Key Facts
- Hangul: 다치다 (dachida)
- Meaning: to get hurt
- Level: A2
- Syllables: 3 (다 · 치 · 다)
- Stem: 다치
- Conjugation class: regular
- Object marking: the injured part takes 을/를
- Polite present: 다쳐요
What Does 다치다 Mean?
Usually the injured body part takes 을/를 (다리를 다쳤어요), while the person is the subject with 이/가.
The verb names the moment of injury, which is why a leg that is still sore is described in the past: 다리를 다쳤어요. To describe a hurt part before a noun, use the modifier 다친, as in 다친 손.
How Do You Pronounce 다치다?
Dachida has 3 syllables (다 · 치 · 다) and is said as it is spelled.
How Do You Use 다치다 in a Sentence?
어제 운동하다가 다리를 다쳤어요.
I hurt my leg while exercising yesterday.
다쳤어요 is the polite past form.
조심하지 않으면 다쳐요.
If you are not careful, you will get hurt.
다쳐요 is the polite present form.
다친 손이 아직 아파요.
My injured hand still hurts.
다친 is the past modifier (before a noun) form.
Usage Notes
Put the injured body part first, as in 다리를 다쳤어요 and 다친 손: Korean marks the hurt part with 을/를 or turns the verb into a modifier. The warning 조심하지 않으면 다쳐요 uses the present tense for a general rule. To injure someone else, say 다치게 하다 instead. The examples here concern physical injury. For everyday talk about hurt feelings, 마음이 상하다 is a useful expression.
How Does Dachida Conjugation Work?
다치다 is regular: the ㅣ of 치 and the ending 어 contract to 쳐, giving 다쳐요 and 다쳤어요.
The pattern behind 다치다 (to get hurt) is taught step by step in polite present recipe.
Nobody plans to get hurt, so the 'want to' cell is left out of the table.
다치다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 다쳐요 | ||
| Polite past | 다쳤어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 다칠 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 다치겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 다칩니다 | ||
| Formal past | 다쳤습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 다칠 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 다쳐 | ||
| Casual past | 다쳤어 | ||
| Casual future | 다칠 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 다치세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 다쳐서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 다치면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 다치는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 다친 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 다칠 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 다쳐요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 다치지 않아요 |
Before a noun, 다치다 (to get hurt) becomes 다치는 (present) or 다친 (past); as a link between clauses it is 다쳐서 for 'because' and 다치면 for 'if'.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 다쳐요 | [다처요] |
| Polite past | 다쳤어요 | [다처써요] |
| Future (plan) | 다칠 거예요 | [다칠꺼예요] |
| Future (guess) | 다치겠어요 | [다치게써요] |
| Formal present | 다칩니다 | [다침니다] |
| Formal past | 다쳤습니다 | [다첟씀니다] |
| Formal future | 다칠 것입니다 | [다칠꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 다쳐 | [다처] |
| Casual past | 다쳤어 | [다처써] |
| Casual future | 다칠 거야 | [다칠꺼야] |
| Because | 다쳐서 | [다처서] |
| Short negative | 안 다쳐요 | [안 다처요] |
| Long negative | 다치지 않아요 | [다치지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 다리가 다쳐요 (used to mean 'my leg hurts')
Correct: ✓ 다리를 다쳤어요 / 다리가 아파요
Why: 다치다 names the injury event, usually in the past; for ongoing pain use 아프다.
다치다 Versus Similar Words
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 아프다 | 아프다 describes pain or illness; 다치다 is the event of being injured, such as a cut or sprain. |
| 다치게 하다 | 다치게 하다 means to injure someone else; 다치다 is to be injured yourself. |
Calling a Friend after a Sports Injury
One friend has missed a weekend game. The other calls to find out what happened and whether anything still hurts.
Jisu
어제 왜 안 왔어요?
Eoje wae an wasseoyo?
Why didn’t you come yesterday?
Alex
운동하다가 손을 다쳤어요.
Undonghadaga soneul dachyeosseoyo.
I hurt my hand while exercising.
Jisu
다친 손이 많이 아파요?
Dachin soni mani apayo?
Does your injured hand hurt a lot?
Alex
아니요. 지금은 괜찮아요.
Aniyo. Jigeumeun gwaenchanayo.
No. It’s okay now.
다쳤어요 reports the injury event. 다친 then turns the same verb into a description before 손. The question about pain uses 아파요, so the exchange separates what happened from how the hand feels now. 운동하다가 supplies the activity in progress when the injury interrupted it.
Which Phrases Describe an Injury Naturally?
손을 다치다, 발을 다치다, and 허리를 다치다 mean hurting a hand, foot, or lower back. The body part takes 을/를, but the person is the one who experiences the injury. A sentence with 손을 does not mean that the person deliberately injured someone else's hand.
