The Korean (Ir)regular Verbs

Dick Grune
dick@dickgrune.com

Version 1.1
Dec.2 , 2013
These data should be fed back to
http://www.koreanwikiproject.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Irregular_verbs in due time;
additions with respect to the wiki have been marked +.

Introduction
What is irregular? A verb1 form is irregular if there is no reasonably simple rule that explains its
shape.
So from (to agree) having the ending -and from (to eat having
-, is not irregular since there is the simple rule saying All verbs withor in the last syllable
of the stem get -and all the others get -. But from (to be spicy) is irregular,
since not all verbs whose stem ends inlose the in this way: for example, the verb (to put
on clothes) gives .
What is a reasonably simple rule is a matter of taste, of course. A reasonable criterion
would be that a simple rule should not contain a list of specific verbs to which it applies.

Terminology
Grammars of Indo-European languages like English, German, or Latin, are full of technical terms,
for example infinitive, future tense, and conditional. Each of these identifies a category.
Whereas Latin has perhaps 20 categories for the verb, Korean has some 250 verb modifiers and
ending. Whereas a Latin category is identified by possibly dozens of ending, each Korean modifier
or ending identifies only itself. So, although it would be possible to invent a specific term for each
of the Korean verbs forms, that would not be helpful. It is much clearer to use the ending as the
name, and speak of the -form than of something like futurum II.

1 For the topic of irregularity we consider adjectives and existentials to be verbs too.

There are, however, two forms of the Korean verb that occur as components in many other
forms: the stem, and the infinitive, and it is useful to keep those terms. The stem is obtained by
removing the - from the dictionary form of the verb. The infinitive2 is in principle obtained by
adding a connecting - or - to the stem, but several changes may occur in that process. Knowing
the stem and the infinitive of a verb will almost always allow you to construct all other forms of the
verb by just adding endings to them, the exception being verbs with stems ending in (see Stems
ending in ).

Sources
* Korean Wiki, Category:Irregular verbs,
http://www.koreanwikiproject.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Irregular_verbs, 2010.
* Wiktionary, http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/
* Jaehoon Yeon & Lucien Brown, Korean -- A Comprehensive Grammar, Routledge, 2011, 476
pp.
* Young-Mee Cho et al., Integrated Korean: Beginning 1 (Revised edition), University of Hawai'i
Press, 2009, 230 pp.
* Lee Chul-Young, Essential Grammar for Korean as a Second Language,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/61648956/Korean-Grammar-Textbook, 2004, 61 pp.
* Henry J. Amen & Kyubyong Park, Korean for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Korean,
Tuttle Publishing, 2010, 176 pp.
* Ho-Min Sohn, The Korean Language, Cambrigde Univ. Press, 1999, 445 pp.
* Seok-Choong Song, 201 Korean Verbs, Barron's, 1988, 208 pp.
Together these sources do not provide all answers, unfortunately. The places where
additional information is needed are marked with three question marks.

The Regular Conjugation

A Korean verb form consists of the stem of the verb (the part before the - of the dictionary form),
followed by at least one particle. So if there is going to be an irregularity, it will have to be at the
contact point between stem and first particle.
Particles are simpler than stems, so we will consider the particles first.
Particles starting with a consonant (-, -, -, -, etc.) never cause irregularities, and are
appended directly to the stem in the spelling: , , etc. They may, however, modify the
pronunciation: for example is pronounced through regressive nasalisation.
Particles starting with a vowel come in three classes:
1. Those starting with a suppressible . Examples are -(), for the future particle, and (), for if. When the follows a vowel, it is suppressed.

The infinitive is called so because it is not finished, in the sense that almost always more particles are added to
make a finished verb form; but the infinitive is used stand-alone in the informal-plain speech style. Actually the stem is
much more unfinished, so infinitive is definitely a misnomer.

2. Those starting with a suppressible . There are two of these, the particle ()(), used
in -, -, etc. for formal polite speech, and (), for the direct speech level. When a
suppressible follows a vowel, it is suppressed; the in ()()is then also suppressed, as per
class 1, yielding , , etc.
3. The infinitive particle /. This particle is used in many endings, for example -(/)
for the present tense; -(/) for the past tense; and -(/) for actions performed for
someone. The /may modify or combine with the preceding vowel or consonant. Detailing these
effects constitutes the bulk of this text.
The possibilities are collected in the following table:
dictionary form
stem +

formal
S-

present
S-

past
S-

future
S-

because
S-

if
S-

you(pol.)
S-

in which the first row shows the meaning of each column and the second gives the pattern. This is
the form in which verb conjugations will be represented here.
The formal polite ending - represents the particles with suppressible ; the present and
past show the infinitive / particle3; the future participle -() represents the particles with a
suppressible with one letter after the ; the because particle -() and the if particle ()represent particles with more than one letter after the ; and the polite you ending ()is included because it is used frequently and the contraction from -() to -() is
irregular.

