Verbs · ㄷ irregular

묻다 conjugation

to ask · mutda · sounds like [묻따]

Short answer: “To ask” in Korean is 묻다 (mutda). Polite present: 물어요 (mureoyo); past: 물었어요 (mureosseoyo); future: 물을 거예요. It is a ㄷ irregular verb.

Present물어요[무러요] · mureoyo
Past물었어요[무러써요] · mureosseoyo
Future물을 거예요[무를 꺼예요] · mureul geoyeyo
Negative안 물어요[안 무러요] · an mureoyo

Respect form: 여쭈다 / 여쭤보다 — humble “to ask” someone you respect

묻다 in sentences

길을 물어 봤어요.I asked for directions.
궁금한 것이 있으면 물으세요.If you have a question, ask.

All forms of 묻다

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	물어요	[무러요]	mureoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	묻습니다	[묻씀니다]	mutseumnida
casual-아/어	물어	[무러]	mureo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	묻는다	[문는다]	munneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	묻습니까?	[묻씀니까]	mutseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	묻고 있어요	[묻꼬 이써요]	mutgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	물었어요	[무러써요]	mureosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	물었습니다	[무럳씀니다]	mureotseumnida
casual-았/었어	물었어	[무러써]	mureosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	물었다	[무럳따]	mureotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	물을 거예요	[무를 꺼예요]	mureul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	물을 겁니다	[무를 껌니다]	mureul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	물을 거야	[무를 꺼야]	mureul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	묻겠습니다	[묻껟씀니다]	mutgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 물어요	[안 무러요]	an mureoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 물었어요	[안 무러써요]	an mureosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	묻지 않아요	[묻찌 아나요]	mutji anayo
cannot못 …	못 물어요	[몬 무러요]	mot mureoyo

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	물으세요	[무르세요]	mureuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	물으셨어요	[무르셔써요]	mureusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	물으십니다	[무르심니다]	mureusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	물으세요	[무르세요]	mureuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	물어 주세요	[무러 주세요]	mureo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	묻지 마세요	[묻찌 마세요]	mutji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	물읍시다	[무릅씨다]	mureupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	묻자	[묻짜]	mutja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	물어라	[무러라]	mureora

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	묻고	[묻꼬]	mutgo
… so / and then-아/어서	물어서	[무러서]	mureoseo
if …-(으)면	물으면	[무르면]	mureumyeon
… but-지만	묻지만	[묻찌만]	mutjiman
because …-(으)니까	물으니까	[무르니까]	mureunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	묻는데	[문는데]	munneunde
even if …-아/어도	물어도	[무러도]	mureodo
while …-(으)면서	물으면서	[무르면서]	mureumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	물으려고	[무르려고]	mureuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	물으러	[무르러]	mureureo
before …-기 전에	묻기 전에	[묻끼 저네]	mutgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	물은 후에	[무른 후에]	mureun 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	묻는	[문는]	munneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	물은	[무른]	mureun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	물을	[무를]	mureul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	묻고 싶어요	[묻꼬 시퍼요]	mutgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	물을 수 있어요	[무를 쑤 이써요]	mureul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	물을 수 없어요	[무를 쑤 업써요]	mureul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	물어야 해요	[무러야 해요]	mureoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	물어도 돼요	[무러도 돼요]	mureodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	물으면 안 돼요	[무르면 안 돼요]	mureumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	묻기	[묻끼]	mutgi

How 묻다 changes

ㄷ irregular: before a vowel, ㄷ becomes ㄹ → 물어요, 물으면, 물을. Before a consonant ㄷ stays: 묻습니다, 묻고. Regular ㄷ verbs such as 받다 (받아요) and 닫다 (닫아요) keep the ㄷ.

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

Questions

How do you say “ask” in Korean?

“To ask” is 묻다 (mutda), pronounced [묻따]. In a sentence: 길을 물어 봤어요. — I asked for directions.

What is the past tense of 묻다?

물었어요 (mureosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 묻다 (“to ask”). Formal: 물었습니다; casual: 물었어.

How do you say 묻다 politely?

Everyday polite: 물어요 (mureoyo). Formal: 묻습니다. Casual, with close friends: 물어.

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

묻고 싶어요 (mutgo sipeoyo), pronounced [묻꼬 시퍼요].

Is 묻다 irregular?

Yes — ㄷ irregular: before a vowel, ㄷ becomes ㄹ → 물어요, 물으면, 물을. Before a consonant ㄷ stays: 묻습니다, 묻고. Regular ㄷ verbs such as 받다 (받아요) and 닫다 (닫아요) keep the ㄷ.

More ㄷ irregular words like 묻다

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