크게 다치다 means to be seriously hurt. 크게 literally relates to size or degree, but in an injury report it describes severity, not a physically “large” person. 조금 다치다 describes a minor injury. These phrases give a broad description; they do not identify the exact injury.
다친 사람 means an injured person. The modifier 다친 appears before the noun and connects an earlier injury to the person being described. This wording is useful when the precise body part is unknown. Compare 다친 손, which identifies an injured body part rather than an injured person.
Where Will You Hear 다치다?
Friends use 다쳤어요 when explaining a bandage, an absence, or why they cannot join a game. A news report may instead use the noun 부상, meaning injury, or 부상자, an injured person. Recognising those nouns helps you connect a formal report with the everyday verb you already know.
The present 다쳐요 is natural in a warning about what could happen. The existing sentence 조심하지 않으면 다쳐요 means that injury is a possible consequence of not being careful. It does not report that the listener is being injured at that moment. A report after an accident normally uses the past 다쳤어요.
The dictionary form describes getting hurt, not telling someone to cause an injury. Although 다치세요 is a possible honorific form in the table, it is not a friendly instruction to give someone. In context it can describe an honoured person's action or experience; learning the form alone does not make it a suitable request.
What Makes 다치다 Tricky to Write and Translate?
치 plus 어 contracts to 쳐. Keep that written form in 다쳐요 and 다쳤어요 even though the pronunciation table shows a different sound. A sound-based spelling with 처 would lose the connection to the stem 다치. In 다친, the ending attaches without that contraction, so 치 remains easy to see.
English “hurt” can describe an injury event, ongoing pain, or causing pain to someone else. Korean divides those jobs. 다치다 reports getting injured, 아프다 describes feeling pain, and 다치게 하다 expresses causing another person to get injured. Choose the meaning first, then conjugate the verb that fits it.
| Related word | Meaning | What it helps you say |
|---|---|---|
| 손목 | wrist | A more precise injury location than 손, hand. |
| 발목 | ankle | A more precise location than 발, foot. |
| 상처 | wound | Names a wound rather than the injury event. |
| 부상 | injury | A noun often used in sports and news reports. |
Use the body parts vocabulary lesson to name the location accurately. 손목 and 발목 are useful next steps because everyday injury stories often need more detail than “hand” or “foot.”
Mini Drill: Build the Right Form
- Give the polite past of 다치다.
- Put 다치다 before 손 to mean “injured hand.”
- Choose 을/를 for 다리 in “I injured my leg.”
- Which verb describes the hand’s ongoing pain: 다치다 or 아프다?
Show drill answers
- 다쳤어요. It reports the injury event.
- 다친 손. The modifier comes before the noun.
- 다리를 다쳤어요. 다리 takes 를.
- 아프다. The everyday polite form is 아파요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 크게 다치다 describe the injured person’s size?
- Can 다쳐요 describe a possible injury in a warning?
- What does 부상자 mean?
Show answers
- No. It means being seriously injured.
- Yes. Context can make it a warning about a consequence.
- An injured person. 부상 is the injury; 자 identifies the person.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Say 'I Hurt My Leg While Exercising Yesterday' in Korean?
어제 운동하다가 다리를 다쳤어요. The injured leg takes 를, and -다가 marks what you were doing when it happened.
How Is 다치다 (to get hurt) Different from 아프다?
아프다 describes pain or illness; 다치다 is the event of being injured, such as a cut or sprain. After an injury, 다리가 아파요 describes the ongoing pain in a leg.
How Do I Say I Injured Someone Else?
Use 다치게 하다 (to make someone get hurt). 다치다 on its own is always about the person who is injured.
Can 다리가 다쳐요 Mean 'My Leg Hurts'?
For ongoing pain, say 다리가 아파요. To report an injury that happened, 다리를 다쳤어요 is the usual choice. 다리가 다쳐요 can describe a leg getting injured in a suitable context; it does not simply describe ongoing pain.
What Is the Polite past of 다치다?
For 'to get hurt', the polite past is 다쳤어요; the polite present is 다쳐요 and the formal present is 다칩니다.
How Do You Say 'Not Get Hurt' with 다치다?
For 'not get hurt', the short negative is 안 다쳐요 and the long one is 다치지 않아요.
Which Words Are Related to 다치다?
- 아프다 (sick; painful)
- 낫다 (to recover)
- 치료하다 (to treat)
- 조심하다 (to be careful)
- Korean verb dictionary
What Should You Learn Next?
Try other forms of 다치다 in the Korean verb conjugator, then continue with 아프다 (sick; painful). More entries like 다치다 (to get hurt) sit together in the Korean verb dictionary.