Korean ㅝ Contraction: How 배우 + 어요 Becomes 배워요

What you'll learn

• Build 배워요 and 줘요 from the stems 배우 and 주.
• Recognise nine common ㅜ stems and form their past tense.
• Tell the 워 of 배워요 from the 워 of 더워요.
• Use 줘요, 주세요 and 줄래요 in the right situations.
• Spot the exception 푸다.

Prerequisites: you know the twin rule in ㅘ contraction and can read the vowel ㅝ from w vowels. Time: about 25 minutes.

The first section defines the rule and shows it on four verbs.

What Is ㅝ Contraction in Korean?

ㅝ contraction is a vowel rule in which a stem ending in ㅜ and an ending that starts with 어 merge into one syllable with the vowel ㅝ. The stem 배우 ("learn") plus 어요 gives 배우어요 in full, and speakers say 배워요. The stem 주 ("give") plus 어요 gives 주어요 in full, and speakers say 줘요. It is the twin of the ㅘ rule: the dark vowel ㅜ takes 어, where the bright vowel ㅗ takes 아.

Why 어요 and not 아요? The vowel ㅜ is a dark vowel, and vowel harmony pairs dark vowels with 어. The pairing was explained in vowel harmony. The next section shows the merge in four steps.

Merging 배우 + 어요 into 배워요

To form the polite present of a ㅜ stem, follow four steps. They mirror the four steps of the ㅘ rule, so the two lessons read as a pair.

1. Remove 다 from the dictionary form. 배우다 → 배우.
2. Choose 어요 by vowel harmony. The last vowel of 배우 is ㅜ, so the ending is 어요.
3. Write the full form. 배우 + 어요 → 배우어요.
4. Merge ㅜ and ㅓ into ㅝ, inside one syllable. 배우어요 → 배워요. The two-syllable 우어 becomes the single syllable 워.

You'll know it worked when the result has one syllable fewer than the full form: 배우어요 has four syllables and 배워요 has three. The usual mistake at step 2 is to pick 아요 because the word "feels" like 와요. Always follow the vowel of the stem: ㅜ takes 어. The result 배와요 does not exist.

For a one-syllable stem, the merge is easier to see:

Two sentences use the new forms: 한국어를 배워요 ("I learn Korean") and 선물을 줘요 ("I give a present"). The next section lists the stems that follow the rule.

Common Stems Ending in 우

The nine common verbs below have stems that end in ㅜ with no final consonant, and every one of them contracts in the polite present. The table gives each with a sentence.

The last row deserves a note. 춤추다 is a compound of the noun 춤 ("dance") and the verb 추다 ("to perform a dance"), and the stem of the whole word is 춤추. Its polite present is 춤춰요, so the contracted syllable is 춰 in the final position. The bare 추다 is just as common, but it needs 춤 as its object: 춤을 춰요 ("I dance") means the same as 춤춰요.

Every ㅜ-final verb follows the same rule, so any new verb whose stem ends in ㅜ with no final consonant (…우다, 두다, 바꾸다, 나누다, 추다) will follow it, with the one exception covered below. The next section covers the past tense.

Past Tense of ㅜ Stems

The past tense of a ㅜ stem uses 었어요, and the ㅆ of 었 lands under the merged vowel. So 배우 + 었어요 becomes 배웠어요, and 주 + 었어요 becomes 줬어요. The merged block now carries a final consonant: 웠 and 줬.

Check the spelling rule in 줬어요: the written syllable 줬 contains ㅈ + ㅝ + ㅆ. A common mistake is to write 주었어요 in everyday messages. That form is correct and formal, but 줬어요 is the form people write and say. The next section looks at the relationship between the two.

Is 주어요 Correct?

Yes, 주어요 is a correct full form, but 줘요 is the form people say and write in everyday Korean. Article 35 of the Hangul Orthography (한글 맞춤법) of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) treats the contracted spelling as the shortened form (준말) of the full form (본말), and accepts both. Its examples include 두어 → 둬 and 주어 → 줘.

A learner can use the shortened forms everywhere. Recognise the full forms if you read formal Korean, and do not worry about producing them. The next section separates three forms of "give" that learners often mix up.

What Is the Difference between 줘요, 주세요 and 줄래요?

줘요, 주세요 and 줄래요 all come from 주다, but they differ in register and in function. 줘요 is the plain polite form, 주세요 is a polite request, and 줄래요 asks whether the listener is willing.

The helping-verb pattern -아/어 주다 ("do something for someone") also uses the contracted forms: 도와줘요 ("help me", written as one word because 도와주다 is a single dictionary entry), 가르쳐 줘요 ("teach me"), 사 줘요 ("buy it for me"). The ㅝ rule applies only to the 주 itself, and the verb before it has its own connecting form. In shops and with strangers, use 주세요, because 줘요 can sound blunt. The next section deals with the most common source of confusion for this rule.

How Is ㅝ Contraction Different from ㅂ Irregular?

The ㅝ contraction and the ㅂ irregular rule both produce the syllable 워, but they come from different causes. In 배워요 the 워 comes from the stem 배우 ending in ㅜ. In 더워요 the 워 comes from the stem 덥 ending in ㅂ, which turns into 우 before a vowel. The dictionary form tells you which rule applies.

