Key Facts
- Hangul: 찾아가다 (chajagada)
- Meaning: to visit
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: verb
- Pronounced: [차자가다]
- Stem: 찾아가
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: The person or place takes 을/를: 선생님을 찾아가요.
- Usage: Often implies going with a purpose. The matching verb for people coming is 찾아오다.
What Does 찾아가다 Mean?
The person or place takes 을/를: 선생님을 찾아가다 is to go to see the teacher. It suggests a purpose, not a casual drop-by.
The matching verb for people coming to you is 찾아오다.
Because the verb carries a purpose, it fits trips with an errand: going to a teacher for a talk or to a grandmother for a weekend visit. A plain 가다 would only describe movement, with no hint of whom you meant to see.
How Do You Pronounce 찾아가다?
The dictionary form is read [차자가다]: the ㅈ batchim of 찾 moves to the next syllable before 아. The word has four syllables.
How Do You Use 찾아가다 in a Sentence?
주말에 할머니를 찾아가요.
I visit my grandmother on weekends.
주말에 means on weekends, and 할머니를 is the grandmother visited.
어제 선생님을 찾아갔어요.
I went to see my teacher yesterday.
The past 찾아갔어요 reports a visit to the teacher yesterday.
직접 찾아가서 말했어요.
I went there myself and said it.
찾아가서 is the because/and-then form, with the visit leading to saying something.
How Does Chajagada Conjugation Work?
The stem 찾아가 is regular. Vowel endings contract: 찾아가 + 아요 gives 찾아가요. Past 찾아갔어요 and 찾아가서 follow the same pattern.
찾아가다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 찾아가요 | ||
| Polite past | 찾아갔어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 찾아갈 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 찾아가겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 찾아갑니다 | ||
| Formal past | 찾아갔습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 찾아갈 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 찾아가 | ||
| Casual past | 찾아갔어 | ||
| Casual future | 찾아갈 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 찾아가고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 찾아가세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 찾아가서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 찾아가면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 찾아가는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 찾아간 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 찾아갈 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 찾아가요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 찾아가지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 찾아가요 | [차자가요] |
| Polite past | 찾아갔어요 | [차자가써요] |
| Polite future | 찾아갈 거예요 | [차자갈꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 찾아가겠어요 | [차자가게써요] |
| Formal present | 찾아갑니다 | [차자감니다] |
| Formal past | 찾아갔습니다 | [차자갇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 찾아갈 것입니다 | [차자갈꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 찾아가 | [차자가] |
| Casual past | 찾아갔어 | [차자가써] |
| Casual future | 찾아갈 거야 | [차자갈꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 찾아가고 싶어요 | [차자가고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 찾아가세요 | [차자가세요] |
| Because / and then | 찾아가서 | [차자가서] |
| If (conditional) | 찾아가면 | [차자가면] |
| Present modifier | 찾아가는 | [차자가는] |
| Past modifier | 찾아간 | [차자간] |
| Future modifier | 찾아갈 | [차자갈] |
| Short negative | 안 찾아가요 | [안 차자가요] |
| Long negative | 찾아가지 않아요 | [차자가지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 할머니를 찾아요 (meaning visit).
Correct: ✓ 할머니를 찾아가요.
Why: 찾다 means to look for. To go and see a grandmother use 찾아가다, otherwise the sentence says you are searching for her.
How Is 찾아가다 Built?
It joins 찾아 (from 찾다, to look for) to 가다 (to go): you go looking for a person at their place. That is why it implies purpose, and why 만나다 (to meet) is a closely related word. The linking in [차자가다] makes it flow as one word.
직접 찾아가서 말했어요 shows the common use: going in person to say something.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 찾아가다?
Going to See a Teacher after Class
Two classmates need to discuss an assignment with their teacher. Jisu went yesterday; Minho plans a visit today.
Minho
어제 선생님을 찾아갔어요?
Eoje seonsaengnimeul chajagasseoyo?
Did you go to see the teacher yesterday?
Jisu
네. 오늘도 찾아갈 거예요.
Ne. Oneuldo chajagal geoyeyo.
Yes. I’m going again today.
Minho
저도 찾아가고 싶어요.
Jeodo chajagago sipeoyo.
I’d like to go and see the teacher too.
The teacher is named once with 을. The later lines can leave that person out. 찾아갔어요 reports a completed visit, 찾아갈 거예요 gives a plan, and 찾아가고 싶어요 expresses a wish. None of the lines means that the teacher is missing.
