What Are the Common Korean Verbs?
The common Korean verbs are the everyday words for going, eating, seeing, doing, giving, knowing and meeting. About a dozen of them turn up again and again in beginner sentences: 가다, 오다, 먹다, 마시다, 하다, 보다, 듣다, 말하다, 읽다, 쓰다, 자다 and 일어나다. Each one is a stem plus 다, and each one takes the same endings, so learning them also teaches you how conjugation works.
Every list in this section is drawn from the site verb lexicon, the word list behind the Korean verb dictionary. It holds 474 verbs and adjectives, and its level labels split them like this:
| Level | Entries in the lexicon | What the level covers |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 129 | survival verbs: go, come, eat, drink, do, see, buy |
| A2 | 166 | daily-life and 하다 verbs: cook, wear, travel, prepare |
| B1 | 163 | abstract and formal verbs: decide, compare, succeed |
| B2 | 16 | a short set of advanced verbs |
The level labels are editorial planning labels for this site. They are not an official exam list. Because the lexicon includes adjectives, which Korean conjugates like verbs, the section also points to the adjective lists. The first decision is where to begin, so the next section helps you choose.
Which List Should You Start With?
Choose by your goal. If you are new to Korean, start with the top 100 list. If you already know a theme, such as cooking or travel, start with the themed list. If a single grammar pattern confuses you, such as 하다, go to the type list.
| Your goal | Start here | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| I am a beginner and want the essentials | 100 Korean verbs | ten themed groups of ten, with audio |
| I want verbs for one situation | Action verbs | daily, cooking, wearing, opposites, phrases |
| I keep seeing words that end in 하다 | 하다 verbs | the noun + 하다 pattern and a word list |
| I want to say go, come, enter or exit | Motion verbs | 가다 and 오다 compounds and transport verbs |
| I know my level and want a matching list | Korean verbs by level | A1, A2 and B1 to B2 lists |
| I forget verbs after one week | How to learn Korean verbs | a six-step method with a review schedule |
If your goal fits two rows, take the first one that matches your level. Beginners get the most from the top 100 list, which is previewed next.
What Do the Top 100 Verbs Look Like?
The top 100 list is the flagship list of this section. It groups 100 verbs into ten themes of ten, and each row shows the dictionary form, the meaning, the polite present, a class label and an example sentence. The ranking is editorial, based on learner need and level, and it is not a corpus frequency count. Here are five sample rows.
| Verb | Meaning | Polite present | Class | Example | Meaning of the example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 가다 | to go | 가요 | regular | 학교에 가요. | I go to school. |
| 먹다 | to eat | 먹어요 | regular | 밥을 먹어요. | I eat rice (a meal). |
| 보다 | to see, to watch | 봐요 | regular | 영화를 봐요. | I watch a movie. |
| 하다 | to do | 해요 | 하다 type | 숙제를 해요. | I do homework. |
| 만나다 | to meet | 만나요 | regular | 친구를 만나요. | I meet a friend. |
The object particle in each example (을/를) teaches the verb's pattern with it: 밥을 먹어요, 영화를 봐요, 친구를 만나요. 가다 takes a place with 에: 학교에 가요. Learn the verb together with its particle. The full list is on 100 Korean verbs, and its conjugated forms are in the verbs conjugation list.
Lists by Level, Theme and Type
Six pages sit directly under this section. Each is described below so that you can pick the right one before you click.
Action Verbs: Daily, Cooking, Wearing, Opposites and Phrases
Action Verbs is a subhub with five themed lists. It covers the verbs of a normal day in time order, cooking verbs such as 굽다 and 볶다, the different verbs for wearing clothes (입다, 신다, 쓰다, 끼다), pairs of opposite verbs and fixed verb phrases such as 사진을 찍다.
하다 Verbs: the Largest Verb Family
하다 Verbs explains how a noun plus 하다 makes a verb (공부 + 하다 = 공부하다), lists 60 common 하다 words and teaches the choice between 하다 and 되다. In the site verb lexicon, 158 of the 474 entries end in 하다.
