Key Facts
- Hangul: 안다 (anda)
- Meaning: to hug
- Level: A2
- Part of speech: verb
- Pronounced: [안따]
- Stem: 안
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: What or whom you hold takes 을/를 (아기를 안아요).
- Usage: Used for hugs and for carrying a baby in your arms. A noun form 포옹 is more formal.
Hug in Korean: What Does 안다 Mean?
The first sense is the hug itself: 친구를 안다 is to hug a friend. The second sense is carrying in the arms, as in 아기를 안다, where a baby rests against your chest. Whoever or whatever is held takes 을/를, so the verb is transitive.
In daily talk 안다 covers both the greeting hug and the parent's hold. The noun 포옹 is the more formal word for a hug, so it suits writing better than conversation.
Senses:
- to hug: Put your arms around someone: 친구를 안다.
- to hold in arms: Carry something against your chest: 아기를 안다.
How Do You Pronounce 안다?
The dictionary form is read [안따]: the ㄷ after the stem-final ㄴ hardens to a tense sound. Before a vowel the ㄴ links across, so 안아요 is [아나요] and 안았어요 is [아나써요]. The dictionary form of 앉다 (to sit) sounds the same, which is why the two get confused.
How Do You Use 안다 in a Sentence?
엄마가 아기를 안아요.
The mother holds the baby in her arms.
The baby is the object and takes 를. The stem vowel of 안 is the bright vowel ㅏ, so the polite present adds 아요 to give 안아요.
저는 친구를 안았어요.
I hugged my friend.
The past 안았어요 describes a hug that already happened. Here the hug is a greeting, since a friend is the object.
아기를 안으면 울음을 그쳐요.
If you hold the baby, it stops crying.
안으면 is the conditional. The stem ends in a consonant, so 으 is inserted before 면, and the whole sentence says that holding the baby ends the crying.
How Does Anda Conjugation Work?
The stem 안 never changes, so every form is predictable. Consonant endings attach directly (안습니다), endings that begin with 으 insert it (안으면, 안으세요, 안은), and 아 endings join straight on (안아서). Nothing is dropped or swapped, which makes 안다 a clean model for regular stems that end in ㄴ.
안다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 안아요 | ||
| Polite past | 안았어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 안을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 안겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 안습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 안았습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 안을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 안아 | ||
| Casual past | 안았어 | ||
| Casual future | 안을 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 안고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 안으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 안아서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 안으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 안는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 안은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 안을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 안아요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 안지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 안아요 | [아나요] |
| Polite past | 안았어요 | [아나써요] |
| Polite future | 안을 거예요 | [아늘꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 안겠어요 | [안께써요] |
| Formal present | 안습니다 | [안씀니다] |
| Formal past | 안았습니다 | [아낟씀니다] |
| Formal future | 안을 것입니다 | [아늘꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 안아 | [아나] |
| Casual past | 안았어 | [아나써] |
| Casual future | 안을 거야 | [아늘꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 안고 싶어요 | [안꼬 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 안으세요 | [아느세요] |
| Because / and then | 안아서 | [아나서] |
| If (conditional) | 안으면 | [아느면] |
| Past modifier | 안은 | [아는] |
| Future modifier | 안을 | [아늘] |
| Short negative | 안 안아요 | [안 아나요] |
| Long negative | 안지 않아요 | [안찌 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 의자에 안아요
Correct: ✓ 의자에 앉아요
Why: 안다 (hug) and 앉다 (sit) share the dictionary pronunciation, so a learner who hears the sound and writes the wrong word gets a sentence about hugging a chair. Seating is always 앉다, and you can test it by asking whether a place (의자에) is involved.
How Does 안다 Sit Among Carrying Verbs?
Korean splits carrying by body part. 안다 uses the arms and chest, 업다 uses the back, 들다 uses the hand and 잡다 grips. A mother with 아기를 안아요 and a child on a piggyback ride therefore need two different verbs.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 안다?
| Word | How to tell it from 안다 |
|---|---|
| 업다 | 업다 puts the weight on your back, as with a child on a piggyback ride; 안다 keeps the person in front of you. |
| 앉다 | 앉다 is the posture verb and the sound-alike trap; the meanings are unrelated. |
| 들다 | 들다 lifts or holds something in the hand; 안다 wraps the arms around it. |
Visiting a New Baby
An aunt visits her brother and his baby. The two adults use polite speech here. The scene moves from a usual action to a past event and then to a wish.
