Guide
Korean irregular verbs 불규칙 활용
Short answer: Korean has seven irregular patterns — ㅂ, ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅎ, 르, 러 and 우 — where the end of the stem changes before a vowel. Two more patterns, ㄹ stems and stems ending in ㅡ, are regular in grammar books but change shape too. Here is each one, with every word in our list.
ㅂ irregular ㅂ 불규칙
Before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우: 춥다 → 추워요, 추우면. Only 돕다 and 곱다 use 오: 도와요. Many ㅂ words are regular (입다 → 입어요, 잡다 → 잡아요, 좁다 → 좁아요).
- 눕다to lie down
- 돕다to help
- 굽다to bake
- 줍다to pick up (from the ground)
- 가깝다to be near
- 덥다to be hot (weather)
- 춥다to be cold (weather)
- 뜨겁다to be hot (to the touch)
- 차갑다to be cold (to the touch)
- 맵다to be spicy
- 싱겁다to be bland
- 귀엽다to be cute
- 아름답다to be beautiful
- 어렵다to be difficult
- 쉽다to be easy
- 즐겁다to be enjoyable
- 무섭다to be scary
- 외롭다to be lonely
- 반갑다to be glad (to see someone)
- 고맙다to be thankful
- 더럽다to be dirty
- 시끄럽다to be noisy
- 가볍다to be light (weight)
- 무겁다to be heavy
- 두껍다to be thick
- 어둡다to be dark
- 새롭다to be new
- 부럽다to be envious
- 부드럽다to be soft
- 부끄럽다to be shy
- 아쉽다to be a pity
ㄷ irregular ㄷ 불규칙
Before a vowel, ㄷ becomes ㄹ: 듣다 → 들어요, 들으면. Before a consonant it stays: 듣고. Regular: 받다, 닫다, 믿다, 얻다.
ㅅ irregular ㅅ 불규칙
Before a vowel, ㅅ drops and the vowels stay apart: 짓다 → 지어요, 지으면. Regular: 씻다, 웃다, 벗다.
ㅎ irregular ㅎ 불규칙
Colour and “like this / like that” adjectives drop ㅎ: 빨갛다 → 빨개요, 빨간; 그렇다 → 그래요, 그런. 좋다 is regular.
르 irregular 르 불규칙
Before 아/어, 르 becomes ㄹ + 라/러: 모르다 → 몰라요, 부르다 → 불러요. A few 르 verbs only drop ㅡ: 따르다 → 따라요, 들르다 → 들러요.
러 irregular 러 불규칙
어 becomes 러: 푸르다 → 푸르러요. Very rare.
우 irregular 우 불규칙
Only 푸다: 퍼요, 펐어요.
ㄹ stems (regular, but tricky) ㄹ 탈락
The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and -(으) endings never add 으: 살다 → 사는, 삽니다, 사세요, 살면.
Stems ending in ㅡ (regular, but tricky) 으 탈락
ㅡ drops before 아/어: 쓰다 → 써요, 바쁘다 → 바빠요, 예쁘다 → 예뻐요.
하다 words 하다
하 + 여 → 해: 공부하다 → 공부해요, 공부했어요. Every 하다 word follows it.
- 하다to do
- 말하다to speak
- 일하다to work
- 공부하다to study
- 운동하다to exercise
- 요리하다to cook
- 청소하다to clean (a room, house)
- 전화하다to call
- 사랑하다to love
- 좋아하다to like
- 싫어하다to dislike
- 생각하다to think
- 이해하다to understand
- 기억하다to remember
- 노래하다to sing
- 도착하다to arrive
- 출발하다to depart
- 시작하다to start
- 대답하다to answer
- 질문하다to ask a question
- 이야기하다to talk
- 숙제하다to do homework
- 여행하다to travel
- 결혼하다to get married
- 준비하다to prepare
- 연습하다to practise
- 운전하다to drive
- 주문하다to order (food, goods)
- 예약하다to book
- 연락하다to contact
- 사용하다to use
- 걱정하다to worry
- 약속하다to promise
- 이사하다to move (house)
- 졸업하다to graduate
- 산책하다to take a walk
- 수영하다to swim
- 샤워하다to take a shower
- 쇼핑하다to go shopping
- 빨래하다to do the laundry
- 설거지하다to do the dishes
- 세수하다to wash one’s face
- 구경하다to look around
- 계산하다to pay (the bill)
- 부탁하다to ask a favour
- 소개하다to introduce
- 초대하다to invite
- 결정하다to decide
- 필요하다to be needed
- 따뜻하다to be warm
- 시원하다to be cool
- 피곤하다to be tired
- 행복하다to be happy
- 심심하다to be bored
- 미안하다to be sorry
- 깨끗하다to be clean
- 조용하다to be quiet
- 비슷하다to be similar
- 간단하다to be simple
- 복잡하다to be complicated
- 중요하다to be important
- 유명하다to be famous
- 친절하다to be kind
- 편하다to be comfortable
- 불편하다to be uncomfortable
- 건강하다to be healthy
- 위험하다to be dangerous
- 안전하다to be safe
- 똑똑하다to be smart
- 부지런하다to be hard-working
- 딱딱하다to be hard
- 강하다to be strong
- 약하다to be weak
- 착하다to be good-natured
- 궁금하다to be curious
- 이상하다to be strange
- 특별하다to be special
- 충분하다to be enough
- 가능하다to be possible
Questions
What are the irregular verbs in Korean?
ㅂ (춥다 → 추워요), ㄷ (듣다 → 들어요), ㅅ (짓다 → 지어요), ㅎ (빨갛다 → 빨개요), 르 (모르다 → 몰라요), 러 (푸르다 → 푸르러요) and 우 (푸다 → 퍼요).
Is 살다 irregular?
No — ㄹ stems are regular in Korean grammar, but the ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ: 사는, 삽니다, 사세요.
Why is 입다 not ㅂ irregular?
Whether a ㅂ word is irregular has to be learned word by word. 입다, 잡다, 씹다 and 좁다 keep the ㅂ (입어요); 춥다, 덥다, 돕다 and most describing words change it.
Based on 한글 맞춤법 (Korean spelling rules) — see 국립국어원 한국어 어문 규범.