Verbs · ㅡ drops

따르다 conjugation

to follow; to pour (a drink) · ttareuda · sounds like [따르다]

Short answer: “To follow” in Korean is 따르다 (ttareuda), which also means to pour (a drink). Polite present: 따라요 (ttarayo); past: 따랐어요 (ttarasseoyo); future: 따를 거예요. It is regular, but its ㅡ drops before 아/어.

Present따라요[따라요] · ttarayo
Past따랐어요[따라써요] · ttarasseoyo
Future따를 거예요[따를 꺼예요] · ttareul geoyeyo
Negative안 따라요[안 따라요] · an ttarayo

따르다 in sentences

제 말을 따라 하세요.Repeat after me.
물을 컵에 따랐어요.I poured water into a cup.

All forms of 따르다

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	따라요	[따라요]	ttarayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	따릅니다	[따름니다]	ttareumnida
casual-아/어	따라	[따라]	ttara
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	따른다	[따른다]	ttareunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	따릅니까?	[따름니까]	ttareumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	따르고 있어요	[따르고 이써요]	ttareugo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	따랐어요	[따라써요]	ttarasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	따랐습니다	[따랃씀니다]	ttaratseumnida
casual-았/었어	따랐어	[따라써]	ttarasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	따랐다	[따랃따]	ttaratda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	따를 거예요	[따를 꺼예요]	ttareul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	따를 겁니다	[따를 껌니다]	ttareul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	따를 거야	[따를 꺼야]	ttareul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	따르겠습니다	[따르겓씀니다]	ttareugetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 따라요	[안 따라요]	an ttarayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 따랐어요	[안 따라써요]	an ttarasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	따르지 않아요	[따르지 아나요]	ttareuji anayo
cannot못 …	못 따라요	[몯 따라요]	mot ttarayo

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	따르세요	[따르세요]	ttareuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	따르셨어요	[따르셔써요]	ttareusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	따르십니다	[따르심니다]	ttareusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	따르세요	[따르세요]	ttareuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	따라 주세요	[따라 주세요]	ttara juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	따르지 마세요	[따르지 마세요]	ttareuji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	따릅시다	[따릅씨다]	ttareupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	따르자	[따르자]	ttareuja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	따라라	[따라라]	ttarara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	따르고	[따르고]	ttareugo
… so / and then-아/어서	따라서	[따라서]	ttaraseo
if …-(으)면	따르면	[따르면]	ttareumyeon
… but-지만	따르지만	[따르지만]	ttareujiman
because …-(으)니까	따르니까	[따르니까]	ttareunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	따르는데	[따르는데]	ttareuneunde
even if …-아/어도	따라도	[따라도]	ttarado
while …-(으)면서	따르면서	[따르면서]	ttareumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	따르려고	[따르려고]	ttareuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	따르러	[따르러]	ttareureo
before …-기 전에	따르기 전에	[따르기 저네]	ttareugi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	따른 후에	[따른 후에]	ttareun 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	따르는	[따르는]	ttareuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	따른	[따른]	ttareun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	따를	[따를]	ttareul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	따르고 싶어요	[따르고 시퍼요]	ttareugo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	따를 수 있어요	[따를 쑤 이써요]	ttareul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	따를 수 없어요	[따를 쑤 업써요]	ttareul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	따라야 해요	[따라야 해요]	ttaraya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	따라도 돼요	[따라도 돼요]	ttarado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	따르면 안 돼요	[따르면 안 돼요]	ttareumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	따르기	[따르기]	ttareugi

How 따르다 changes

The ㅡ in 따르다 drops before 아/어: 따라요, 따랐어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 따르면, 따릅니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “follow” in Korean?

“To follow” is 따르다 (ttareuda), pronounced [따르다]. In a sentence: 제 말을 따라 하세요. — Repeat after me.

What is the past tense of 따르다?

따랐어요 (ttarasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 따르다 (“to follow”). Formal: 따랐습니다; casual: 따랐어.

How do you say 따르다 politely?

Everyday polite: 따라요 (ttarayo). Formal: 따릅니다. Casual, with close friends: 따라.

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

따르고 싶어요 (ttareugo sipeoyo), pronounced [따르고 시퍼요].

Is 따르다 irregular?

No. The ㅡ in 따르다 drops before 아/어: 따라요, 따랐어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 따르면, 따릅니다.

More ㅡ-stem words like 따르다

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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