Which 찾아가다 Phrases Are Common?
직접 찾아가다 means to go in person. 직접 highlights doing the visit yourself, which can contrast with calling, emailing, or asking another person to go. The example directly above the conjugation table uses 찾아가서 to connect that visit to the next action: speaking to someone.
집으로 찾아가다 means to go to someone’s home to see them. 으로 marks the direction or destination. 선생님께 찾아가다 means to go to see a teacher, with 께 marking the respected person. The verb is not limited to an 을/를 phrase: 에, 에게, and 으로 patterns also occur.
The National Institute of Korean Language lists these patterns in its answer about 찾아가다 and particles. Learn a complete phrase for the setting you need. The examples with 할머니를 and 선생님을 remain natural ways to identify the person visited.
찾아가는 길 means the way to a destination or the journey to see someone. On a shop or venue’s website, it can label directions for visitors. 길 here is the route; the modifier 찾아가는 describes the action of getting there. It need not mean searching for a missing road.
Where Will You Hear 찾아가다?
Everyday visits, requests for help, and stories about meeting someone all use 찾아가다. A student may go to an office to ask a teacher a question. A person may visit a relative simply to spend time together. The purpose can be a social visit, so it need not be a serious errand or an appointment.
In dramas, 찾아가다 can describe going to confront someone, apologize, or ask for an explanation. Those intentions come from the surrounding story. The verb itself only identifies the purposeful trip to a person or place; it does not imply a quarrel.
방문하다 also describes visits and is common in notices, schedules, and reports. It is not restricted to official business. 찾아가다 often draws more attention to making the trip to see someone, while 방문하다 names the visit as an event. Choose according to what the sentence emphasizes.
| Related word | Meaning | How it helps with a visit |
|---|---|---|
| 주소 | address | Tells you where the person or place is. |
| 약속 | appointment / arrangement | Helps explain when and why you are visiting. |
| 길 | road / way | Appears in 찾아가는 길, directions to a destination. |
| 사무실 | office | A place you might go to see someone. |
Learn location expressions in Korean directions and position vocabulary.
How Do Direction, Spacing, and Respect Affect the Verb?
찾아가다 is written as one word when it means to go and see someone. Change its final 가다 portion: 찾아가요, 찾아갔어요, 찾아가면. The 찾아 part stays. The present is not a search followed by a separate sentence saying “go”; it is one combined visit verb.
가다 and 오다 use a point of view. 찾아가다 describes going to the other person’s place; 찾아오다 describes someone coming to the relevant person or place. When telling a friend about a visitor who came to your home, 찾아오다 matches that direction. The visitor can describe their own trip with 찾아가다.
찾아가세요 can politely tell someone to go and see a person. It honors the person making the trip. When you yourself visit a respected person, 찾아뵙다 is a useful respectful alternative. It respects the person you go to see, which is a different role from the person doing the traveling.
The noun before the verb also matters. 찾다 can mean to look for or find; adding 가다 in the visit meaning makes the trip part of the action. Read the whole predicate before deciding whether the sentence describes a search, a visit, or someone coming to see the speaker.
Mini Drill: Conjugate the Final 가다
- Give the polite past of 찾아가다.
- Make the conditional: “if you go to see someone.”
- Choose the verb when someone comes to visit you: 찾아가다 or 찾아오다.
- Give the polite future plan form of 찾아가다.
Show drill answers
- 찾아갔어요.
- 찾아가면.
- 찾아오다.
- 찾아갈 거예요, with a space before 거예요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 찾아가다 require a serious errand?
- What might 찾아가는 길 label on a venue website?
- Which part changes to make 찾아갔어요?
Show answers
- No. A social visit to a relative also fits.
- Directions or the route to the venue.
- The final 가다 portion; 찾아 stays the same.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say Visit Grandmother?
할머니를 찾아가요. The grandmother takes 를; add 주말에 for on weekends.
What Is the Opposite Direction?
찾아오다, used when someone comes to see you.
How Is It Pronounced?
[차자가다]. The ㅈ of 찾 moves into the next syllable before 아.
Does It Imply a Purpose?
Yes. It means going to see a particular person or place on purpose, such as visiting a teacher to talk, not just passing by.
Which Words Are Related to 찾아가다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 방문하다 and 찾다 next. polite present recipe explains the forms, the Korean verb conjugator tests other verbs, and the Korean verb dictionary lists the rest.