Key Facts
- Hangul: 어리다 (eorida)
- Meaning: young (child)
- Part of speech: adjective (형용사)
- Level: A2
- Stem: 어리
- Class: regular
What Does 어리다 Mean?
어리다 is the word for young in age: 어린 아이 is a little child, and 동생은 아직 어려요 says a younger sibling is still small. It can also mean childish or inexperienced, as in 아직 어리다. Parents use it to say someone is too young for something. Related vocabulary includes 어린이 (child) and 어린 시절 (childhood). A separate, unrelated 어리다 means to well up, as tears do in the eyes; this page deals with the age word.
How Do You Pronounce 어리다?
No sound change affects the dictionary form, so 어리다 is read as it is spelled. The forms to listen for are the contracted ones: 어려요 comes from 어리 + 어, and the past 어렸어요 is [어려써요]. The formal 어립니다 sounds like [어림니다].
How Do You Use 어리다 in a Sentence?
동생은 아직 어려요.
My younger sibling is still young.
동생은 아직 어려요 pairs 아직 ('still') with the polite present, a typical way to say that a sibling is not old enough yet.
어린 아이가 울고 있어요.
A little child is crying.
어린 아이가 울고 있어요 uses the modifier 어린 before 아이가. 울고 있어요 describes crying in progress.
어려서 혼자 여행을 못 가요.
He is young, so he can't travel alone.
In 어려서 혼자 여행을 못 가요 the ending in 어려서 gives the reason, and 못 가요 says he cannot go. 혼자 means alone.
How Does Eorida Conjugation Work?
어리다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 어려요 | ||
| Polite past | 어렸어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 어릴 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 어리겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 어립니다 | ||
| Formal past | 어렸습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 어릴 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 어려 | ||
| Casual past | 어렸어 | ||
| Casual future | 어릴 거야 | ||
| Because / and then | 어려서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 어리면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 어린 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 어렸던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 어릴 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 어려요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 어리지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 어려요 | — |
| Polite past | 어렸어요 | [어려써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 어릴 거예요 | [어릴꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 어리겠어요 | [어리게써요] |
| Formal present | 어립니다 | [어림니다] |
| Formal past | 어렸습니다 | [어렫씀니다] |
| Formal future | 어릴 것입니다 | [어릴꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 어려 | — |
| Casual past | 어렸어 | [어려써] |
| Casual future | 어릴 거야 | [어릴꺼야] |
| Because / and then | 어려서 | — |
| Conditional (if) | 어리면 | — |
| Modifier, present | 어린 | — |
| Modifier, past | 어렸던 | [어렫떤] |
| Modifier, future | 어릴 | — |
| Short negative | 안 어려요 | — |
| Long negative | 어리지 않아요 | [어리지 아나요] |
Is 어리다 Regular or Irregular?
어리다 is regular. The stem 어리 ends in ㅣ, and ㅣ + 어 contracts into the vowel ㅕ, which gives 어려요 and 어려서. Nothing is dropped or added, so the shape follows the standard vowel-final present recipe. The result looks close to 어렵다, the ㅂ-irregular word for difficult, but the two diverge in the polite present.
Common Mistake with 어리다
Means something else: 어려워요 ('it is difficult', from 어렵다)
Correct for 'is young': ✓ 어려요
Why: 어렵다 means difficult and gives 어려워요. 어리다 gives 어려요, and the difference is one syllable, so listen for 워.
어리다 Versus 젊다 and 어렵다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 젊다 | 젊다 is young in adult life, while 어리다 is young in age and fits children and teens. |
| 어렵다 | 어렵다 means difficult; 어려워요 and 어려요 differ by one syllable. |
Looking at an Old Family Photograph
Two friends look at a childhood photograph and then talk about a younger sibling. The conversation moves from a past description to a familiar childhood phrase and a present statement.
Jisu
이때는 정말 어렸어요.
Ittaeneun jeongmal eoryeosseoyo.
I was really young then.
Alex
어릴 때 사진이에요?
Eoril ttae sajinieyo?
Is this a photo from when you were little?
Jisu
네, 제 동생은 지금도 어려요.
Ne, je dongsaengeun jigeumdo eoryeoyo.
Yes, my younger sibling is still little now.
Alex
동생은 몇 살이에요?
Dongsaengeun myeot sarieyo?
