Korean Verb Stem List: 60 Common Stems Sorted by Type

What you'll learn

• Find the stem of 60 common verbs and adjectives and name its type.
• Predict whether a stem takes 아요 or 어요 from its last vowel.
• Spot which stems change shape and where to learn each change.
• Drill the list with audio and flashcards.

Prerequisites: you know that a stem is the dictionary form minus 다, as taught in what a verb stem is. Time: about 30 minutes, plus practice.

The first section explains the columns and how to read a row.

What Is in the Korean Verb Stem List?

The Korean verb stem list is a reference table of 60 common verbs and adjectives, each broken into its stem and its next forms. The list has 32 vowel stems, 20 consonant stems and 8 ㄹ stems. It includes 13 adjectives and 47 verbs, because both groups follow the same stem rules. The words were chosen for their everyday meanings and to show each pattern at least twice. The list is grouped by pattern, and it is not ranked by frequency.

Each table has the same columns:

Read a row from left to right. In row 1 (가다), the stem is 가, the kind is verb, the harmony vowel is 아, and the polite present is 가요 because 가 + 아요 merges into one vowel. In the consonant table, row 33 (먹다) has the stem 먹, harmony vowel 어, polite present 먹어요 and formal 먹습니다. The formal column also shows the stem type: a vowel stem takes -ㅂ니다 (갑니다), a consonant stem takes -습니다 (먹습니다), and an ㄹ stem drops its ㄹ before -ㅂ니다 (삽니다).

A short limit: the polite forms in the table are the standard forms, and the table does not show the full-length spellings that exist for some contracted stems, such as 보아요 for 봐요. The next section opens the first group, the vowel stems.

Which Korean Verb Stems End in a Vowel?

A vowel stem is a stem whose last syllable block has no final consonant, and the list has 32 of them. They are the stems where the 아요 or 어요 ending has to merge with the stem's own vowel, so the polite present often looks different from the stem. The table groups them by the last vowel of the stem. Read the group notes before the tables.

Stems Ending in ㅏ or ㅓ

The ending 아요 or 어요 starts with the same vowel as the stem, so the two merge and one vowel disappears: 가 + 아요 becomes 가요, and 서 + 어요 becomes 서요. This is the vowel dropping rule, explained in vowel dropping.

Audio for rows 1 to 7, the dictionary form then the stem:

Stems Ending in ㅗ or ㅜ

The vowel of the stem and the vowel of the ending merge into one: ㅗ + ㅏ becomes ㅘ (오 + 아요 → 와요) and ㅜ + ㅓ becomes ㅝ (주 + 어요 → 줘요). The two rules are taught in ㅘ contraction and ㅝ contraction.

Audio for rows 8 to 13, the dictionary form then the stem:

Stems Ending in ㅡ

A stem ending in ㅡ loses that vowel before 아요 or 어요, and the vowel of the ending is chosen by the vowel before it: 아프 + 아요 → 아파요, because the earlier vowel ㅏ is bright. When no vowel comes before ㅡ, as in 쓰 and 크, the ending is 어요: 써요, 커요. The stem 모르 is different: it belongs to the 르 class and doubles the ㄹ (몰라요).

Audio for rows 14 to 19, the dictionary form then the stem:

Stems Ending in ㅣ, ㅐ or ㅔ

Stems ending in ㅣ take 어요 and contract to ㅕ: 마시 + 어요 → 마셔요, as taught in ㅕ contraction. Stems ending in ㅐ or ㅔ drop the ending's 어, so 보내 + 어요 is 보내요, as in ㅐ and ㅔ stems.

Audio for rows 20 to 25, the dictionary form then the stem:

Stems Ending in ㅚ, ㅟ or ㅕ

Each of the three has its own small rule. 되다 becomes 돼요 (the spelling trap is in 돼요 vs 되요). 쉬다 does not contract in standard writing and stays 쉬어요. 켜다 drops the ending's 어 because the stem already ends in ㅕ, so 켜요.

