Verbs · Regular
먹다 conjugation
to eat · meokda · sounds like [먹따]
Short answer: “To eat” in Korean is 먹다 (meokda). Polite present: 먹어요 (meogeoyo); past: 먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo); future: 먹을 거예요. It is regular.
- Present먹어요[머거요] · meogeoyo
- Past먹었어요[머거써요] · meogeosseoyo
- Future먹을 거예요[머글 꺼예요] · meogeul geoyeyo
- Negative안 먹어요[안 머거요] · an meogeoyo
Respect form: 드시다 (or 잡수시다) — “to eat” said about someone you respect
먹다 in sentences
- 저는 아침에 빵을 먹어요.I eat bread in the morning.
- 점심 먹었어요?Did you have lunch?
All forms of 먹다
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite-아/어요 | 먹어요 | [머거요] | meogeoyo |
| formal-(스)ㅂ니다 | 먹습니다 | [먹씀니다] | meokseumnida |
| casual-아/어 | 먹어 | [머거] | meogeo |
| plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다 | 먹는다 | [멍는다] | meongneunda |
| formal question-(스)ㅂ니까? | 먹습니까? | [먹씀니까] | meokseumnikka? |
| is …ing (polite)-고 있어요 | 먹고 있어요 | [먹꼬 이써요] | meokgo isseoyo |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite-았/었어요 | 먹었어요 | [머거써요] | meogeosseoyo |
| formal-았/었습니다 | 먹었습니다 | [머걷씀니다] | meogeotseumnida |
| casual-았/었어 | 먹었어 | [머거써] | meogeosseo |
| plain (written)-았/었다 | 먹었다 | [머걷따] | meogeotda |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요 | 먹을 거예요 | [머글 꺼예요] | meogeul geoyeyo |
| formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다 | 먹을 겁니다 | [머글 껌니다] | meogeul geomnida |
| casual-(으)ㄹ 거야 | 먹을 거야 | [머글 꺼야] | meogeul geoya |
| formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다 | 먹겠습니다 | [먹껟씀니다] | meokgetseumnida |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| not (short)안 … | 안 먹어요 | [안 머거요] | an meogeoyo |
| did not안 …았/었어요 | 안 먹었어요 | [안 머거써요] | an meogeosseoyo |
| not (long)-지 않아요 | 먹지 않아요 | [먹찌 아나요] | meokji anayo |
| cannot못 … | 못 먹어요 | [몬 머거요] | mot meogeoyo |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| honorific — present-(으)세요 | 먹으세요 | [머그세요] | meogeuseyo |
| honorific — past-(으)셨어요 | 먹으셨어요 | [머그셔써요] | meogeusyeosseoyo |
| honorific — formal-(으)십니다 | 먹으십니다 | [머그심니다] | meogeusimnida |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| please …-(으)세요 | 먹으세요 | [머그세요] | meogeuseyo |
| please … (for me)-아/어 주세요 | 먹어 주세요 | [머거 주세요] | meogeo juseyo |
| please don’t …-지 마세요 | 먹지 마세요 | [먹찌 마세요] | meokji maseyo |
| let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다 | 먹읍시다 | [머급씨다] | meogeupsida |
| let’s … (casual)-자 | 먹자 | [먹짜] | meokja |
| do … ! (casual command)-아/어라 | 먹어라 | [머거라] | meogeora |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| … and-고 | 먹고 | [먹꼬] | meokgo |
| … so / and then-아/어서 | 먹어서 | [머거서] | meogeoseo |
| if …-(으)면 | 먹으면 | [머그면] | meogeumyeon |
| … but-지만 | 먹지만 | [먹찌만] | meokjiman |
| because …-(으)니까 | 먹으니까 | [머그니까] | meogeunikka |
| … and / but (background)-는데 | 먹는데 | [멍는데] | meongneunde |
| even if …-아/어도 | 먹어도 | [머거도] | meogeodo |
| while …-(으)면서 | 먹으면서 | [머그면서] | meogeumyeonseo |
| in order to …-(으)려고 | 먹으려고 | [머그려고] | meogeuryeogo |
| (go) to …-(으)러 | 먹으러 | [머그러] | meogeureo |
| before …-기 전에 | 먹기 전에 | [먹끼 저네] | meokgi jeone |
| after …-(으)ㄴ 후에 | 먹은 후에 | [머근 후에] | meogeun hue |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| (that) … now-는 | 먹는 | [멍는] | meongneun |
| (that) …ed-(으)ㄴ | 먹은 | [머근] | meogeun |
| (that) will …-(으)ㄹ | 먹을 | [머글] | meogeul |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| I want to …-고 싶어요 | 먹고 싶어요 | [먹꼬 시퍼요] | meokgo sipeoyo |
| can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 | 먹을 수 있어요 | [머글 쑤 이써요] | meogeul su isseoyo |
| cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요 | 먹을 수 없어요 | [머글 쑤 업써요] | meogeul su eopseoyo |
| have to …-아/어야 해요 | 먹어야 해요 | [머거야 해요] | meogeoya haeyo |
| may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요 | 먹어도 돼요 | [머거도 돼요] | meogeodo dwaeyo |
| must not …-(으)면 안 돼요 | 먹으면 안 돼요 | [머그면 안 돼요] | meogeumyeon an dwaeyo |
| …ing (noun)-기 | 먹기 | [먹끼] | meokgi |
How 먹다 changes
먹 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 먹어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 먹으면, 먹을. 먹다 is regular.
Questions
How do you say “eat” in Korean?
“To eat” is 먹다 (meokda), pronounced [먹따]. In a sentence: 저는 아침에 빵을 먹어요. — I eat bread in the morning.
What is the past tense of 먹다?
먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 먹다 (“to eat”). Formal: 먹었습니다; casual: 먹었어.
How do you say 먹다 politely?
Everyday polite: 먹어요 (meogeoyo). Formal: 먹습니다. Casual, with close friends: 먹어.
How do you say “I want to eat” in Korean?
먹고 싶어요 (meokgo sipeoyo), pronounced [먹꼬 시퍼요].
Is 먹다 irregular?
No. 먹 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 먹어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 먹으면, 먹을. 먹다 is regular.
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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