Key Facts
- Hangul: 받다 (batda)
- Meaning: to receive
- Level: A1
- Stem: 받
- Conjugation class: regular
- Object marking: transitive
What Does 받다 Mean?
The most typical collocations are 선물을 받다, 편지를 받다 and 전화를 받다. The last one reads literally 'receive a call' and means to answer it. The thing received takes 을/를, and the person it comes from takes 에게서 or 한테서, which is the pattern in 친구한테서 선물을 받아요.
A useful way to remember the frame is to picture an arrow: the giver sits at the start, marked by 에게서 or 한테서, and the thing received travels along it with 을/를. Beginners who keep English word order usually put the giver first and forget the particle. Also keep 전화를 받다 separate in your mind: it is not about receiving a gift but about picking up, and it is the verb you will hear most in a phone call.
How Do You Pronounce 받다?
The dictionary form is read [받따]: the ㄷ at the end of the stem makes the next ㄷ tense. Before a vowel the ㄷ links over and is voiced, so 받아요 sounds like [바다요]. Before ㄴ it becomes an n sound, so the present modifier 받는 is read [반는].
How Do You Use 받다 in a Sentence?
저는 매달 용돈을 받아요.
I receive pocket money every month.
받아요 with 용돈을 and 매달 (every month): a regular, repeated receipt of money.
어제 친구에게 편지를 받았어요.
I received a letter from a friend yesterday.
받았어요 with 친구에게 and 편지를: the sender is marked here with 에게, and 어제 sets it yesterday.
이 선물을 받으면 기뻐할 거예요.
They'll be happy if they get this gift.
받으면 with a gift as object. The result clause 기뻐할 거예요 predicts someone else's happy reaction; this verb of joy describes how another person shows happiness, so the sentence is about a third person, not 'you'.
How Does Batda Conjugation Work?
The stem 받 is regular. 받 + 아요 gives 받아요, and the past is 받았어요. Because the stem ends in ㄷ, learners sometimes expect the ㄷ-to-ㄹ change of the verbs for 'to listen' and 'to walk', but 받다 is regular and keeps its consonant: 받아요, 받으면, 받는. The dictionary form is pronounced [받따].
받다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 받아요 | ||
| Polite past | 받았어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 받을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 받겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 받습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 받았습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 받을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 받아 | ||
| Casual past | 받았어 | ||
| Casual future | 받을 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 받고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 받으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 받아서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 받으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 받는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 받은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 받을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 받아요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 받지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 받아요 | [바다요] |
| Polite past | 받았어요 | [바다써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 받을 거예요 | [바들꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 받겠어요 | [받께써요] |
| Formal present | 받습니다 | [받씀니다] |
| Formal past | 받았습니다 | [바닫씀니다] |
| Formal future | 받을 것입니다 | [바들꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 받아 | [바다] |
| Casual past | 받았어 | [바다써] |
| Casual future | 받을 거야 | [바들꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 받고 싶어요 | [받꼬 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 받으세요 | [바드세요] |
| Because / and then | 받아서 | [바다서] |
| If (conditional) | 받으면 | [바드면] |
| Present modifier | 받는 | [반는] |
| Past modifier | 받은 | [바든] |
| Future modifier | 받을 | [바들] |
| Short negative | 안 받아요 | [안 바다요] |
| Long negative | 받지 않아요 | [받찌 아나요] |
Honorific and Humble Forms
The honorific polite form is 받으세요.
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 친구를 선물을 받아요
Correct: ✓ 친구에게서 선물을 받아요
Why: The giver is marked with 에게서/한테서 (from), not with 을/를; only the thing received takes 을/를. English speakers copy 'receive from my friend' and mark the friend with 를. In Korean only the thing received takes 을/를, so the friend becomes 친구에게서 (from a friend). In everyday speech 에게 alone is also common, as in the second example above.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 받다 |
|---|---|
| 주다 | 받다 is to receive; 주다 is to give. The same exchange can be told from either side. |
| 가지다 | 받다 is to receive from someone; 가지다 is to have or hold. 받다 stresses that something came from someone, and 가지다 only says you possess it. |
Checking a Delivery
Two coworkers ordered the same item and compare their delivery dates.