How old is your younger sibling?
이때는 points to the time shown in the photo. 어렸어요 describes the speaker then, while 어려요 describes the sibling now. The last question asks for the sibling’s actual age after hearing the general description 어려요. The phrase 어릴 때 means “when young”; the time phrase makes this a childhood reference even though 어릴 also appears in future constructions.
Which Childhood Phrases Will You Actually Meet?
어릴 때 is the everyday phrase for “when I was little” or “when someone was young”. Korean can leave the person unstated when the story makes them clear. An adult can use it to introduce a memory about school, food or games, without first stating their exact age.
어린 시절 means childhood or one’s early years. 시절 is a period of life, so this combination often appears in biographies, interviews and personal stories. Compared with a short 어릴 때 phrase in conversation, 어린 시절 names childhood as a life period that someone can describe or remember.
나이가 어리다 explicitly says that someone is young in age. In a comparison, it can describe an adult as younger than someone else. That is more specific than using 어리다 alone to judge an adult’s behavior. The noun 나이 tells the listener that age is the point of the comparison.
어린이 is a single word meaning child. 어린 아이 is a phrase meaning a young child and keeps a space between the modifier and noun. This difference is visible on signs and in books: the independent noun 어린이 is not written as two separate words.
Where Will You See 어린이?
Public facilities and ticket information use 어린이 as a category for children. A sign containing 어린이 does not by itself give the exact age limit. Admission rules may define the child category separately, so read the age information rather than assuming every venue uses the same cutoff.
Family conversations use 아직 어려요 to explain that a child is still little or not ready for something. 아직 adds “still” and suggests a situation that may change as the child grows. The sentence can offer a reason for needing help without claiming the child is generally incapable.
With adults, context matters. A factual comparison of ages can use 나이가 어리다, while a blunt comment that someone is 어리다 may sound like criticism of their maturity. If your intended compliment is “young and energetic”, the adult-age word 젊다 usually fits better than a bare 어리다.
Why Are 어릴 때 and 어려울 때 Different?
어릴 때 comes from 어리다 and means “when young”. 어려울 때 comes from 어렵다 and means “when things are difficult”. The extra 우 sound belongs to the ㅂ-irregular word. In a family story, mixing them up changes childhood into hardship, even though both phrases could fit the same story.
Keep the space before 때, “time” or “occasion”. The first part describes that time; it is not part of a single word. Also use 어린 as the present noun modifier for a child. The ordinary action-verb modifier -는 is not the pattern for this descriptive word.
A Family and Age Vocabulary Set
| Korean | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 아이 | child | An everyday noun; it can refer to someone’s child. |
| 어린이 | child | Common in public information and children’s services. |
| 동생 | younger sibling | A relative can be an adult and still be your 동생. |
| 나이 | age | Makes an age comparison explicit. |
The family vocabulary lesson teaches the relationship set. A family title gives someone’s place in the family, while 어리다 describes age or maturity; a “younger sibling” is not necessarily a little child.
Mini Drill: Choose the Form
- Give the polite present of 어리다.
- Complete “a young child”: ____ 아이.
- Give the polite past for a childhood photo.
- Complete “when I was little”: ____ 때.
Show drill answers
- 어려요.
- 어린 아이.
- 어렸어요.
- 어릴 때, with a space before 때.
Quick Self-Test
- Can a 동생 be an adult?
- Does 어린이 always specify the same admission age everywhere?
- What changes if you say 어려울 때 instead of 어릴 때?
Show answers
- Yes. 동생 describes a family relationship.
- No. Check the venue’s stated age rules.
- The meaning changes from “when young” to “when things are difficult”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 어리다 Rude to Say about an Adult?
It can sound dismissive, since it implies immaturity. For an adult, 젊다 is the usual word.
How Do I Say 'My Younger Sibling Is Still Little'?
Use 동생은 아직 어려요.
What Does 어린이 Mean?
It means a child, and it comes from the same root as 어린.
What Is the Difference between 어려요 and 어려워요?
어려요 is from 어리다 (young). 어려워요 is from 어렵다 (difficult).
Which Words Are Related to 어리다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Continue with 젊다 and 늙다 to cover the whole age scale, then see 자라다 and 키우다 for growing up and bringing up children. The Korean verb conjugator tests other stems, and the Korean verb dictionary lists the rest of the family.