Korean Verb Phrases: 30 Noun + Verb Pairs and Their Particles

What you will be able to do after this page

• Say 30 common phrases with the correct noun, particle and verb.
• Choose between 을/를, 이/가 and 에 for the noun in a phrase.
• Explain three cases where Korean uses a different verb than English: take, weather and illness, and light-verb 하다.
• Build a new sentence from any phrase with the polite present or past.

Before you start: read daily Korean verbs, because this page expands the collocations introduced there. Time: about 40 minutes. Level: A2.

What Are Korean Verb Phrases?

A verb phrase in this lesson is a noun with its particle plus the verb that normally goes with it. Linguists call such a pair a collocation: words that sit together by habit and not by logic. In English you "take" a photo, "catch" a cold and "make" a call. In Korean you "stamp" a photo (사진을 찍다), "get hooked by" a cold (감기에 걸리다) and "hang" a call (전화를 걸다). Nothing in the meaning forces these choices, so you learn each pair as one chunk.

The chunk always includes the particle. A particle is a short word that attaches to a noun and marks its job. In most phrases the noun is the thing the verb acts on, so it takes the object particle: the Korean object particle 을/를. In a few the noun is the one doing or undergoing the event, so it takes the subject particle, as explained in the Korean topic and subject particles.

Which Particle Goes with Each Phrase?

Of the 30 phrases on this page, 23 take 을/를, 6 take 이/가 and 1 takes 에. The pattern follows what the noun is in the event.

The choice between 을/를 and 이/가 is the same as in the 이/가 lesson: ask whether the noun is acted on (object) or is the subject. A common slip is to put 을/를 on weather: 비를 와요 is wrong. Rain does not receive the action. Rain is the thing that comes. The second slip is to drop the particle. In speech, Koreans often drop 을/를 (약 먹었어요), but a learner should keep it until the full form feels natural, as omitting particles explains.

Verbs follow the noun, and every verb here is shown in the polite present (-요 ending), which is the form you use with strangers and in shops. The table in each group below gives the dictionary form of the phrase, its Revised Romanization, the meaning, and a full example sentence. The sentence verbs come from the site's conjugation engine.

Body and Health: Phrases 1 to 5

These phrases appear at the pharmacy, the clinic and in the bathroom. Three of the five take 을/를 as expected. The other two, 감기에 걸리다 and 열이 나다, put the illness or the symptom in a different slot, and you will see why below.

The sound of 약을 is [야글]: the final ㄱ of 약 moves onto the vowel of 을. The phrase 열이 is said [여리] for the same reason, and 닦아요 is said [다까요]. Revised Romanization follows the linked sound: yageul, yeori, dakkayo. The next group is phones and media.

Phones, Photos and Media: Phrases 6 to 10

Technology phrases use verbs that picture an older action: you "hang" a call, "receive" it, "shoot" a photo and "see" a film.

Weather and Traffic: Phrases 11 to 15

In this group the weather or the event is the subject, so the noun takes 이/가, not 을/를. Korean does not use a dummy subject like English "it" in "it rains".

The ending of 막혀요 is said [마켜요]: ㄱ and ㅎ blend into ㅋ. 불어요 is [부러요], with the ㄹ moving to the next syllable. The ㄹ in 불다 and 걸다 drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ: 바람이 부는 날 (a day when the wind blows) and 전화를 겁니다 (formal, I make a call).

Money, Time and Plans: Phrases 16 to 20

Here 내다, 쓰다, 잡다 and 보내다 are the verbs. 내다 means to put out, so you "put out" money and leave. 쓰다 here means to spend.

Study and Work: Phrases 21 to 25

This group mixes 보다 with 하다 phrases. 하다 is a light verb in these phrases: it carries little meaning, and the noun carries the content. English picks "ask", "tell" or "have" here, and Korean uses 하다 for all of them.

Most 하다 phrases here can also be written without the particle, as one word: 질문하다, 회의하다, 거짓말하다. Both forms exist. The spaced form with 을/를 lets you add a word between noun and verb, as in 질문을 많이 해요 (I ask many questions). See Korean hada verbs explained for the attached form.

Everyday Actions: Phrases 26 to 30

These five phrases do not fit a theme, but each has a verb that English does not predict.

Where Does Korean Use a Different Verb than English?

Three cases account for most of the surprises. Each one is a pattern, so you can predict new phrases once you see it.

Case 1: English "Take" Becomes Seven Different Verbs

English uses "take" for medicine, photos, exams, buses, time, showers and leave. Korean uses a different verb for each. The verb belongs to the noun, not to the idea of taking.

Case 2: Weather and Illness Make the Event the Subject

English says "It rains" with a dummy "it" and "I caught a cold" with "I" as the subject. Korean has no dummy subject and puts the weather, or a symptom such as a fever, in the subject slot with 이/가. Weather phrases are the cleanest: 비가 와요, 눈이 와요, 바람이 불어요. Illness phrases differ by symptom. A cold uses 에 with 걸리다, as if the cold were a hook that catches you: 감기에 걸렸어요. A fever uses 열이 나요, "the heat comes out". A headache and a stomach ache use the adjective 아프다: 머리가 아파요, 배가 아파요. The last two are adjectives, and they belong to another lesson.

