Korean Conjugation Chart Explained: How to Read Rows and Columns

What you will be able to do after this lesson

• Name what the rows, the columns and each marker on a conjugation chart mean.
• Find the polite past, formal future or casual present of a verb in under ten seconds.
• Explain why some cells say "No standard form" instead of showing a word.
• Tell a regular verb from an irregular one by comparing two charts, 먹다 and 돕다.

Before you start: read the present tense recipe, because the charts here assume you know the stem and the 아요/어요 choice. Time: about 30 minutes. Level: A1.

What Is a Korean Conjugation Chart?

A Korean conjugation chart is a table that lists the forms of one verb or adjective, so that you can look up a form instead of building it. The chart for 먹다 (to eat, meokda) shows 먹어요, 먹었어요, 먹습니다 and the other forms in fixed positions. Every chart on this site uses the same layout, so a skill learned on one chart works on all of them.

A chart answers one question: "What does this word look like in this form?" It does not answer "Which form should I use here?" That second question belongs to the lessons on speech levels and tenses, which is why the chart is a reference tool and not a course. The next section opens the chart itself.

What Do the Rows and Columns Mean?

On this site, each row is a tense (when something happens) and each column is a speech level (how polite you are). Three columns appear: casual, polite and formal. Three rows appear: present, past and future. Two extra items sit above the grid: the dictionary form and the stem.

Here is the chart for 먹다. The stem is 먹, which is the dictionary form with 다 removed.

Each part of the chart has a job:

• Dictionary form (기본형). The word as a dictionary lists it, always ending in 다: 먹다.
• Stem (어간). The part that stays: 먹. Every cell in the chart starts from it.
• Row (tense, 시제). Present, past or future. Moving down from row to row changes the tense.
• Column (speech level, 높임법). Casual 해체, polite 해요체 or formal 합쇼체. Moving across from column to column changes the politeness.
• Cell. One finished form, such as 먹었어요 in the past row and polite column.

Here is the same chart as an interactive table with a rule note and audio for every cell.

The polite column is the one you will use most, because 해요체 suits nearly every conversation with someone you have just met. The casual column suits close friends, and the formal column suits announcements and the news. The full social rules are in Korean speech levels. With the layout clear, the next step is to read a single cell.

How Do You Read One Cell?

You read a cell by following two lines to the point where they cross, then checking the rule note. The steps take under ten seconds once you have done them a few times.

1. Find the row for the tense you need. For "ate", that is Past.
2. Find the column for the speech level. For a polite sentence, that is Polite 해요체.
3. Read the cell where they cross: 먹었어요.
4. Open the rule note if you want to see how it was built: 먹 + 었 + 어요.
5. Press the audio button to hear it.

The rule note is the most useful part for learning. It shows the stem first, then each piece that was added. For 먹었어요, the note 먹 + 었 + 어요 tells you three things at once: the stem is 먹, the past marker is 었, and the polite ending is 어요. When you meet an unfamiliar cell, read its rule note before you try to memorise the word.

For example, to say "Did you eat?" to a friend, look in the Past row and the Casual column: 먹었어. Say it with a rising tone and it becomes a question. Cells in the chart are statements, and the tone of voice or a question word turns them into questions. The chart also uses a few symbols, and the next section lists them.

What Markers Does the Chart Use?

The chart uses five markers, and each one has a text label as well as a visual cue, so you never have to rely on colour alone.

A regular verb such as 먹다 has the badge "regular" and no changed cells. The next section explains the last marker, because it surprises most learners.

Why Are Some Cells Empty?

Some cells say "No standard form" because certain forms exist only for some word types. The chart prints these words instead of leaving a blank, so you know the gap is deliberate and not a missing entry.

Two rules explain almost every gap:

• Plain commands and suggestions belong to verbs. The plain command ending -어라/-아라 and the plain suggestion ending -자 attach to action verbs. Adjectives, which describe a state, do not take them as standard forms.
• The copula 이다 has no command or suggestion form. 이다 ("to be") links a noun to a description, and nobody is told to "be" a noun in standard Korean.

The table compares three words in the rows where gaps appear.

The form 예뻐라 is not used as a command (it exists only as an exclamation, "how pretty!"), so the chart shows a gap and does not invent one. A polite ending such as -(으)세요 can attach to adjectives, as in 건강하세요 ("please stay healthy"). That is a polite honorific statement used as a wish, so the chart does not count it as a command cell. The same logic explains the last row: -고 싶다 ("want to") attaches to verbs and not to adjectives, which is why the conjugator prints a note instead of a form.

Gaps like these are a sign that the chart is honest, and they do not mean something is missing. Next, the pattern that matters most: how an irregular verb looks different from a regular one.

How Do You Spot an Irregular Verb in a Chart?

