Key Facts
- Hangul: 벗다 (beotda)
- Meaning: to take off
- Level: A2
- Stem: 벗
- Conjugation class: regular
- Object marking: transitive
What Does 벗다 Mean?
벗다 is a very common verb for taking off shoes, clothes, hats and glasses. The item takes the object particle 을/를: 신발을 벗다 (to take off your shoes), 옷을 벗다 (to take off your clothes).
Korean uses different verbs for putting things on, depending on the item: 입다 for clothes and 신다 for shoes. For taking them off, 벗다 covers both, and it also works for a hat or a pair of glasses. Rings are the exception: you take a ring off with 빼다. In a Korean home, the shoe sentence is the one you will use most.
How Do You Pronounce 벗다?
The dictionary form is read [벋따]: at the end of a syllable, ㅅ is pronounced [ㄷ] and makes the next consonant tense. Before a vowel the ㅅ moves into the next syllable and keeps its s sound, so 벗어요 is read [버서요] and 벗었어요 is read [버서써요]. Before ㄴ it becomes [ㄴ]: 벗는 is read [번는].
How Do You Use 벗다 in a Sentence?
집에서 신발을 벗어요.
I take off my shoes at home.
벗어요 with 집에서 (at home) and 신발을 (shoes) describes a house rule: shoes come off indoors.
여기서 코트를 벗으세요.
Please take off your coat here.
벗으세요 is the honorific polite form, used as a request; 코트를 (coat) is the object.
신발을 벗어서 현관에 두었어요.
I took off my shoes and left them at the entrance.
벗어서 links two actions in order: first taking off the shoes, then leaving them at the entrance, 현관에.
How Does Beotda Conjugation Work?
Some ㅅ verbs change their stem, but 벗 is regular. 벗 + 어요 gives 벗어요, and the past is 벗었어요. The honorific is 벗으세요, and the dictionary form is pronounced [벋따].
벗다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 벗어요 | ||
| Polite past | 벗었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 벗을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 벗겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 벗습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 벗었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 벗을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 벗어 | ||
| Casual past | 벗었어 | ||
| Casual future | 벗을 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 벗고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 벗으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 벗어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 벗으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 벗는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 벗은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 벗을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 벗어요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 벗지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 벗어요 | [버서요] |
| Polite past | 벗었어요 | [버서써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 벗을 거예요 | [버슬꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 벗겠어요 | [벋께써요] |
| Formal present | 벗습니다 | [벋씀니다] |
| Formal past | 벗었습니다 | [버섣씀니다] |
| Formal future | 벗을 것입니다 | [버슬꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 벗어 | [버서] |
| Casual past | 벗었어 | [버서써] |
| Casual future | 벗을 거야 | [버슬꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 벗고 싶어요 | [벋꼬 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 벗으세요 | [버스세요] |
| Because / and then | 벗어서 | [버서서] |
| If (conditional) | 벗으면 | [버스면] |
| Present modifier | 벗는 | [번는] |
| Past modifier | 벗은 | [버슨] |
| Future modifier | 벗을 | [버슬] |
| Short negative | 안 벗어요 | [안 버서요] |
| Long negative | 벗지 않아요 | [벋찌 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 신발을 빼요 (when you mean 'I take off my shoes')
Correct: ✓ 신발을 벗어요
Why: English speakers think of 'removing' shoes and choose 빼다, but 빼다 means to pull something out or take it away. Taking off shoes, clothes or a hat uses 벗다.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 벗다 |
|---|---|
| 입다 | 입다 is the opposite for clothes: to put on or wear them. |
| 신다 | 신다 is to put on shoes or socks; 벗다 is to take them off. |
Arriving at a Friend’s Home
A guest pauses at the entrance while the host makes space for a coat. The shoes are already off, but the guest is still wearing a warm outer layer.
Host
여기서 신발을 벗으세요.
Yeogiseo sinbareul beoseuseyo.
Please take off your shoes here.
Guest
네, 벗었어요. 코트도 벗을 거예요.
Ne, beoseosseoyo. Koteudo beoseul geoyeyo.
Yes, I’ve taken them off. I’m going to take off my coat too.
Host
코트는 여기에 두세요.
Koteuneun yeogie duseyo.
Put your coat here.
The host uses 벗으세요 as a polite instruction. The guest contrasts a finished action, 벗었어요, with a plan, 벗을 거예요. 코트도 adds the coat to the items coming off. In the last line, 코트는 makes the coat the topic because the shoes have already been dealt with.
