갚다 (gapda) Conjugation: Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 갚다 (gapda)
• Meaning: to repay
• Level: B1
• Stem: 갚
• Class: regular
• Objects: transitive
• Honorific polite: 갚으세요

What Does 갚다 Mean?

갚다 means to pay back what you owe. The thing owed takes 을/를, and it is usually one of three objects:

• 돈 (money): 돈을 갚아요, I pay the money back.
• 빚 (debt): 빚을 갚다, to pay off a debt.
• 은혜 (kindness, a favour): 은혜를 갚다, to repay someone's kindness.

The person you repay takes 에게: 친구에게 돈을 갚아요. Because its objects are so specific, 갚다 is narrower than general verbs such as 주다 (to give) or 내다 (to pay).

How Do You Pronounce 갚다?

The dictionary form is pronounced [갑따] and romanized gapda. The final ㅍ of the stem decides how every form sounds:

• Before a vowel it moves to the next syllable: 갚아요 sounds like [가파요].
• Before ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅅ or ㅈ it is pronounced ㅂ, and that next consonant becomes tense: 갚고 [갑꼬], 갚지 [갑찌], 갚습니다 [갑씀니다].
• Before ㄴ it becomes ㅁ: 갚는 sounds like [감는].

Every form with its pronunciation:

• 갚아요 [가파요]
• 갚았어요 [가파써요]
• 갚을 거예요 [가플꺼예요]
• 갚겠어요 [갑께써요]
• 갚습니다 [갑씀니다]
• 갚았습니다 [가팓씀니다]
• 갚을 것입니다 [가플꺼심니다]
• 갚아 [가파]
• 갚았어 [가파써]
• 갚을 거야 [가플꺼야]
• 갚고 싶어요 [갑꼬 시퍼요]
• 갚으세요 [가프세요]
• 갚아서 [가파서]
• 갚으면 [가프면]
• 갚는 [감는]
• 갚은 [가픈]
• 갚을 [가플]
• 안 갚아요 [안 가파요]
• 갚지 않아요 [갑찌 아나요]

How Do You Use 갚다 in a Sentence?

Repaying a person: 친구에게 marks who gets the money back, 돈을 is what you repay, and 갚아요 is the polite present.

A debt cleared yesterday. 빚 (debt) is the most typical object, and 갚았어요 is the polite past.

A conditional promise. 돈이 생기면 means 'when I have money' (literally 'if money comes to me'), and 갚을 거예요 is the polite future: I will pay it back.

How Does Gapda Conjugation Work?

Is 갚다 Regular or Irregular?

갚다 is regular. The stem ends in the consonant ㅍ, and the vowel ㅏ is bright, so the ending is 아, not 어. That gives 갚아요 and 갚았어요. Because the stem ends in a consonant, endings that begin with 으 keep it: 갚으세요, 갚으면. For the pattern behind it, see how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense.

Common Mistake with 갚다

Wrong: ✗ 돈을 갚어요.

Correct: ✓ 돈을 갚아요.

Why: The vowel in the stem 갚 is ㅏ, so vowel harmony calls for the 아 ending, not 어: 갚아요, 갚았어요. Learners often default to 어, but stems whose vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ take 아.

갚다 Versus 빌리다 and 돌려주다

Discussing Repayment before Payday

Jisu lent Alex money for groceries. They check whether it has been repaid and agree on a plan before Alex’s next payday.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

Alex

The first question checks for a completed repayment; Alex’s answers explain that it is still a future plan. 조금씩 means “a little at a time”; 다 means “all”. Those small words distinguish partial repayments from repayment of the whole amount. The object 돈 can disappear after the first question because both speakers know which loan they mean.

Phrases for Debts and Kindness

빚을 갚다 means to pay off a debt. 돈을 갚다 focuses on returning the money. Both refer to repayment, so a cafe bill you are paying for the first time normally needs 내다 or 지불하다 instead. The useful question is whether something was already owed.

은혜를 갚다 literally means repaying kindness. You might hear it when someone thanks a person who helped them through a difficult time. The “repayment” can be help, loyalty or care; no cash needs to change hands. It carries more emotional weight than simply saying thank you for a small favour.

원수를 갚다 means to take revenge. This is a darker extension of settling something owed, and it belongs to stories of conflict rather than friendly repayment. In a drama, check the object before assuming that 갚다 is about money.

Where Will You Hear 갚다?

Friends use 갚다 when settling borrowed money, and families use it when discussing loans. Reports about personal debt also use 빚을 갚다. Banking forms may use 상환, meaning repayment, where everyday conversation uses 갚다. Recognizing the noun helps you connect formal financial language to the ordinary verb.

The request 갚으세요 is polite in form but still asks someone to repay a debt. It can sound firm. Adding a repayment date gives the request a concrete meaning; using 요 alone does not make a demand gentle. In the dialogue, 조금씩 makes the proposed arrangement less demanding.

Why Does the Spelling Keep ㅍ?

갚다 keeps ㅍ in writing even when its sound changes before an ending. In 갚는 돈, “money being paid back”, 갚는 has the nasal sound shown in the table. In 갚은 돈, “money already paid back”, the vowel-starting ending lets you hear ㅍ again. The difference between 는 and 은 also tells you whether repayment is ongoing or completed.

Keep the future expression in separate words: 갚을 거예요. The final ㄹ belongs to 갚을, while 거예요 follows after a space. For the negative, write 안 갚아요 with a space after 안.

Learn the financial set in Korean money vocabulary.

Mini Drill: Complete the Repayment

1. Change 갚아요 to the polite past.
2. Use the future form for “I will repay”.
3. Choose the modifier for money already repaid: 갚는 or 갚은.
4. Write the short negative of 갚아요.

Quick Self-Test

1. Does paying a restaurant bill for the first time normally use 갚다?
2. Which particle marks the friend receiving repayment?
3. Does 은혜를 갚다 necessarily involve money?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Is It 갚아요 and Not 갚어요?

The stem vowel is ㅏ, so vowel harmony calls for 아: 갚아요. 갚어요 is a common misspelling.

Can I Use 갚다 to Return a Book?

No. Returning an object uses 돌려주다. 갚다 is for money, a debt or a favour.

What Objects Go with 갚다?

Typically 돈 (money), 빚 (debt) and 은혜 (kindness, a favour): 돈을 갚다, 빚을 갚다, 은혜를 갚다.

How Is the Polite Present Pronounced?

갚아요 is pronounced [가파요]: the ㅍ moves to the start of the next syllable.

Which Words Are Related to 갚다?

• 빌리다
• 빌려주다
• 내다
• 지불하다
• Korean verb dictionary

What Should You Learn Next?

Read 빌리다 and 빌려주다 for the other side of the transaction, then 내다 and 지불하다 for payments. Test any form in the Korean verb conjugator.