative안 주워요[안 주워요] · an juwoyo

줍다 in sentences

길에서 지갑을 주웠어요.I picked up a wallet in the street.
쓰레기를 주워 주세요.Please pick up the rubbish.

All forms of 줍다

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	주워요	[주워요]	juwoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	줍습니다	[줍씀니다]	jupseumnida
casual-아/어	주워	[주워]	juwo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	줍는다	[줌는다]	jumneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	줍습니까?	[줍씀니까]	jupseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	줍고 있어요	[줍꼬 이써요]	jupgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	주웠어요	[주워써요]	juwosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	주웠습니다	[주웓씀니다]	juwotseumnida
casual-았/었어	주웠어	[주워써]	juwosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	주웠다	[주웓따]	juwotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	주울 거예요	[주울 꺼예요]	juul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	주울 겁니다	[주울 껌니다]	juul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	주울 거야	[주울 꺼야]	juul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	줍겠습니다	[줍껟씀니다]	jupgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 주워요	[안 주워요]	an juwoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 주웠어요	[안 주워써요]	an juwosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	줍지 않아요	[줍찌 아나요]	jupji anayo
cannot못 …	못 주워요	[몯 쭈워요]	mot juwoyo

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	주우세요	[주우세요]	juuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	주우셨어요	[주우셔써요]	juusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	주우십니다	[주우심니다]	juusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	주우세요	[주우세요]	juuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	주워 주세요	[주워 주세요]	juwo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	줍지 마세요	[줍찌 마세요]	jupji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	주웁시다	[주웁씨다]	juupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	줍자	[줍짜]	jupja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	주워라	[주워라]	juwora

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	줍고	[줍꼬]	jupgo
… so / and then-아/어서	주워서	[주워서]	juwoseo
if …-(으)면	주우면	[주우면]	juumyeon
… but-지만	줍지만	[줍찌만]	jupjiman
because …-(으)니까	주우니까	[주우니까]	juunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	줍는데	[줌는데]	jumneunde
even if …-아/어도	주워도	[주워도]	juwodo
while …-(으)면서	주우면서	[주우면서]	juumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	주우려고	[주우려고]	juuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	주우러	[주우러]	juureo
before …-기 전에	줍기 전에	[줍끼 저네]	jupgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	주운 후에	[주운 후에]	juun 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	줍는	[줌는]	jumneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	주운	[주운]	juun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	주울	[주울]	juul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	줍고 싶어요	[줍꼬 시퍼요]	jupgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	주울 수 있어요	[주울 쑤 이써요]	juul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	주울 수 없어요	[주울 쑤 업써요]	juul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	주워야 해요	[주워야 해요]	juwoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	주워도 돼요	[주워도 돼요]	juwodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	주우면 안 돼요	[주우면 안 돼요]	juumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	줍기	[줍끼]	jupgi

How 줍다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 줍 + 어 → 주워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 주우면, 주울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 줍습니다, 줍고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “pick up” in Korean?

“To pick up (from the ground)” is 줍다 (jupda), pronounced [줍따]. In a sentence: 길에서 지갑을 주웠어요. — I picked up a wallet in the street.

What is the past tense of 줍다?

주웠어요 (juwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 줍다 (“to pick up (from the ground)”). Formal: 주웠습니다; casual: 주웠어.

How do you say 줍다 politely?

Everyday polite: 주워요 (juwoyo). Formal: 줍습니다. Casual, with close friends: 주워.

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

줍고 싶어요 (jupgo sipeoyo), pronounced [줍꼬 시퍼요].

Is 줍다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 줍 + 어 → 주워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 주우면, 주울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 줍습니다, 줍고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 줍다

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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