Motion Verbs: Go, Come and the Compounds
Motion Verbs shows how 가다 and 오다 combine with direction words to make 들어가다, 나오다, 올라가다 and 돌아오다. It also teaches why Korean says 갈게요 for "I am coming" and covers transport verbs such as 타다 and 내리다.
100 Korean Verbs Every Learner Needs
100 Korean Verbs is the core set: ten groups of ten verbs with meaning, polite present, example sentence and audio, plus a tally of regular, irregular and 하다 verbs.
Korean Verbs by Level
Korean Verbs by Level sorts the same lexicon into beginner (A1), elementary (A2) and intermediate (B1 to B2) lists, so the verbs you study match what you can already say.
How to Learn Korean Verbs
How to Learn Korean Verbs is a method page: stems, chunks with objects, a teaching order, opposite pairs, a spaced review schedule and a 20-item self-test.
Lists give you the words, and a method gives you the habit of remembering them, which is the next topic.
How Should You Learn the Verbs?
Learn each verb as a chunk with its object, say its polite present aloud, and review it on a schedule. A bare word such as 먹다 is easy to forget, and a chunk such as 밥을 먹어요 is easier to recall and shows the right particle. The page on how to learn Korean verbs turns this into six steps. Pair it with vocabulary flashcards for spaced review, and read how Korean conjugation works before you start so the forms make sense.
How Many Verbs Do You Need?
You need roughly 100 verbs and adjectives to handle simple daily talk, and about 250 to 300 to talk about routine, travel and plans. The ranges below are editorial planning targets for this site. They are not an exam requirement, and they count recognition and recall together.
| Level | Editorial estimate (cumulative verbs and adjectives) | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 80 to 120 | order, ask for things, describe your day in short sentences |
| A2 | 200 to 300 | tell a short story in the past tense, give reasons |
| B1 to B2 | 500 or more | discuss opinions and plans, read short articles |
Learners differ a lot, so use the numbers as a rough guide only. The Korean proficiency levels pages explain what each level means.
Where Are Single Verbs and Adjectives?
Single-entry pages live in the Korean verb dictionary. Each entry shows forms, class, audio and examples. Start with these eight core entries: 가다, 오다, 먹다, 마시다, 하다, 보다, 듣다 and 말하다. 듣다 is a ㄷ-irregular verb (들어요), 하다 and 말하다 are 하다-type verbs, and the rest are regular. For general nouns, see the most common Korean words. Adjectives such as 크다 have their own subhub because they behave like verbs but mean states.
This section teaches vocabulary and its patterns. It does not teach every conjugation rule, which belongs to the conjugation section, and it does not cover honorific verb pairs in depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common Korean verbs? The most common Korean verbs include 가다 (go), 오다 (come), 먹다 (eat), 마시다 (drink), 하다 (do), 보다 (see), 듣다 (hear), 말하다 (speak), 읽다 (read), 쓰다 (write), 자다 (sleep) and 만나다 (meet). The top 100 list on this site ranks verbs by learner need and level rather than by a corpus frequency count.
How many verbs do I need at each level? As an editorial guide, about 80 to 120 verbs and adjectives cover A1, 200 to 300 cover A2, and 500 or more suit B1 to B2. These are planning targets for this site, not an exam requirement, and the useful number depends on what you want to say.
Where can I find flashcards? Use the vocabulary decks on the vocabulary flashcards page. The 100 Korean verbs page also embeds a deck of its own, so you can drill the list in recognition mode, in recall mode or by listening. Reviewing a few verbs every day works better than one long session.
Are adjectives included? Adjectives are covered in the adjective section, not in the verb lists here. Korean adjectives conjugate like verbs, so the same endings apply (크다 becomes 커요). This section mentions them where a pattern is shared, such as the polite present, and it links to the adjective lists for the rest.