Audio for rows 26 to 28, the dictionary form then the stem:

The 하 Stems

The stem 하 takes 여 instead of 아 or 어, and 하 + 여 contracts to 해. Every 하다 word follows the same rule, whether it is a verb or an adjective. The rule is taught in 하다 to 해요.

Audio for rows 29 to 32, the dictionary form then the stem:

The vowel stems show one habit clearly: the stem's last vowel decides the ending. Bright vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ) call for 아요 and nearly everything else calls for 어요. Vowel-final stems also take no 으 in -(으)면 or -(으)세요: 가면, 보세요. The next group of stems ends in a consonant, so it behaves differently.

Which Korean Verb Stems End in a Consonant?

A consonant stem is a stem whose last block has a batchim (final consonant), and the list has 20 of them. They take 으 before consonant-initial endings that have a (으) form, as in 먹으면, and they take 습니다 instead of ㅂ니다 in formal speech. Before a vowel ending the batchim moves to the next syllable: 먹어요 is pronounced [머거요].

Audio for rows 33 to 52, the dictionary form then the stem:

Which Stems End in a Double Batchim?

Four stems in the list end in a double batchim, which is a cluster of two different consonant letters under one block: 읽, 앉, 없 and 많. The ㅆ in 있 does not count, because ㅆ is a single tense letter. At the end of a word only one of the two letters is pronounced, and before a vowel the cluster splits. The spelling of the stem stays the same.

The cluster ㅀ in 많 shows a further effect: ㅎ is silent before a vowel, so 많아요 sounds like [마나요] with a plain ㄴ. The sound rules are collected in double batchim.

Are ㅎ Stems Irregular?

No, the ㅎ stems in this list are regular. 좋다, 놓다 and 많다 all end in ㅎ, and all follow the ordinary pattern: 좋아요, 놓아요, 많아요. The irregular ㅎ class is a small group of color and "like this" adjectives, such as 빨갛다 and 어떻다, whose ㅎ drops and whose vowel changes (빨개요). A learner who sees the letter ㅎ at the end of a stem should not assume irregularity.

One extra note on 놓다. Alongside 놓아요, speakers say the shortened 놔요 (and 놨어요 in the past), and the Standard Korean Language Dictionary records 놔 as a short form of 놓아. The table shows the full form. The shortened form follows the same idea as the ㅘ rule in ㅘ contraction. The third group is the ㄹ stems.

The ㄹ Stems in the List

An ㄹ stem is a consonant stem whose last letter is ㄹ, and the list has 8 of them. They break the consonant pattern in two ways: they add no 으, and they drop the ㄹ before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ. The formal column makes the drop visible: 삽니다, not 살습니다.

Audio for rows 53 to 60, the dictionary form then the stem:

The ㄹ stems keep the ㄹ before vowels (살아요) and before most consonants (살면, 살고). The drop is regular, so once you know it for 살다 it works for all eight. The rule is explained step by step in what a verb stem is. Five rows in the list carry markers because their stems change in other ways, and the next section collects them.

Which Stems Are Irregular?

Five stems in the list change shape before some endings. Four of them belong to true irregular classes, and one (쓰) follows a regular vowel rule that also changes the shape of the word. The marker column in the tables flags each one; 쓰 stands for the whole ㅡ group, since 크, 아프, 예쁘 and 바쁘 lose their ㅡ in the same way. The table below shows what happens and where to learn it.

Compare each with a regular lookalike in the list. 입다 (입어요) is a regular ㅂ stem, but 돕다 (도와요) is irregular. 닫다 (닫아요) is a regular ㄷ stem, but 듣다 (들어요) is irregular. 웃다 and 씻다 (웃어요, 씻어요) are regular ㅅ stems, but 낫다 (나아요) is irregular. The ending of the dictionary form does not tell you which is which: you must learn the irregular verbs as exceptions. The page on irregular verbs lists the classes in full. The dictionary form of an irregular verb stays the same, so look it up in the Korean verb dictionary. The remaining question is what patterns you can learn from the full list.

