Verbs · Regular

외우다 conjugation

to memorise · oeuda · sounds like [외우다]

Short answer: “To memorise” in Korean is 외우다 (oeuda). Polite present: 외워요 (oewoyo); past: 외웠어요 (oewosseoyo); future: 외울 거예요. It is regular.

Present외워요[외워요] · oewoyo
Past외웠어요[외워써요] · oewosseoyo
Future외울 거예요[외울 꺼예요] · oeul geoyeyo
Negative안 외워요[안 외워요] · an oewoyo

외우다 in sentences

단어를 외워요.I’m memorising words.
매일 단어 열 개를 외워야 해요.I have to memorise ten words every day.

All forms of 외우다

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	외워요	[외워요]	oewoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	외웁니다	[외움니다]	oeumnida
casual-아/어	외워	[외워]	oewo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	외운다	[외운다]	oeunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	외웁니까?	[외움니까]	oeumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	외우고 있어요	[외우고 이써요]	oeugo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	외웠어요	[외워써요]	oewosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	외웠습니다	[외웓씀니다]	oewotseumnida
casual-았/었어	외웠어	[외워써]	oewosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	외웠다	[외웓따]	oewotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	외울 거예요	[외울 꺼예요]	oeul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	외울 겁니다	[외울 껌니다]	oeul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	외울 거야	[외울 꺼야]	oeul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	외우겠습니다	[외우겓씀니다]	oeugetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 외워요	[안 외워요]	an oewoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 외웠어요	[안 외워써요]	an oewosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	외우지 않아요	[외우지 아나요]	oeuji anayo
cannot못 …	못 외워요	[몯 외워요]	mot oewoyo

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	외우세요	[외우세요]	oeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	외우셨어요	[외우셔써요]	oeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	외우십니다	[외우심니다]	oeusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	외우세요	[외우세요]	oeuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	외워 주세요	[외워 주세요]	oewo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	외우지 마세요	[외우지 마세요]	oeuji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	외웁시다	[외웁씨다]	oeupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	외우자	[외우자]	oeuja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	외워라	[외워라]	oewora

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	외우고	[외우고]	oeugo
… so / and then-아/어서	외워서	[외워서]	oewoseo
if …-(으)면	외우면	[외우면]	oeumyeon
… but-지만	외우지만	[외우지만]	oeujiman
because …-(으)니까	외우니까	[외우니까]	oeunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	외우는데	[외우는데]	oeuneunde
even if …-아/어도	외워도	[외워도]	oewodo
while …-(으)면서	외우면서	[외우면서]	oeumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	외우려고	[외우려고]	oeuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	외우러	[외우러]	oeureo
before …-기 전에	외우기 전에	[외우기 저네]	oeugi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	외운 후에	[외운 후에]	oeun 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	외우는	[외우는]	oeuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	외운	[외운]	oeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	외울	[외울]	oeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	외우고 싶어요	[외우고 시퍼요]	oeugo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	외울 수 있어요	[외울 쑤 이써요]	oeul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	외울 수 없어요	[외울 쑤 업써요]	oeul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	외워야 해요	[외워야 해요]	oewoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	외워도 돼요	[외워도 돼요]	oewodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	외우면 안 돼요	[외우면 안 돼요]	oeumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	외우기	[외우기]	oeugi

How 외우다 changes

외우 ends in a vowel, so 외우 + 아/어 becomes 외워 → 외워요, 외웠어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 외우면, 외울. 외우다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “memorise” in Korean?

“To memorise” is 외우다 (oeuda), pronounced [외우다]. In a sentence: 단어를 외워요. — I’m memorising words.

What is the past tense of 외우다?

외웠어요 (oewosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 외우다 (“to memorise”). Formal: 외웠습니다; casual: 외웠어.

How do you say 외우다 politely?

Everyday polite: 외워요 (oewoyo). Formal: 외웁니다. Casual, with close friends: 외워.

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

외우고 싶어요 (oeugo sipeoyo), pronounced [외우고 시퍼요].

Is 외우다 irregular?

No. 외우 ends in a vowel, so 외우 + 아/어 becomes 외워 → 외워요, 외웠어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 외우면, 외울. 외우다 is regular.

More regular words like 외우다

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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