Which verbs are irregular?

Almost all verbs with stems ending in a vowel are regular, except that they are subject to
regular vowel contractions, which are described below. The verbs -, , and and are
irregular, however; see below.
Most verbs whose stem ends in a single consonant and all verbs whose stem ends in a
double consonant are regular. Only verbs with stems ending in a single,,, or can be irregular
and may modify or delete their end consonant; for details see the pertinent sections below. Verbs
with stems ending in drop this in many forms but do so in perfectly regular ways; see Section
Stems ending in .

The infinitive ending

Regular verbs with stems not ending in a vowel require only one decision in their conjugation:
whether to use or in forming the infinitive. The rule is simple: if the last syllable of the stem
contains a or , is used:
- to receive

Regular verbs with a vowel other than or in the last syllable of the stem use in the
infinitive ending:
- to eat

This rule applies almost without exception to all verbs, regular or irregular; for the few
exceptions see the sections 'The irregularity' and 'Irregular Infinitives'.
3 In principle, supplying the infinitive would be sufficient, because present and past derive from it regularly, but the
of the past modifies the spelling.

Stems ending in a vowel

Verbs ending in a vowel deviate from the above pattern above in three ways:
1. the suppressible is suppressed;
2. the suppressible is suppressed;
3. the infinitive vowel /is often combined with the final vowel of the stem; this
combining is often optional; percentages given are derived from Google searches.
Changes 1 and 2 always apply; the nature of change 3 depends on the final vowel of the stem, as
follows, in alphabetic order.
Verbs in -, -, - and -
The / of the ending disappears. See, however, the verb in the section 'Irregular Infinitives'.
- to go

- to feel

- to stand up

- to count

Verbs in -
The of the stem and the -of the ending can combine into (80%) or stay separate (20%):
- to see

Verbs in -
These verbs can use -for the infinitive, in which case the of the stem and the - of the particle
may combine into (80%) or stay separate (7%); or they can use -, which does not combine
(13%).
- to become

Verbs in -
The of the stem and the -of the ending can combine into (60%) or stay separate (40%) .
- to give

There is one verb, , which loses the of the stem in the infinitive:4
- to scoop up

Verbs in -
The of the stem and the -of the ending do not combine.
- to rest

Verbs in -except those in -

The of the stem disappears before a following vowel. The choice for /is determined by the
last remaining vowel. If that is a final vowel, further combing may occur. If no vowel remains, is
used. For verbs ending in -see the section 'The irregularity'.
- to write

- to collect

--

??? Other single-syllable verbs in : , (9x!), , (2x).

Verbs in -
The of the stem and the -of the ending do not combine.
- to be greyish

Verbs in -, not derived from the honorific particle -()The of the stem and the -of the ending combine into :
- to drink

Verbs in -, derived from the honorific particle -()The of the stem and the -of the infinitive combine into :
- to eat (hon.)

Verbs in other vowels

There are no verbs with stems ending in vowels from the y-series: ,, etc.

4 The verb used to be , which made it a verb in , but no longer exists as an initial syllable in Modern Korean.

There also do not seem to be any verbs with stems ending in vowels from the w-series:, ,, or
5.

Stems ending in
The final in stems ending in acts as a vowel, with the somewhat surprising result that such
stems get the ending forms that are normally reserved for stems ending in a vowel. What happens
next depends on the first consonant or vowel of the ending:
1. If the ending starts with a single final consonant (f.e. ) the final of the stem is
removed and replaced by the starting consonant of the ending.
2. If the ending starts with , , or , the final of the stem is dropped, and the ending is
added as is.
3. Otherwise the final of the stem stays, and the ending is added as is. More in particular,
if the ending starts with a , both -s stay, and are together pronounced as a long l (ell).
Examples6 (where the third column shows the endings that would be attached to a stem ending in a
vowel):
-(3)
to know
(-)
- (1)
(he) knows (formal polite)
(-)
-(3)
(he) knows (informal polite)
(-)
-(2)
you know
(-)
- (1) (he) will know
(- )
-(2)
because (he) knows
(-)
-(3)
if (he) knows
(-)
-(1)
(he) knows (formal plain)
(-)
-(2)
knowing
(-)
- (3) (he) plans to know
(- )
-(2)
(he) knows (direct)
(-)
- to know

Irregular Conjugations
Only verbs with stems ending in a single,,, or can be irregular; verbs with stems ending in
double consonants (, , , , , , , , , , , ) are never irregular and are not
mentioned in this section.

Theirregularity
Some, but not all, verbs with a stem ending in change this to when it is followed by a vowel.
This originating from a is not subject to any of the effects described in the section Stems
ending in .

5 and do not belong to the w-series because they originate from appending a to and , rather than from
prefixing a w to a vowel.
6 Partly from Ho-Min Sohn, pg. 479.