The test is simple: look at the dictionary form. If the syllable before 다 ends in ㅜ with no final consonant (배우다, 주다, 바꾸다), it is a ㅝ contraction. If it ends in ㅂ다, it may be ㅂ irregular, but check, because many ㅂ verbs are regular: 입다 gives 입어요 and 좁다 gives 좁아요. The irregular list is in ㅂ irregular.

Two pairs look nearly identical and come from the two different rules. The verb 쉬다 ("to rest") has the polite present 쉬어요, while the adjective 쉽다 ("to be easy") has 쉬워요. And the verb 주다 ("to give") gives 줘요, while 줍다 ("to pick up") gives 주워요. If you hear 주워요 and expect a form of 주다, you will get the meaning wrong. The next section covers the one stem that breaks the ㅝ rule.

Why Is 푸다 an Exception?

푸다 ("to scoop, to ladle") is the exception because its ㅜ drops before 어 instead of merging: 푸 + 어요 becomes 퍼요, not 풔요. Korean textbooks list it as a separate class, the 우 irregular (우 불규칙), and it contains this one common verb. The past is 펐어요.

The example sentence is 밥을 퍼요 ("I scoop rice"). Because the class has one verb, you can learn 퍼요 as a single word. The page on 우 irregular gives the full explanation. The next section lists the mistakes that cost the most points.

Common Mistakes with the ㅝ Contraction

The ㅝ contraction has four common mistakes.

Learners often choose 아요 for a ㅜ stem. Actually ㅜ takes 어, so write 배워요, not 배와요, and 줘요, not 좌요.

Learners often read every 워 as a contraction. Actually 더워요, 추워요 and 어려워요 come from ㅂ irregular verbs, so the dictionary form ends in ㅂ.

Learners often mix up 주다 and 줍다. Actually 줘요 means "gives" and 주워요 means "picks up", and the two come from different rules.

Learners often forget the past marker. Actually the ㅆ must stay under the merged vowel: 배웠어요, not 배워어요.

An honest limit: this lesson shows contractions for the polite present and its relatives (어서, 어도, 었어요). It does not cover the future 줄 거예요, the formal 줍니다 or the honorific 주세요 in depth, because none of them have a vowel clash. Now try the exercises.

Practice

Try each item before reading the key.

1. Give the polite present of 배우다.
2. Give the polite present of 주다.
3. Give the polite past of 키우다.
4. Give the polite present of 쉬다 ("to rest") and of 쉽다 ("to be easy").
5. Give the polite present of 춥다 ("to be cold").
6. Fix the error: 영어를 배와요.
7. Give the polite present of 푸다.
8. Say "Please give me water" with 주다.

Answer key

1. 배워요.
2. 줘요.
3. 키웠어요 [키워써요].
4. 쉬어요 and 쉬워요. The first is a regular verb, and the second is ㅂ irregular.
5. 추워요. It is ㅂ irregular, so it is not a contraction.
6. 영어를 배워요. The stem 배우 ends in ㅜ, so it takes 어.
7. 퍼요.
8. 물 좀 주세요.

If you got items 1 to 3 right, you have the core rule. If you missed item 4 or 5, reread the ㅝ-versus-ㅂ section. If you missed item 7, reread the 푸다 section.

What Should You Learn after ㅝ Contraction?

After ㅝ contraction, learn the third merge: stems that end in ㅣ take 어 and become ㅕ. The next lesson, ㅕ contraction, covers 마셔요 and 기다려요 and the spelling of 쳐 and 져. For the other half of this pair, revisit ㅘ contraction. The full set of contraction rules is listed in polite present conjugation, and the overall method is in the present tense recipe.

What this lesson does not cover. It does not cover the honorific 주세요 beyond a comparison, the future tense or the formal style. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The Korean text, spoken forms and audio on this page were machine-generated and reviewed and signed off by Min-ji Park on 15 October 2026. Romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the polite present of 주다 줘요? The stem 주 ends in ㅜ, a dark vowel, so vowel harmony chooses 어요. The two vowels then sit side by side in 주어요, and Korean merges ㅜ and ㅓ into one vowel ㅝ, written 줘요. The same steps give 배워요 from 배우다 and 바꿔요 from 바꾸다.

Why is 덥다 더워요? 더워요 comes from the ㅂ irregular rule, not from ㅝ contraction. The stem 덥 ends in ㅂ, and before a vowel ending the ㅂ turns into 우, giving 더우 + 어요, which is written 더워요. The result looks like 배워요, but the dictionary form tells the cause: 덥다 ends in ㅂ and 배우다 ends in 우.

Does ㅜ always contract? Almost always. Every stem that ends in ㅜ with no final consonant contracts with 어: 주 → 줘, 배우 → 배워, 두 → 둬. The one common exception is 푸다 (to scoop), which loses its ㅜ and becomes 퍼요. Stems with a final consonant, such as 웃 or 숨, do not take part in this rule: they simply add 어요 (웃어요, 숨어요).

What is the polite present of 줍다? 줍다 means to pick up, and its polite present is 주워요. It is a ㅂ irregular verb, so its ㅂ turns into 우 before 어요. Do not confuse it with 주다 (to give), whose polite present is 줘요. The two verbs look alike, but 주워요 and 줘요 come from different rules and mean different things.

Is 줘요 a statement or a request? It can be both. 줘요 can mean I give, or it can mean give it to me, and context or tone decides. The honorific form 주세요 is always a polite request: please give. Use 주세요 when asking a stranger, a customer or an older person, and 줘요 with friends or when the meaning is a statement.