Korean Verbs and Adjectives Conjugation Rules - Irregular ㅂ and ㅎ Grammar with Free Worksheet

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안녕하세요! 😀 This is the part 2 of the irregular conjugation about ㅂ and ㅎ words! ㅂ and ㅎ require more attention, so it will be good to know the easier ㄷ and ㅅ ones first. If you want to read the part 1 about ㄷ/ㅅ, please click here.

I'll show you a list of words with general rules and some conjugated forms as examples! Are you ready? (준비됐나요?) Read carefully these Korean irregular conjugation rules and don't forget to download the free printable PDF worksheet!

<Table of Contents>

1. Irregular ㅂ

2. Irregular ㅎ

3. Wrap-up & Worksheet

1. Irregular ㅂ

Both verbs and adjectives have the final consonant ㅂ. Especially, you will see a lot of irregular ㅂ adjectives in Korean.

A. Word list

Irregular ㅂ verbs (불규칙 ㅂ 동사)

• 줍다 to pick up

↳ It is used to pick something up on the surface (ground or floor). You can't use this word to pick someone up. For example, if a parent picks a child up from school, you will use a different word in Korean.

• 굽다 to bake, to grill, to broil

• 돕다 to help

• 눕다 to lie down

• 깁다 to sew, to mend

Irregular ㅂ adjective (불규칙 ㅂ 형용사)

• 춥다 to be cold (air)

• 차갑다 to be cold (for something you can touch)

↳ 춥다 and 차갑다 both mean "to be cold" in English, but they are not the same in Korean! When winter comes and the air is cold, you will use 춥다. If you drink iced tea or touch ice, you will use the word 차갑다.

• 덥다 to be hot (air)

• 뜨겁다 to be hot (for sth you can touch)

↳ 덥다 and 뜨겁다 have the same point. During summer, you will feel 덥다. If you touch a hot pot or drink hot tea, then you will use 뜨겁다.

• 쉽다 to be easy

• 어렵다 to be difficult

• 어둡다 to be dark

Regular ㅂ words (규칙 ㅂ 단어)

• 입다 to wear

• 잡다 to grab

• 씹다 to chew

• 좁다 to be narrow - This one is an adjective!

B. Conjugation rules

a. the two rules

Irregular ㅂ words are a bit special. First, you will erase the ㅂ. After that, you will add special forms for the ㅂ words. For example, you will add 아요 or 어요 in the present tense for non-ㅂ words, but you'll add 와요 or 워요 for ㅂ words. 와요 is a counterpart of 아요. 워요 is a matching one for 어요.

• When a vowel matters

Let's change the basic form 줍다 to the informal present tense in Korean.

줍다 → The stem is 줍. → First, erase the final consonant ㅂ. → 주 → Usually, you attach 어요, but since it is ㅂ word, you will add 워요 this time. → 주워요.

• When a final consonant matters

I'll show you the process of conjugation of 줍다 with the Korean future ending (으)ㄹ 거예요.

줍다 → 줍 → Again, erase ㅂ first! → 주 → Normally, we attach the 을 거예요 for irregular words, but this time you will add 울 거예요 with the vowel "ㅜ". → 주울 거예요.

b. Examples

This time, I'll use 돕다.

• Informal Endings

Present: 도와요. I help.

Past: 도왔어요. I helped.

Future: 도울 거예요. I'll help.

• Formal Endings = The endings are used in public situations

Present: 돕습니다. I help.

Past: 도왔습니다. I helped.

Future: 도울 것입니다. I'll help.

Do you see the endings slightly different compared to other irregular words? When ㅂ matters, it will always have its special form. My grammar lessons will provide you with the details! For now, just please be aware the ㅂ words are special!

2. Irregular ㅎ

Remember the irregular ㄷ? There were only irregular verbs, no adjectives! This time, it is the opposite. Some verbs end with the final consonant ㅎ, but those are all "Regular" words. Only adjectives with ㅎ will follow the irregular rules! If you see a verb with ㅎ, you don't have to worry about a special form or dropping out! Just use the regular rule!

A. Word list

Regular ㅎ adjective (규칙 ㅎ 형용사)

There is only one regular ㅎ adjective in Korean.

• 좋다 to be good

Irregular ㅎ adjectives (불규칙 ㅎ 형용사)

All ㅎ adjectives except 좋다 are irregular ones! Many color-related words are included. If you want to know more about colors, please click here and check my other post.

• 빨갛다 to be red

• 노랗다 to be yellow

• 파랗다 to be blue

• 하얗다 to be white

• 까맣다 to be black

• 뿌옇다 to be foggy, unclear

• 동그랗다 to be round

• 조그맣다 to be tiny

Regular ㅎ verbs (규칙 ㅎ 동사)

I'll show you some verbs, too. Remember. They are all regular conjugation words!

• 낳다 to give birth

• 넣다 to put in

• 놓다 to place, to put something on

• 닿다 to reach

• 땋다 to braid

• 쌓다 to pile up, stack up

• 찧다 to pound, bump

B. Conjugation rules

Either a vowel or a final consonant rule, you have to erase the last consonant ㅎ first.

a. Two rules

• When a vowel matters

The irregular ㅎ adjectives with vowel rules are a bit special! To make the present tense, you will add 'ㅣ요' not 아요 or 어요 like others.

빨갛다 → The stem is 빨갛. It ends with the final consonant ㅎ. → Erase that ㅎ. → 빨가 → Add the vowel 'ㅣ' → 빨개 → Now add 요. → 빨개요. It's red.

To make the past tense, you will attach 'l' to the vowel and add 'ㅆ어요.' Check out the below and see if each step makes sense to you.

파랗다 → 파랗 → 파라 → 파래 → 파랬어요. It was blue.

• When a final consonant matters

It is easier to conjugate when 받침 matters. The future ending (으)ㄹ 거예요 can be also used to express your guess.

빨갛다 → 빨갛 → First, erase ㅎ. → 빨가 → You will add ㄹ 거예요 to it. → 빨갈 거예요. It is probably red. / It may be red.

b. Examples

• Informal Endings

Present ending: 노래요. It's yellow.

Past ending: 노랬어요. It was yellow.

Guess ending: 노랄 거예요. It may be yellow.

You can't use the progressive endings with an adjective.

• Formal Endings

Present ending: 노랗습니다. It's yellow.

Past ending: 노랬습니다. It was yellow.

Guess ending: 노랄 것입니다. It may be yellow.

3. Wrap-up & Worksheet: Korean irregular conjugation

If a stem ends with either ㅂ or ㅎ, there is a high chance it is an irregular word. You have to memorize those words along with regular ones even if they have ㅂ or ㅎ. Please download the worksheet below and use it for your Korean studies!

ㅂ and ㅎ words - irregular and regular -My Korean Lesson

.pdf

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The ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅂ, and ㅎ rules are appearing quite often, so you will see them many times. The next irregular rules are about 'ㅡ' and '르'. Please click here to continue the irregular conjugation lesson!