Verbs · ㄹ stem

살다 conjugation

to live · salda · sounds like [살다]

Short answer: “To live” in Korean is 살다 (salda). Polite present: 살아요 (sarayo); past: 살았어요 (sarasseoyo); future: 살 거예요. It is regular, but its ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.

Present살아요[사라요] · sarayo
Past살았어요[사라써요] · sarasseoyo
Future살 거예요[살 꺼예요] · sal geoyeyo
Negative안 살아요[안 사라요] · an sarayo

Opposite: 죽다 — to die

살다 in sentences

저는 서울에 살아요.I live in Seoul.
한국에서 얼마나 살았어요?How long have you lived in Korea?

All forms of 살다

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	살아요	[사라요]	sarayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	삽니다	[삼니다]	samnida
casual-아/어	살아	[사라]	sara
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	산다	[산다]	sanda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	삽니까?	[삼니까]	samnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	살고 있어요	[살고 이써요]	salgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	살았어요	[사라써요]	sarasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	살았습니다	[사랃씀니다]	saratseumnida
casual-았/었어	살았어	[사라써]	sarasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	살았다	[사랃따]	saratda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	살 거예요	[살 꺼예요]	sal geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	살 겁니다	[살 껌니다]	sal geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	살 거야	[살 꺼야]	sal geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	살겠습니다	[살겓씀니다]	salgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 살아요	[안 사라요]	an sarayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 살았어요	[안 사라써요]	an sarasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	살지 않아요	[살지 아나요]	salji anayo
cannot못 …	못 살아요	[몯 싸라요]	mot sarayo

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	사세요	[사세요]	saseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	사셨어요	[사셔써요]	sasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	사십니다	[사심니다]	sasimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	사세요	[사세요]	saseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	살아 주세요	[사라 주세요]	sara juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	살지 마세요	[살지 마세요]	salji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	삽시다	[삽씨다]	sapsida
let’s … (casual)-자	살자	[살자]	salja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	살아라	[사라라]	sarara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	살고	[살고]	salgo
… so / and then-아/어서	살아서	[사라서]	saraseo
if …-(으)면	살면	[살면]	salmyeon
… but-지만	살지만	[살지만]	saljiman
because …-(으)니까	사니까	[사니까]	sanikka
… and / but (background)-는데	사는데	[사는데]	saneunde
even if …-아/어도	살아도	[사라도]	sarado
while …-(으)면서	살면서	[살면서]	salmyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	살려고	[살려고]	sallyeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	살러	[살러]	salleo
before …-기 전에	살기 전에	[살기 저네]	salgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	산 후에	[산 후에]	san 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	사는	[사는]	saneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	산	[산]	san
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	살	[살]	sal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	살고 싶어요	[살고 시퍼요]	salgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	살 수 있어요	[살 쑤 이써요]	sal su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	살 수 없어요	[살 쑤 업써요]	sal su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	살아야 해요	[사라야 해요]	saraya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	살아도 돼요	[사라도 돼요]	sarado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	살면 안 돼요	[살면 안 돼요]	salmyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	살기	[살기]	salgi

How 살다 changes

살다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 사는, 삽니다, 사세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 살면, 살. Everything else is regular: 살아요. (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 “live” in Korean?

“To live” is 살다 (salda), pronounced [살다]. In a sentence: 저는 서울에 살아요. — I live in Seoul.

What is the past tense of 살다?

살았어요 (sarasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 살다 (“to live”). Formal: 살았습니다; casual: 살았어.

How do you say 살다 politely?

Everyday polite: 살아요 (sarayo). Formal: 삽니다. Casual, with close friends: 살아.

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

살고 싶어요 (salgo sipeoyo), pronounced [살고 시퍼요].

Is 살다 irregular?

No. 살다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 사는, 삽니다, 사세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 살면, 살. Everything else is regular: 살아요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

More ㄹ-stem words like 살다

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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