 - to listen

Irregular verbs
to walk
to draw water
- to perceive, to realise
to listen
to ask
to swell
to load

Regular verbs
- to receive

to close
to trust, believe
to bury
to receive
to pour
to receive, to gain

Possibly irregular verbs

Are the following verbs irregular???
- to run away suddenly ("" 4 hits, "" 136 hits)
run down, leap down ("" 1 hit, "" 0 hits; Min-Jung does not have
the word)

The irregularity
Almost all verbs with a stem ending in drop the and double the when occurring in front of
the /of the infinitive. The choice between and is made after the is dropped and before
the is doubled:
-(/) -(/) - - .
Note that the pronunciation changes to -ll-: moreuda mollayo.
- to not know

- to call

Irregular verbs
All verbs in - are irregular, except those in the following section.

Regular verbs
- to follow

to arrive +
- to stop by +
- to follow
- to pay a price (from Min-Jung, Lee) +

Theirregularity
There are two forms.
1. Many verbs with a stem ending in change this to the vowel when followed by a
particle starting with a vowel, including suppressible . The then combines with the vowel, or
absorbs the . Note what happens when the particle /is to be added. The changes to ,
which is now the last vowel of the stem, so the combined form is chosen, regardless of the rest of
the stem.
(to lie down)

(to be thankful)

2. A few verbs with a stem ending in act as under 1., except that in front of the particle
/they change the to the vowel , so the combined form is chosen.
(to help)

Irregular verbs, type 1 (-, -)

There are very many descriptive verbs (adjectives) with a stem ending in . Almost all of them are
irregular verbs, type 1,except (to be pretty), which is type 2. A few descriptive verbs are
regular, as shown in the section Regular verbs below.
In addition the following action verbs are irregular verbs, type 1:
-

to grill
to sew
to lie down +
to hate
to gather from the ground

Note: for (type 1) / (regular) - to be pitied, see

http://kr.people.com.cn/203095/205796/7912723.html.

Irregular verbs, type 2 (-, -)

-

to be pretty
to help

Regular verbs
(to catch)

to be numb from coldness

- to grasp, clench
to pull out, extract
- to be shy
to chew
to carry someone on ones back
to wear (clothes)
to grab, to catch
to fold
to be narrow
to pick up

Theirregularity
Many, but by no means all verbs with a stem ending in drop the when it comes before a vowel.
This deletion occurs after the form of the particle has been chosen, and no further contractions takes
place.
(to be better)

Irregular verbs
-

to draw a line
to get/be better
to pour +
to connect
to stir +
to pick up
to build

Regular verbs
(to laugh)

to take off (clothes, etc.)

to smile/laugh
to comb
to wash
- to snatch

Theirregularity
All (???) descriptive verbs with two-syllable stems ending in , , or drop the in front of a
vowel, including a suppressible . If that vowel is the /of the infinitive, contraction occurs, and
the resulting vowel is , (not !), and , respectively. A suppressible () is suppressed.
(to be black)

(to be how)

Irregular verbs
- to be how
- to be so
- to be like this
- to be like that
- to be black
- to be yellow
- to be red
- to be green/blue
- to be deep green/blue
- to be white

Regular verbs
All other verbs in , i.e. all action -verbs and all -verbs of one syllable are regular.
- to be good

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Irregular (Non-/) Infinitives

Infinitives are normally formed by adding - or -to the stem (although more regular or irregular
modifications may follow). Three verbs use different vowels: two use -/, and one uses -.
1. The verb generator -()generates verbs from nouns: - to be a king, - to be a
bird. Some of its forms differ depending on whether the noun ends in a consonant or in a vowel.
After a consonant the stem is --.
- to be a king

Following a noun ending in a vowel, the stem -- is lost altogether in all cases except before the
formal polite particle ()(), where we see -.
- to be a bird

???

After very frequent nouns the -- may even be dropped in formal polite forms, especially in
instead of , from -, auxiliary noun of a future tense.
When the - is dropped from the informal polite form to produce the informal plain form,
the last syllable changes to : , .
2. The negation verb is conjugated as if it were derived by - from a (non-existing)
noun , except that the is written in the next syllable:
not to be

When the - is dropped from the informal polite form to produce the informal plain form,
the last syllable changes to : .
3. The verb uses - for its infinitive vowel rather than -. This - can, and usually
does (65%), combine with the ending of the stem into -:
- to do

Particle exceptions
??? Under construction
Some particles have different or alternative forms with some verbs.
Plain command ! (regular) / ! (irregular) come!
The final particle -has the form - after -, -, -, and the past-tense particles.

Incidentally Duplicate Forms

???? Under construction
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The irregularities can make some forms of some verb equal to forms of another verb. Below we
signal a few cases.
- to carry
- to listen

- to live
- to buy

- to write
- to ebb away

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