Verbs · Regular

멈추다 conjugation

to stop · meomchuda · sounds like [멈추다]

Short answer: “To stop” in Korean is 멈추다 (meomchuda). Polite present: 멈춰요 (meomchwoyo); past: 멈췄어요 (meomchwosseoyo); future: 멈출 거예요. It is regular.

Present멈춰요[멈춰요] · meomchwoyo
Past멈췄어요[멈춰써요] · meomchwosseoyo
Future멈출 거예요[멈출 꺼예요] · meomchul geoyeyo
Negative안 멈춰요[안 멈춰요] · an meomchwoyo

멈추다 in sentences

차가 갑자기 멈췄어요.The car stopped suddenly.
비가 멈추면 나갈 거예요.I’ll go out when the rain stops.

All forms of 멈추다

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	멈춰요	[멈춰요]	meomchwoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	멈춥니다	[멈춤니다]	meomchumnida
casual-아/어	멈춰	[멈춰]	meomchwo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	멈춘다	[멈춘다]	meomchunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	멈춥니까?	[멈춤니까]	meomchumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	멈추고 있어요	[멈추고 이써요]	meomchugo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	멈췄어요	[멈춰써요]	meomchwosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	멈췄습니다	[멈춷씀니다]	meomchwotseumnida
casual-았/었어	멈췄어	[멈춰써]	meomchwosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	멈췄다	[멈춷따]	meomchwotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	멈출 거예요	[멈출 꺼예요]	meomchul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	멈출 겁니다	[멈출 껌니다]	meomchul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	멈출 거야	[멈출 꺼야]	meomchul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	멈추겠습니다	[멈추겓씀니다]	meomchugetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 멈춰요	[안 멈춰요]	an meomchwoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 멈췄어요	[안 멈춰써요]	an meomchwosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	멈추지 않아요	[멈추지 아나요]	meomchuji anayo
cannot못 …	못 멈춰요	[몬 멈춰요]	mot meomchwoyo

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	멈추세요	[멈추세요]	meomchuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	멈추셨어요	[멈추셔써요]	meomchusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	멈추십니다	[멈추심니다]	meomchusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	멈추세요	[멈추세요]	meomchuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	멈춰 주세요	[멈춰 주세요]	meomchwo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	멈추지 마세요	[멈추지 마세요]	meomchuji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	멈춥시다	[멈춥씨다]	meomchupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	멈추자	[멈추자]	meomchuja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	멈춰라	[멈춰라]	meomchwora

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	멈추고	[멈추고]	meomchugo
… so / and then-아/어서	멈춰서	[멈춰서]	meomchwoseo
if …-(으)면	멈추면	[멈추면]	meomchumyeon
… but-지만	멈추지만	[멈추지만]	meomchujiman
because …-(으)니까	멈추니까	[멈추니까]	meomchunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	멈추는데	[멈추는데]	meomchuneunde
even if …-아/어도	멈춰도	[멈춰도]	meomchwodo
while …-(으)면서	멈추면서	[멈추면서]	meomchumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	멈추려고	[멈추려고]	meomchuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	멈추러	[멈추러]	meomchureo
before …-기 전에	멈추기 전에	[멈추기 저네]	meomchugi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	멈춘 후에	[멈춘 후에]	meomchun 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	멈추는	[멈추는]	meomchuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	멈춘	[멈춘]	meomchun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	멈출	[멈출]	meomchul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	멈추고 싶어요	[멈추고 시퍼요]	meomchugo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	멈출 수 있어요	[멈출 쑤 이써요]	meomchul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	멈출 수 없어요	[멈출 쑤 업써요]	meomchul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	멈춰야 해요	[멈춰야 해요]	meomchwoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	멈춰도 돼요	[멈춰도 돼요]	meomchwodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	멈추면 안 돼요	[멈추면 안 돼요]	meomchumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	멈추기	[멈추기]	meomchugi

How 멈추다 changes

멈추 ends in a vowel, so 멈추 + 아/어 becomes 멈춰 → 멈춰요, 멈췄어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 멈추면, 멈출. 멈추다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “stop” in Korean?

“To stop” is 멈추다 (meomchuda), pronounced [멈추다]. In a sentence: 차가 갑자기 멈췄어요. — The car stopped suddenly.

What is the past tense of 멈추다?

멈췄어요 (meomchwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 멈추다 (“to stop”). Formal: 멈췄습니다; casual: 멈췄어.

How do you say 멈추다 politely?

Everyday polite: 멈춰요 (meomchwoyo). Formal: 멈춥니다. Casual, with close friends: 멈춰.

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

멈추고 싶어요 (meomchugo sipeoyo), pronounced [멈추고 시퍼요].

Is 멈추다 irregular?

No. 멈추 ends in a vowel, so 멈추 + 아/어 becomes 멈춰 → 멈춰요, 멈췄어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 멈추면, 멈출. 멈추다 is regular.

More regular words like 멈추다

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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