Verbs · ㄹ stem

팔다 conjugation

to sell · palda · sounds like [팔다]

Short answer: “To sell” in Korean is 팔다 (palda). Polite present: 팔아요 (parayo); past: 팔았어요 (parasseoyo); future: 팔 거예요. It is regular, but its ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.

Present팔아요[파라요] · parayo
Past팔았어요[파라써요] · parasseoyo
Future팔 거예요[팔 꺼예요] · pal geoyeyo
Negative안 팔아요[안 파라요] · an parayo

Opposite: 사다 — to buy

팔다 in sentences

이 가게는 빵을 팔아요.This shop sells bread.
차를 팔았어요.I sold my car.

All forms of 팔다

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	팔아요	[파라요]	parayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	팝니다	[팜니다]	pamnida
casual-아/어	팔아	[파라]	para
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	판다	[판다]	panda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	팝니까?	[팜니까]	pamnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	팔고 있어요	[팔고 이써요]	palgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	팔았어요	[파라써요]	parasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	팔았습니다	[파랃씀니다]	paratseumnida
casual-았/었어	팔았어	[파라써]	parasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	팔았다	[파랃따]	paratda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	팔 거예요	[팔 꺼예요]	pal geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	팔 겁니다	[팔 껌니다]	pal geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	팔 거야	[팔 꺼야]	pal geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	팔겠습니다	[팔겓씀니다]	palgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 팔아요	[안 파라요]	an parayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 팔았어요	[안 파라써요]	an parasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	팔지 않아요	[팔지 아나요]	palji anayo
cannot못 …	못 팔아요	[몯 파라요]	mot parayo

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	파세요	[파세요]	paseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	파셨어요	[파셔써요]	pasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	파십니다	[파심니다]	pasimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	파세요	[파세요]	paseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	팔아 주세요	[파라 주세요]	para juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	팔지 마세요	[팔지 마세요]	palji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	팝시다	[팝씨다]	papsida
let’s … (casual)-자	팔자	[팔자]	palja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	팔아라	[파라라]	parara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	팔고	[팔고]	palgo
… so / and then-아/어서	팔아서	[파라서]	paraseo
if …-(으)면	팔면	[팔면]	palmyeon
… but-지만	팔지만	[팔지만]	paljiman
because …-(으)니까	파니까	[파니까]	panikka
… and / but (background)-는데	파는데	[파는데]	paneunde
even if …-아/어도	팔아도	[파라도]	parado
while …-(으)면서	팔면서	[팔면서]	palmyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	팔려고	[팔려고]	pallyeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	팔러	[팔러]	palleo
before …-기 전에	팔기 전에	[팔기 저네]	palgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	판 후에	[판 후에]	pan 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	파는	[파는]	paneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	판	[판]	pan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	팔	[팔]	pal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	팔고 싶어요	[팔고 시퍼요]	palgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	팔 수 있어요	[팔 쑤 이써요]	pal su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	팔 수 없어요	[팔 쑤 업써요]	pal su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	팔아야 해요	[파라야 해요]	paraya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	팔아도 돼요	[파라도 돼요]	parado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	팔면 안 돼요	[팔면 안 돼요]	palmyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	팔기	[팔기]	palgi

How 팔다 changes

팔다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 파는, 팝니다, 파세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 팔면, 팔. Everything else is regular: 팔아요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

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

Questions

How do you say “sell” in Korean?

“To sell” is 팔다 (palda), pronounced [팔다]. In a sentence: 이 가게는 빵을 팔아요. — This shop sells bread.

What is the past tense of 팔다?

팔았어요 (parasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 팔다 (“to sell”). Formal: 팔았습니다; casual: 팔았어.

How do you say 팔다 politely?

Everyday polite: 팔아요 (parayo). Formal: 팝니다. Casual, with close friends: 팔아.

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

팔고 싶어요 (palgo sipeoyo), pronounced [팔고 시퍼요].

Is 팔다 irregular?

No. 팔다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 파는, 팝니다, 파세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 팔면, 팔. Everything else is regular: 팔아요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

More ㄹ-stem words like 팔다

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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