Korean Irregular Verbs Chart: Seven Classes Compared

What you will be able to do after this lesson

• Read the chart to build the polite present, past, formal and -(으)면 forms of one verb from each class.
• Say which ending triggers the change in each class and which endings leave the stem unchanged.
• Match a new verb to its class and spot the regular look-alikes.
• Choose the ten irregular words to learn first and use the chart for daily practice.

Before you start: know how to build a regular polite present, as taught in how to recognize irregular verbs. Time: about 30 minutes. Level: A2.

What Is on the Korean Irregular Verbs Chart?

The Korean irregular verbs chart covers the seven learner-level classes, one example verb per class and four forms of that verb. A class is a group of words that change in the same way. A form is the word after an ending is added. The stem is the word minus 다, so the stem of 덥다 is 덥.

Four forms are shown because they test different triggers. The polite present (-아요/어요) and the past (-았/었어요) start with 아 or 어. The formal present (-ㅂ니다/습니다) starts with a consonant. The if form (-(으)면) starts with the vowel 으, after a consonant stem. Together they reveal which sound triggers each class.

Three terms are used throughout:

• Trigger. The sound at the start of an ending that makes the stem change.
• Unchanged. The stem stays in its dictionary shape, as in 덥고.
• Look-alike. A regular word whose last letter matches an irregular class, such as 입다.

The master chart follows, then notes on how to read it.

The Master Chart

The master chart shows one verb or adjective per class. Every cell is a standard form, cross-checked with the site's conjugation engine, so you can copy it into your notes.

The ConjugationTable below zooms in on the first row. It shows how 덥다 behaves in three forms, with the rule written next to each.

Two cells in the chart often surprise learners. The ㅅ row shows 나아요, with two vowels side by side where the ㅅ used to be. The 르 row shows 몰라요, where the stem 모르 becomes 몰 and the ending 아 becomes 라. With the chart in view, the next step is putting the changes into plain words.

What Changes in Each Class?

Each class has one rule, and you can say it in one sentence. The list gives the rule in plain words, followed by the polite present that results.

• ㅂ: the ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel, and 우 + 어 merges into 워. 덥 + 어요 → 더워요. Only 돕다 and 곱다 take 와.
• ㄷ: the ㄷ becomes ㄹ before a vowel. 듣 + 어요 → 들어요.
• ㅅ: the ㅅ disappears before a vowel. 낫 + 아요 → 나아요.
• 르: the 르 splits. The ㅡ drops, one ㄹ closes the previous syllable and a second ㄹ starts the ending, which becomes 라 or 러. 모르 + 아요 → 몰라요.
• ㅎ: the ㅎ disappears before a vowel, and before 아 or 어 the vowel becomes ㅐ. 그렇 + 어요 → 그래요.
• ㅡ: the ㅡ drops before 아 or 어, and the earlier syllable chooses between 아 and 어. 쓰 + 어요 → 써요.
• ㄹ: the ㄹ disappears before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ. 살 + ㅂ니다 → 삽니다.

In the 르 class the ending vowel follows the earlier syllable: 모르다 has 모 (ㅗ), so it takes 아 (몰라요), while 부르다 has 부 (ㅜ), so it takes 어 (불러요). The same logic runs through every class, which is why the rest of the chart is easier than it looks. Now the point most beginners miss.

Which Endings Leave the Stem Unchanged?

Endings that start with a consonant leave the stem unchanged in six of the seven classes. That is the most useful sentence on the chart: if the ending starts with ㄱ, ㅈ, ㅅ or ㅂ, you can use the dictionary stem as it is. Only the ㄹ class changes before a consonant, and only before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.

Read the 르 and ㅡ rows with care. Their stems end in a vowel, so -ㅂ니다 attaches without 으: 모릅니다 and 씁니다, with the ㅡ intact. The surprise is the ㄹ class: 살고 and 살지만 keep the ㄹ, but 삽니다 loses it. For the ㄹ class, then, the exact first consonant of the ending matters: ㄱ and ㅈ keep the ㄹ, while ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ remove it.

How Many Words Does Each Class Have?

The classes differ widely in size, and size matters for study order. The table counts entries in this site's verb dictionary list of 474 words. It is a selection of useful words, not a count of the whole language.

The seven classes add up to 109 entries. The 르 count includes the two-word adjective 예의 바르다 (polite), which conjugates like 바르다. The ㅂ class is the largest, mostly adjectives, and the ㄹ class is second, mostly verbs. The ㅎ class has adjectives only and the ㄷ and ㅅ classes verbs only. The counts show where the effort lies, and the next section turns them into a word list.

Which Words Belong to Each Class?

Each class has common members and regular look-alikes. The table lists up to eight common members with their polite presents, then four look-alikes that share the final letter but belong elsewhere, most of them regular. The look-alikes are where most errors begin.