Jisu
택배 받았어요?
Taekbae badasseoyo?
Did you receive the parcel?
Alex
아니요. 내일 받을 거예요.
Aniyo. Naeil badeul geoyeyo.
No. I’ll receive it tomorrow.
Jisu
저는 오늘 받았어요.
Jeoneun oneul badasseoyo.
I received mine today.
The parcel is understood, so both speakers can leave it out after the opening question. 받았어요 asks about a completed delivery; 받을 거예요 places Alex's expected delivery tomorrow. Jisu's 저는 contrasts her own experience with Alex's. The verb remains 받다 even though the two parcels arrive on different days.
What Can You Receive besides a Parcel?
상을 받다 means to receive an award, and 칭찬을 받다 means to receive praise. These use the same object pattern as receiving a present. An award may be physical, while praise consists of words; 받다 works for both. The shared idea is that something comes to the recipient from another person or organization.
도움을 받다 means to receive help. English often uses “get help”, but the Korean frame still makes 도움 the object. The giver can be named with 에게서 or 한테서. In a story about a difficult journey, this phrase tells you that someone assisted the traveler, without specifying exactly what they did.
스트레스를 받다 is the everyday expression for experiencing stress. The literal “receive stress” sounds unusual in English, but Korean uses it naturally about pressure from work, study or other circumstances. A sentence with this phrase describes the person's experience; it does not by itself name a medical condition.
Where Will You Hear 받다?
전화를 받다 means to answer a phone call. The opposite side of that exchange uses 전화를 걸다, “to make a call”. A ringing phone has not necessarily been answered: 받다 points to picking it up. In office conversation, the object 전화 may be understood because everyone can hear the ringing.
At a counter, a staff member may ask whether you received a receipt, ticket or item. In a delivery conversation, 받았어요 confirms receipt rather than the sender's action. 보내다 only says someone sent something; it does not prove that it arrived. This distinction matters when checking the status of an order.
The greeting 새해 복 많이 받으세요 wishes someone good fortune for the new year. Literally, it asks them to receive much good fortune. It is a seasonal greeting, so 받으세요 here is a warm wish rather than an instruction to accept an object being handed over.
Words for the Two Ends of an Exchange
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 주다 | to give | Describes the giver's side of the exchange. |
| 보내다 | to send | Describes dispatch, which may happen before receipt. |
| 선물 | gift | A common thing to give or receive. |
| 택배 | parcel delivery / parcel | Names the delivery or, in context, the delivered package. |
For the giver and recipient markers, use the lesson on 에게서 and 한테서. The marker shows the source of the transfer, so the listener can distinguish who gave something from who received it.
Mini Drill: a ㄷ Stem That Stays Regular
- Give the polite present of 받다.
- Give the conditional “if you receive”.
- Complete “receive a gift from a friend”: 친구____ 선물을 받아요.
- Give the polite past used to confirm receipt.
Show drill answers
- 받아요. ㄷ stays in the spelling.
- 받으면, with ㄷ unchanged before 으.
- 에게서 or 한테서.
- 받았어요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 전화를 받다 mean making a call or answering it?
- Does 보내다 guarantee that the other person received the item?
- What does 칭찬을 받다 mean?
Show answers
- Answering it.
- No. It describes sending; 받다 describes receipt.
- To receive praise.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say 'Answer the Phone'?
Use 전화를 받다, literally 'to receive a call'. In the polite present, 전화를 받아요 means 'I answer the phone'.
Who Is Marked with 에게서?
The giver. 에게서 or 한테서 means 'from', as in 친구한테서 선물을 받아요.
What Is the Polite Request Form?
Use 받으세요, the honorific polite form given for this verb.
How Do I Say 'If You Receive This Gift'?
Use 받으면. The example 이 선물을 받으면 기뻐할 거예요 means 'They'll be happy if they get this gift.'
Which Words Are Related to 받다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Pair 받다 with 주다 and 보내다 so that you can talk about both ends of a transfer.
Pair 받다 with 주다 and 보내다 so that you can talk about both ends of a transfer; the rule behind this page is in regular verbs that look irregular, and any form can be checked in the Korean verb conjugator, the full list is in the Korean verb dictionary.