You spot an irregular verb by looking at the class badge first, and then at which cells changed. Place the 돕다 chart next to the 먹다 chart. 돕다 (to help, dopda) is a ㅂ-irregular verb, so its stem 돕 changes in some cells and stays the same in others.

Read down the "Changed?" column and one pattern appears. The ㅂ of 돕 changes whenever a vowel comes next: 도와요, 도왔어요, 도울 거예요. The ㅂ stays in 돕습니다, because 습 starts with a consonant. This is the mark of the whole ㅂ class, and it is easier to see in a chart than in a sentence. The full ㅂ lesson is in ㅂ irregular verbs, and every class is collected in Korean irregular verbs.

A second hint helps when the badge is hidden: look at the vowel following the stem in the polite cell. If the stem seems to lose a letter or gain a new syllable, as in 도와요 or 몰라요, you are looking at an irregular verb. The next section turns reading into a skill with a short drill.

How Fast Can You Find a Form? a Five-Lookup Drill

You can build speed by looking up five forms in a row and timing yourself. A realistic first target is about ten seconds per lookup, and about five seconds after a week of practice. These targets are a learning guide, not a measured result.

Use the 먹다 and 돕다 charts above. Find each form:

1. The polite past of 돕다.
2. The formal future of 먹다.
3. The casual present of 돕다.
4. The formal present of 돕다.
5. The casual future of 먹다.

Answers: 도왔어요, 먹을 것입니다, 도와, 돕습니다 and 먹을 거야. If you missed the third or fourth answer, look at the "Changed?" column again: the ㅂ changes before a vowel and stays before 습.

The formal future 먹을 것입니다 is the full written form. In speech it is usually contracted to 먹을 겁니다, and both are correct. Drills like this one prepare you for the last topic: what a chart cannot do.

What Can a Chart Not Tell You?

A chart shows forms, and it cannot show which form suits a situation, which verb you need or what a sentence means. Treat it as a spelling checker for endings and not as a grammar teacher.

Four limits matter in practice:

• It does not choose the speech level. The chart lists polite, casual and formal cells side by side, but only the listener and the setting decide which to use.
• It does not list every ending. The nine cells here cover the core present, past and future. Connectives such as -아서/-어서 ("because") and honorific -(으)시- are separate patterns.
• It does not pick the verb. To know whether 먹다, 마시다 or 들다 fits, you need vocabulary, not a chart.
• It does not include verbs it was not built for. A chart of 50 verbs cannot cover every verb. For another word, type it into the Korean verb conjugator.

To move from a chart cell to a real sentence, add a subject or topic and any objects, then end with the cell you chose. 친구가 밥을 먹어요. ("My friend eats rice.") uses the polite present cell 먹어요 at the end of the sentence. The word order is explained in the lessons on sentence structure, and the rules for choosing 해요체 or 합쇼체 are in Korean speech levels.

This lesson does not cover how the forms are built from scratch, only how to read them. The recipes are in how Korean conjugation works, and the forms follow the standard orthography of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원).

What to Learn Next

Now that you have the Korean conjugation chart explained, the best next step is to see all the rules at once on the conjugation cheat sheet, a one-page summary you can print. After that, practise reading charts at scale on the verbs conjugation list, where 50 verbs are grouped by pattern. To go back to the section overview, open Conjugation Charts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the rows and columns mean on a Korean conjugation chart? Each row is a tense: present, past or future. Each column is a speech level: casual 해체, polite 해요체 or formal 합쇼체. You find a form by picking the row and the column and reading the cell where they cross. For 먹다, the past row and polite column give 먹었어요.

Why are some cells empty on a conjugation chart? The chart prints "No standard form" because some forms exist only for some word types. The plain command 먹어라 and the plain suggestion 먹자 belong to action verbs. Adjectives such as 예쁘다 and the copula 이다 do not have standard versions, so those cells are marked and not left blank.

How do I spot an irregular verb in a conjugation chart? Check for a class badge such as ㅂ beside the dictionary form, then look for cells labelled "changed". In the chart for 돕다, the polite present is 도와요 and not 돕아요, while the formal present 돕습니다 keeps the stem. Changes before a vowel with no change before a consonant is the mark of a ㅂ-irregular verb.

Which form should I learn first from a conjugation chart? Learn the polite present first, such as 먹어요, because 해요체 suits most conversations. Then learn the polite past 먹었어요 and the formal present 먹습니다. Casual forms come next for friends. Leave the future and the rarer cells until the first three feel automatic.

Can a conjugation chart show me which ending to use? No. A chart shows what a form looks like, and it cannot show when to use it. The choice of speech level depends on who you are talking to, and the tense depends on the meaning you want. Use the speech-level lessons to choose, then use the chart to check the spelling of the form.

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