Clothing Phrases That Share 벗다
신발을 벗다 and 양말을 벗다 mean taking off shoes and socks. Both items use 신다 for putting them on. 모자를 벗다 means taking off a hat, but putting the hat on uses 쓰다. The taking-off verb stays the same even when the putting-on verb changes.
안경을 벗다 means taking off glasses. It does not mean removing the lenses from their frame. 장갑을 벗다 means taking off gloves, while rings normally use 빼다. Learn the whole noun-and-verb pair for small accessories instead of assuming every English “take off” maps to 벗다.
옷을 벗다 can mean undressing, since 옷 is a broad word for clothes. If you only mean taking off a jacket, name the jacket. 코트를 벗다 is more precise and avoids suggesting that someone should remove more clothing than intended. This matters in homes, fitting rooms and medical settings.
Where Will You Hear or See 벗다?
At a home entrance or a restaurant with floor seating, 신발을 벗으세요 is a practical instruction. It refers to shoes, so it does not by itself ask visitors to take off their socks. A shoe rack, a step up into the room, or the host’s directions helps identify the area where shoes belong.
In a fitting room, 벗다 concerns removing an item; 갈아입다 concerns changing into other clothes. In a clinic, naming the garment is especially useful because an instruction about a coat is different from an instruction to undress. The verb is ordinary everyday Korean, not a special medical term.
A photographer may ask someone to remove a hat or glasses. The same verb works because these are things being worn. For removing an object from a bag or pulling a plug out, choose a verb suited to extraction, such as 꺼내다 or 빼다. English “take off” has a wider range than 벗다.
Why Does a Regular Verb Sound Different across Forms?
벗다 keeps its written ㅅ before vowel endings. The contrast between 벗다 and 벗어요 comes from pronunciation: a syllable-final consonant and a consonant linked to a following vowel sound different. The spelling makes the regular pattern visible. Do not erase ㅅ just because some other ㅅ-ending verbs are irregular.
Compare 벗는 with 벗은. The present modifier keeps 는 after the stem; the past modifier adds 은. Both forms retain the written ㅅ, even though their sounds differ. In a description of someone who has taken off a coat, the completed action calls for 벗은 before the noun.
The honorific polite form needs the linking vowel 으: 벗으세요. Plain 벗어요 can be a statement, a question, or a suggestion depending on context and intonation. When giving a visitor an explicit polite instruction, 벗으세요 makes that purpose clearer. Between close friends, 벗어 is possible, but it is too casual as a default greeting to an unfamiliar guest.
| Related word | Meaning | Pair to remember |
|---|---|---|
| 신발 | shoes | 신다 to put on; 벗다 to take off. |
| 양말 | socks | Uses the same pair as shoes. |
| 모자 | hat | 쓰다 to put on; 벗다 to take off. |
| 안경 | glasses | 쓰다 to wear; 벗다 to remove. |
| 반지 | ring | 끼다 to put on; 빼다 to remove. |
The clothing vocabulary lesson groups garments and their wearing verbs.
Mini Drill: Keep the ㅅ
- Give the polite present of 벗다.
- Turn that into the polite past.
- Give a polite instruction to take something off.
- Put 벗다 before a noun as a past modifier.
Show drill answers
- 벗어요.
- 벗었어요.
- 벗으세요.
- 벗은. The ㅅ remains in the spelling of every answer.
Quick Self-Test
- Which verb usually removes a ring: 벗다 or 빼다?
- Does 신발을 벗으세요 also tell you to remove your socks?
- Why name 코트 rather than simply 옷 when asking about a coat?
Show answers
- 빼다.
- No. 신발 names shoes only.
- 옷 is broad and can suggest undressing; 코트 identifies the specific garment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Items Can I Take off with 벗다?
Shoes, clothes, hats and glasses all use 벗다: 신발을 벗다, 옷을 벗다. Rings are taken off with 빼다.
Is 벗다 Irregular?
No. Some verbs ending in ㅅ drop it before a vowel, but 벗다 keeps it: 벗어요, 벗었어요.
How Do I Ask Someone to Take off Their Coat?
Use the honorific polite form 벗으세요, as in 여기서 코트를 벗으세요 (Please take off your coat here).
How Do I Say 'Take off ... and Then ...'?
Use 벗어서 to link the two actions, as in 신발을 벗어서 현관에 두었어요 (I took off my shoes and left them at the entrance).
Which Words Are Related to 벗다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Learn 입다, 신다 and 갈아입다 next, since they are the verbs for the other direction. The rule behind 벗어요 is in the polite present recipe, any form can be checked in the Korean verb conjugator, and the full list is in the Korean verb dictionary.