Key Facts
- Hangul: 알려주다 (allyeojuda)
- Meaning: to let know; to tell
- Level: A2
- Stem: 알려주
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: transitive
What Does 알려주다 Mean?
알려주다 has two everyday jobs. The first is passing on a piece of information, as in 전화번호를 알려 주다 (to tell a phone number). The second is guiding someone, as in 길을 알려 주세요 (please show me the way). The information takes 을/를 and the person who receives it takes 에게 or 한테, so you can build 친구에게 주소를 알려주다 without any extra particles. You will see the verb written both attached and with a space (알려 주다); this page uses the attached spelling.
Register is mostly neutral. In requests the set phrase is 알려 주세요, and when the listener deserves extra respect Korean swaps in the humble verb 알려드리다: 제가 알려드릴게요.
How Do You Pronounce 알려주다?
알려주다 has four syllables, al-lyeo-ju-da. The final ㄹ of 알 meets the ㄹ that opens 려, so the two sounds join into one long l, as the double l in the romanization shows. No letters change in the dictionary form. In the formal present 알려줍니다, the final ㅂ in 줍 turns into ㅁ before ㄴ, and the past forms such as 알려줬어요 are said with a tense 써.
How Do You Use 알려주다 in a Sentence?
친구가 길을 알려줘요.
My friend tells me the way.
알려줘요 is the plain present: a friend gives directions, and the receiver 'me' is left out because the context makes it obvious.
선생님이 숙제를 알려줬어요.
The teacher told us the homework.
알려줬어요 with 숙제를 reports a finished act of telling. The teacher announced the homework once; nobody was taught a subject.
전화번호 좀 알려주세요.
Please tell me your phone number.
알려주세요 is the request form. 좀 softens it, and 전화번호 is the information being asked for.
How Does Allyeojuda Conjugation Work?
The stem 알려주 ends in ㅜ. Before 어, ㅜ and ㅓ blend into one syllable, so 주 turns into 줘 and the verb becomes 알려줘요 and, with the past marker, 알려줬어요. The future plan is 알려줄 거예요, and the modifiers are 알려주는, 알려준 and 알려줄. Everything else is regular, including the negatives 안 알려줘요 and 알려주지 않아요.
알려주다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 알려줘요 | ||
| Polite past | 알려줬어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 알려줄 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 알려주겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 알려줍니다 | ||
| Formal past | 알려줬습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 알려줄 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 알려줘 | ||
| Casual past | 알려줬어 | ||
| Casual future | 알려줄 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 알려주고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 알려주세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 알려줘서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 알려주면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 알려주는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 알려준 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 알려줄 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 알려줘요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 알려주지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 알려줬어요 | [알려줘써요] |
| Future plan | 알려줄 거예요 | [알려줄꺼예요] |
| Future guess | 알려주겠어요 | [알려주게써요] |
| Formal now | 알려줍니다 | [알려줌니다] |
| Formal past | 알려줬습니다 | [알려줟씀니다] |
| Formal future | 알려줄 것입니다 | [알려줄꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 알려줬어 | [알려줘써] |
| Casual future | 알려줄 거야 | [알려줄꺼야] |
| Want to | 알려주고 싶어요 | [알려주고 시퍼요] |
| Long negative | 알려주지 않아요 | [알려주지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 제가 알려주실게요
Correct: ✓ 제가 알려 드릴게요
Why: -시- is an honorific for other people, never for yourself. When you tell a senior something, use 드리다 instead: 알려 드릴게요 (also written 알려드릴게요).
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 알려주다 |
|---|---|
| 가르치다 | 가르치다 is to teach a subject or skill over time; 알려주다 is to tell or inform something once. A phone number or the homework page is 알려주다; grammar over a whole term is 가르치다. |
| 말하다 | 말하다 is simply to speak or say; 알려주다 stresses giving useful information to someone. |
Asking a Coworker for Meeting Information
A new employee needs the meeting time. The coworker answers, then mentions who has already received the information. The exchange uses a request, the future and the past.
New employee
회의 시간 좀 알려주세요.
Hoeui sigan jom allyeojuseyo.
Please tell me the meeting time.
Coworker
세 시예요. 다른 분들에게도 알려줄 거예요.
Se siyeyo. Dareun bundeuregedo allyeojul geoyeyo.
It is at three. I will let the others know too.
New employee
민수 씨에게도 알려줬어요?