Patterns in the Korean Verb Stem List

Reading all 60 rows together shows four patterns that you can use on stems that are not in the list.

1. The formal column reveals the stem type. A vowel stem takes -ㅂ니다 (갑니다), a consonant stem takes -습니다 (먹습니다), and an ㄹ stem drops ㄹ (삽니다). If you can form the formal ending, you know the stem type.
2. The harmony vowel follows the last stem vowel. Stems whose last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ take 아요 (앉아요, 와요), and most other stems take 어요 (먹어요, 마셔요). The vowel before a dropped ㅡ counts: 아프 takes 아 because of the ㅏ.
3. Merging happens only in vowel stems. Every irregular-looking polite form in the vowel table (와요, 줘요, 마셔요, 돼요) is a vowel stem merging with the ending, while consonant stems keep the ending intact (먹어요).
4. Adjectives behave like verbs. The 13 adjectives in the list sit in the same groups with the same endings as the verbs, which is the practical reason to learn the stem system once.

A reliable shortcut for any new word follows from these patterns: remove 다, look at the last block, and choose the group. The next section turns the list into a practice routine.

How Do You Use This List for Practice?

Use the list as a drill, not as a reading text. This five-step routine takes about ten minutes for one table.

1. Cover the Stem and Polite present columns. Look only at the dictionary form.
2. Say the stem aloud, then its type. For 먹다, say "먹, consonant stem". You know it worked when you never include 다.
3. Say the polite present aloud. For 먹다, say 먹어요. Check the column.
4. Play the audio. Listen to the dictionary form and the stem, and say them again.
5. Mark misses and repeat on another day. Any row where you missed the stem or the form goes into tomorrow's drill.

For spaced repetition, use the deck below, which shows the dictionary form on the front and the stem on the back. Further decks are in the vocabulary flashcards section.

A common mistake while drilling is to learn polite forms as separate words. Learn the stem and the harmony vowel instead, and rebuild the polite form each time. A second mistake is to skip the marked rows. The marked stems are the ones that cost points on tests, so drill them first. The next section lists what to learn after the list.

What Should You Learn after the Korean Verb Stem List?

After the Korean verb stem list, learn the rule that builds the polite present from any stem. The present tense recipe turns a stem into a polite sentence in three steps. For single verbs with every form, use the Korean verb dictionary. To understand why a stem is vowel or consonant before moving on, reread what a verb stem is.

What this list does not cover. It does not rank verbs by frequency, teach the irregular classes, or include honorific or compound verbs. 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

What is the stem of a Korean adjective? An adjective stem is found the same way as a verb stem: remove 다. In this list 크다 gives 크, 좋다 gives 좋 and 멀다 gives 멀. Adjective stems fall into the same vowel, consonant and ㄹ types and take the same endings, which is why verbs and adjectives share every table.

How many stems should a beginner know? There is no fixed number. The skill that matters is removing 다 and sorting the result into a type, and that works for any verb. The 60 stems here are enough to practise every pattern at least twice. Learn them as examples of rules, then add stems from your own reading and vocabulary lists.

Are the 60 stems in order of frequency? No. The stems are grouped by type and by their last vowel, not ranked by how often they occur. They were chosen for everyday meaning and to show each pattern, and no frequency count was used. For a frequency-based starting point, use the beginner verb lists linked in the verbs hub.

Why do double-batchim stems sound different in 읽다 and 읽어요? A final cluster of two consonants cannot be fully pronounced at the end of a word, so 읽다 is [익따], with the ㄹ silent. Before a vowel the cluster splits: ㄹ stays and ㄱ moves to the next syllable, giving 읽어요 [일거요]. The spelling of the stem never changes.

Can I print this stem list? The tables use plain text, so they can be printed or copied into a study sheet from your browser. Printing keeps the Korean and the columns, but the audio buttons do not work on paper. For listening practice, use the audio rows on screen or the flashcard deck linked below.

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