Aunt
아기를 자주 안아요?
Agireul jaju anayo?
Do you hold the baby often?
Father
네. 어제도 안았어요.
Ne. Eojedo anasseoyo.
Yes. I held the baby yesterday too.
Aunt
저도 안고 싶어요.
Jeodo ango sipeoyo.
I’d like to hold the baby too.
Father
그럼 편하게 앉으세요.
Geureom pyeonhage anjeuseyo.
Then please sit comfortably.
안아요 asks about a habit, 안았어요 reports a past action, and 안고 싶어요 expresses the aunt's wish. The final line deliberately uses 앉다, “sit”: the aunt will sit down before holding the baby. The two verbs can occur naturally in the same scene, but they describe different actions.
Hugging Phrases and Figurative Uses
꼭 안다 means to hug tightly. 꼭 strengthens the closeness of the hold; it does not mean “certainly” in this combination. 품에 안다 means to hold in one's arms or against one's chest. 품 names the space within the arms and chest, which makes the image more specific than simply holding something in a hand.
희망을 안다 means to carry or cherish hope. The object is an idea rather than a person. A news report may use 부담을 안다, “to bear a burden”, when describing a difficult responsibility. These figurative uses keep the image of carrying something close, while the object tells you whether an actual embrace is involved.
안아 주세요 means “please hug me” or “please hold [the person]”. The person being held can be left out when the situation makes them clear. In a drama a distressed character might ask for a hug this way; beside a baby, the same request may ask someone to hold the child. 주세요 makes a request polite, but the context still identifies who needs holding.
What Remains Tricky in a Regular Verb?
The short negative 안 안아요 contains two separate pieces: the first 안 means “not”, and 안아요 means “hug”. Keep the space between them. The longer negative 안지 않아요 can be easier to recognize on the page because the negative expression comes after the stem.
안은 is a past modifier placed before a noun. Its pronunciation [아는] matches another written form, 아는, meaning “knowing” from 알다. Spelling and context separate them. In a description of holding a child, the written 안은 keeps the ㄴ belonging to 안다 even though it links into the following vowel.
A polite ending addresses the listener politely; an honorific ending respects the person doing the hugging. 안으세요 can therefore describe or request the action of a respected person. It does not automatically mean “please hug me”: the sentence still needs a situation or object that identifies the recipient.
Words around an Embrace
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 품 | bosom / space within the arms | Appears in 품에 안다. |
| 포옹 | hug / embrace | A noun useful in written descriptions. |
| 아기 | baby | Often the object when 안다 means holding in the arms. |
| 팔 | arm | The body part doing the wrapping. |
The body vocabulary lesson gives the words for describing arms and hands more precisely.
Mini Drill: Keep the Hugging Stem
- Turn 안다 into the polite past.
- Complete “if you hold”: 안____.
- Give the short negative of 안아요 with correct spacing.
- Choose the sitting verb for 의자에: 안아요 or 앉아요?
Show drill answers
- 안았어요.
- 안으면.
- 안 안아요.
- 앉아요, from 앉다.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 품에 안다 normally describe carrying something on your back?
- Is 희망을 안다 a literal physical hug?
- In the baby dialogue, which form expresses a wish?
Show answers
- No. It describes holding within the arms or against the chest. 업다 is carrying on the back.
- No. It means to cherish or carry hope.
- 안고 싶어요.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 안다 Mean Both Hug and Carry?
Yes. It covers the hug (친구를 안다) and the hold of a baby in the arms (아기를 안다), and the object always takes 을/를.
Is There a More Formal Word than 안다?
The noun 포옹 is the more formal word for a hug and suits writing. In conversation people still use 안다.
How Can I Avoid Mixing 안다 with 앉다?
They are pronounced alike in the dictionary form, but 앉다 is about sitting and goes with a place such as 의자에. Check whether anything is being held or whether someone is taking a seat.
What Is the Polite Present of 안다?
안아요. The stem vowel ㅏ selects 아요, and the ㄴ links into the next syllable, so it is read [아나요].
Which Words Are Related to 안다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Move on to 앉다 next to settle the sound-alike pair, then 업다 for carrying on the back. For the recipe behind 안아요, see polite present recipe; any other verb can be tried in the Korean verb conjugator, and the Korean verb dictionary lists every entry.