Some rows need an explanation. The look-alikes in the ㅡ row are 르 words, because no regular word ends in ㅡ: every stem that ends in ㅡ drops it. Their 르 ending makes them look like ㅡ words, but they double the ㄹ instead. The look-alikes in the 르 row are different again: 따르다, 치르다 and 들르다 end in 르 yet drop the ㅡ without doubling, and 푸르다 belongs to the rare 러 class (푸르러요). Each class hub gives the full list: ㅂ, ㄷ, ㅅ, 르, ㅎ, ㅡ and ㄹ. The page regular verbs that look irregular explains the traps one by one. A shorter list helps with priorities.

Which Ten Irregular Words Should You Learn First?

Learn these ten first: 모르다, 알다, 살다, 듣다, 덥다, 춥다, 쉽다, 어렵다, 아프다 and 그렇다. All ten carry the A1 level tag in the site's word list and appear in everyday beginner speech. This strip is an editorial pick, so it ranks by usefulness and not by a frequency count.

Notice that 알다 and 살다 look regular in the polite present, because the ㄹ drop only shows in the formal style: 압니다 and 삽니다. They sit on the list because the formal forms and the forms before a noun (아는, 사는) are everywhere. For the full classes, see Korean irregular verbs. Next, a practice routine.

How Do You Use the Chart for Practice?

Use the chart in five short drills of about five minutes each. Each drill trains one skill: recall, production, comparison, class recognition or listening. Cover part of the chart, answer aloud, and then uncover it to check.

1. Cover the forms. Hide the four form columns and look only at the class and verb. Say the polite present, then check. Repeat for the past.
2. Cover the class. Hide the class column and look only at the forms. Name the class from the form, for example 몰라요 → 르.
3. Compare two classes. Pick one pair, such as ㅂ and ㄷ, and say the polite present, the past and the if form of each. Notice that both change before 으.
4. Test a new verb. Take a verb you have not met, find its last letter in the chart, and decide which class it might belong to. Then look it up in the class hub. This is the method taught in how to recognize irregular verbs.
5. Listen and write. Play the audio, write what you hear, and check the spelling against the chart.

You can check any form with the Korean verb conjugator, which shows the rule behind each form. For a printable overview, use the download card below, and for every other conjugation form see the verbs conjugation list and the conjugation cheat sheet. A mistake pattern to avoid comes before the download.

Which Mistakes Does the Chart Help You Avoid?

The chart is built to prevent five common errors. Each error comes from applying a regular rule to an irregular word or an irregular rule to a regular one.

What Does the Chart Not Cover?

The chart covers the seven learner classes, so it leaves out three things. First, it shows only one example per class, so the word lists live on the class hubs. Second, it omits the rare classes: 러 (이르러, 푸르러), 우 (푸다 → 퍼요) and 여 (하다 words), which are covered in rare Korean irregulars: 러 and 우. Third, it takes no position on labels. Korean school grammar counts the ㄹ and ㅡ drops as regular sound rules, while learner books, including this site, list them as classes. The forms are the same either way.

Download the Chart

A printable PDF version of the chart is available in A4 and US Letter. Consult the review label on this page alongside the printable chart. The HTML tables above also show the full chart and can be printed from your browser.

What Should You Learn Next?

Learn to recognize irregular verbs, then check forms with the conjugator. The Korean irregular verbs chart gives you the forms; recognizing a class from the dictionary form is the skill that makes the chart useful for words you have never seen. After that, the Korean verb conjugator lets you test a word and see the rule. This chart summarizes the forms and does not teach each rule in depth. The class lessons do that, starting from the Korean irregular verbs hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do irregular verbs change in every tense? The change depends on the first sound of the ending, not on the tense. The past ending -았/었어요 starts with a vowel, so it triggers the same change as the polite present: 덥다 becomes 더웠어요, and 듣다 becomes 들었어요. Endings that start with a consonant, such as -고, leave most stems unchanged.

Are adjectives on the chart too? Yes. Irregular adjectives follow the same rules as irregular verbs, and several classes are mostly adjectives: ㅂ (덥다, 춥다), ㅎ (그렇다, 빨갛다) and ㅡ (크다, 아프다). The chart's example for ㅂ and ㅎ is an adjective, and the endings you add are the same as for action verbs.

Why do some books list only five irregular classes? Korean school grammar counts ㅂ, ㄷ, ㅅ, 르 and ㅎ as the main irregular classes, plus the rare 우, 여 and 러, and treats the ㄹ and ㅡ drops as regular sound rules. Learner books often add ㄹ and ㅡ as classes because the basic recipe does not predict them. The forms are identical; only the count differs.

Where is the 러 irregular on the chart? It is not on the chart. The 러 irregular is a tiny class with words such as 이르다 (reach) and 푸르다 (be blue-green), which take 러 in the polite present: 이르러요. The 우 irregular, 푸다 (퍼요), is equally rare. Both are covered on the rare irregulars page.

How do I know which class a verb belongs to? Look at the last letter of the stem, then check the class lists. A stem ending in ㅂ, ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅎ, 르, ㅡ or ㄹ is a candidate, and the lists decide because look-alikes exist. The recognition page gives a decision tree, and the conjugator shows the class for every word in its reviewed list.