Case 3: 하다 Carries the Sentence and the Noun Carries the Meaning

English chooses "ask a question", "tell a lie", "have a meeting" and "work part-time". Korean uses 하다 with all four nouns: 질문을 해요, 거짓말을 해요, 회의를 해요, 아르바이트를 해요. 하다 is called a light verb in these phrases because it adds little meaning of its own. If you know the noun, you can often guess the phrase: a new noun such as 연락 (contact) or 전화 (call) will usually take 하다 too.

Which of These Verbs Are Irregular?

Five verbs in the list change their stem. They are shown below with the polite present and the formal present, so you can see the change. Compare each with a regular verb such as 먹다 (먹어요, 먹습니다).

쓰다 drops the ㅡ before -어 (써요, 썼어요). 부르다 doubles the ㄹ (불러요, 불렀어요). 듣다 changes ㄷ to ㄹ before a vowel (들어요). 걸다 and 불다 drop their ㄹ before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ (겁니다, 붑니다). Read how to recognize irregular verbs for the pattern. The verbs in all the other phrases follow regular rules.

How Do You Learn Verb Phrases Fast?

Study the phrase, not the verb. A list of verbs gives you a meaning, and a list of phrases gives you a sentence. Use these four steps.

1. Cover the verb. Read 약을 ___ and say 먹다. The noun and particle should call up the verb.
2. Say the polite present aloud. Use the example sentences above and the audio buttons.
3. Change one part. Replace the noun: 약을 먹어요 becomes 밥을 먹어요, and 전화를 받아요 becomes 문자를 받아요. Replace the tense: 먹었어요.
4. Group by verb. 내다 gives 돈을 내다 and 휴가를 내다. 하다 gives 질문, 회의, 거짓말. A verb that appears twice is easier to remember.

A good target is five new phrases a day for six days. Each day, review the phrases from the day before. To practise the nouns, use the vocabulary flashcard decks.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Verb Phrases?

The most common phrase errors are verb choices that come from English. Each fix in the table matches one of the three cases above. If an error does not match, check the dictionary page of the verb: 먹다, 보다, 걸리다 and 내다 all list the nouns they pair with.

Practice: Fill in the Blank

Fill each blank with the right verb from this lesson. Say the full sentence aloud when you have it. The answers follow the list.

1. 저는 매일 아침에 이를 ___. (I brush my teeth every morning.)
2. 주말에 친구하고 영화를 ___. (I watch a movie with a friend on the weekend.)
3. 오늘은 비가 ___. (It is raining today.)
4. 어제부터 열이 ___. (I have had a fever since yesterday.)
5. 카페에서 사진을 ___. (I take a photo at the café.)
6. 쇼핑에 돈을 많이 ___. (I spend a lot of money on shopping.)
7. 선생님께 질문을 ___. (I ask the teacher a question.)
8. 저는 노래방에서 노래를 ___. (I sing songs at the karaoke room.)

Answers: 1. 닦아요; 2. 봐요; 3. 와요; 4. 나요; 5. 찍어요; 6. 써요; 7. 해요; 8. 불러요.

What Should You Learn after Verb Phrases?

The next page is Korean hada verbs explained, which shows how a noun and 하다 combine into one verb, the largest group of Korean verbs. To check that you can use these phrases in a sentence, practise with the 100 most useful verbs in 100 Korean verbs, and review the set of wearing verbs in Korean wearing verbs, which has its own five-verb split.

What this page does not cover. It does not cover idioms such as 눈이 높다 (to have high standards), the adjective phrases for pain, or phrases with -고 있다. It also does not give the formal-speech forms for every phrase.

About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The Korean text and example sentences were drafted with AI assistance and cross-checked with the site's rule-based conjugation engine; a Korean reviewer checks every lesson before it is marked as reviewed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Korean Verb Phrases?

Korean verb phrases are noun + particle + verb pairs that go together by habit, such as 사진을 찍다 (take a photo) and 비가 오다 (it rains). The verb is often different from the English one, so learn the whole phrase with its particle.

How Do You Say Take a Photo in Korean?

Say 사진을 찍다, and in the polite present 사진을 찍어요. 찍다 is the verb for taking a photo, stamping or printing. Do not use 하다 or 가지다 for this meaning.

Why Is It 감기에 걸리다 and Not 감기를 걸리다?

걸리다 is the verb for being caught or hooked, so the illness is the thing that catches you and takes 에. Korean says 감기에 걸렸어요 for "I caught a cold". It does not mark the cold as an object.

Does "It Rains" in Korean Use 비를 or 비가?

Use 비가. Rain is the thing that comes, so it takes the subject particle 이/가: 비가 와요. 비를 is used only when someone does something to the rain, as in 비를 맞다 (to get rained on).

Can I Drop the Particle in a Verb Phrase?

약 먹었어요 and 사진 찍었어요 are normal in casual speech, where 을/를 is often dropped. Keep the particle in writing and while you are learning, because it shows the noun's job. Never drop 이/가 or 에 in 비가 오다 or 감기에 걸리다 when you write.

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