Master Korean irregular verbs — ㅂ, ㄷ, 르, and ㅅ irregular conjugation — with clear tables, real examples, and the false friends that trip up beginners.
Regular Korean conjugation follows predictable patterns — until it does not. A group of common verbs and adjectives change their final consonant or vowel when a suffix is added. These are Korean's irregular verbs, and while there are only four major patterns, they show up in some of the most frequently used words in the language.
Verbs and adjectives ending in ㅂ often drop the ㅂ and add 우 before a vowel-starting ending.
| Dictionary form | Meaning | -어요 form |
|---|---|---|
| 춥다 | to be cold | 추워요 |
| 덥다 | to be hot | 더워요 |
| 쉽다 | to be easy | 쉬워요 |
| 어렵다 | to be difficult | 어려워요 |
Exception: 돕다 (to help) and 곱다 (to be pretty) become 도와요 and 고와요 — with 오 instead of 우.
Some verbs ending in ㄷ change it to ㄹ before a vowel.
| Dictionary form | Meaning | -어요 form |
|---|---|---|
| 걷다 | to walk | 걸어요 |
| 듣다 | to listen | 들어요 |
| 묻다 | to ask | 물어요 |
Not all ㄷ verbs are irregular — 받다 (to receive) and 닫다 (to close) stay perfectly regular: 받아요, 닫아요.
Verbs ending in 르 double the ㄹ and drop 으 before a vowel ending.
| Dictionary form | Meaning | -아/어요 form |
|---|---|---|
| 모르다 | to not know | 몰라요 |
| 부르다 | to call/sing | 불러요 |
| 빠르다 | to be fast | 빨라요 |
| 다르다 | to be different | 달라요 |
Some verbs ending in ㅅ drop it entirely before a vowel ending.
| Dictionary form | Meaning | -어요 form |
|---|---|---|
| 짓다 | to build/make | 지어요 |
| 낫다 | to get better | 나아요 |
| 붓다 | to pour | 부어요 |
Exceptions to watch: 웃다 (to laugh) and 벗다 (to take off) are regular — 웃어요, 벗어요.
Irregular verbs appear constantly in daily conversation — "cold," "hot," "easy," "difficult," "to not know," "to listen" are all irregular. Getting them wrong is one of the fastest ways to sound like you memorized a textbook instead of actually speaking Korean.
Is there a shortcut to memorize these? Group them by pattern, not alphabetically. Drilling all ㅂ irregulars together, then all 르 irregulars, builds pattern recognition faster than mixing them randomly.
Do irregular verbs affect the past tense too? Yes — the same stem change carries into -았/었어요, so 추워요 becomes 추웠어요, and 몰라요 becomes 몰랐어요.
Are these tested on TOPIK? Frequently, especially in TOPIK I grammar and vocabulary sections, since irregular verbs are among the most common words in the language.
Struggling to keep the four patterns straight? A Klovers teacher can drill irregular conjugation with you live, correcting mistakes the moment they happen instead of weeks later.