Minsu ssiegedo allyeojwosseoyo?
Did you tell Minsu too?
Coworker
네. 아까 알려줬어요.
Ne. Akka allyeojwosseoyo.
Yes. I told him earlier.
회의 시간 is the information requested; 민수 씨에게 names a receiver. The repeated 도 means “too”. The last answer leaves out both the receiver and the meeting time because the question has already supplied them.
Which Information Naturally Goes with 알려주다?
알려주다 often takes practical information: 주소를 알려주다 is to give someone an address, and 방법을 알려주다 is to show or explain how to do something. The second phrase can involve a demonstration. English “tell” may sound purely verbal, but 알려주다 focuses on helping the other person come to know something.
결과를 알려주다 means to let someone know the result. In a message about an application, test or appointment, it points to the information being delivered. It does not itself say whether the result is good or bad. Look at the result or the following sentence for that detail.
길을 알려주다 is especially useful when asking directions. Someone can tell you the route without going with you. If a person accompanies you, that is an additional action; 알려주다 alone does not promise an escort. In a classroom, the verb can introduce the homework page or an answer without implying a whole lesson.
What Changes between a Request and an Offer?
알려주세요 asks the other person to provide information. 제가 알려드릴게요 offers to provide it yourself, respectfully, to the listener. Choosing between them starts with identifying who will do the informing. The humble 드리다 in the offer gives respect to the person receiving the help.
The casual 알려줘 can be a request to a close friend. 알려줘요 can also function as a request in context, but 알려주세요 is a useful polite choice for a staff member or someone you have just met. 좀 literally means “a little”; in these requests it softens the tone rather than asking for only part of a phone number.
You will hear the verb at information desks and see it in messages asking for availability or contact details. A request for information is still a request: the wording does not imply that the other person must share it. For workplace updates, a clear noun such as 시간 or 결과 makes the message more useful than a bare “tell me”.
Spacing and Noun Modifiers to Watch
Both 알려주다 and 알려 주다 appear in standard writing, as noted above. With the contracted present, the corresponding spellings are 알려줘요 and 알려 줘요. Keep an attached spelling through the tense ending: 알려줬어요 is one written unit. 안 remains separate in 안 알려줘요.
The three modifiers describe when the informing happens. 알려주는 사람 is a person who tells or explains; 알려준 사람 is the person who already told you. 알려줄 사람 is someone who will tell you. In the past modifier 알려준, the ㄴ ending attaches to 주; there is no 줘 contraction because no 어 follows.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 정보 | information | The content someone passes on. |
| 주소 | address | A common object of 알려주다. |
| 방법 | method / way | What someone explains when showing how. |
| 설명하다 | to explain | Emphasizes explaining details. |
Use directions phrases for situations where the information you need is a route.
Mini Drill: Pass on the Information
- Turn 알려줘요 into the polite past.
- Put the verb before 사람 to mean “the person who told me”.
- Make 알려줘요 negative with 안.
- Ask politely for a phone number using 좀.
Show answers
- 알려줬어요.
- 알려준 사람. Use the past modifier 알려준.
- 안 알려줘요. Leave a space after 안.
- 전화번호 좀 알려주세요.
Quick Self-Test
- In 친구에게 주소를 알려주다, which part names the receiver?
- Does 길을 알려주다 mean someone must walk with you?
- Which form respectfully offers your own help: 알려주세요 or 제가 알려드릴게요?
Show answers
- 친구에게 names the friend receiving the information.
- No. Giving directions is enough.
- 제가 알려드릴게요. The speaker offers to inform the listener.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Ask Someone Politely to Tell Me Something?
Use 알려주세요, usually with 좀 in front of the verb: 전화번호 좀 알려주세요.
What Do I Say When I Am Informing Someone I Respect?
Switch to the humble verb 알려드리다, for example 제가 알려드릴게요.
Which Particle Marks the Person I Tell?
Use 에게 or the spoken 한테 for the receiver and 을/를 for the information: 친구에게 주소를 알려주다.
Is 알려주다 the Same as 말하다?
No. 말하다 is simply to speak or say, while 알려주다 stresses handing someone information they can use.
Which Words Are Related to 알려주다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 가르치다 next for the teaching verb this page keeps separating from 알려주다, then 설명하다 for explaining in detail and 도와주다 for helping.
The polite present recipe explains the pattern behind 알려줘요, and the conjugator checks any other form. The dictionary lists the rest.