Key Facts
- Hangul: 구경하다 (gugyeonghada, 4 syllables)
- Meaning: to look around
- Level: A2
- Stem: 구경하
- Conjugation class: 하다 type
- What it takes: The thing looked at takes 을/를: 시장을 구경해요.
What Does 구경하다 Mean?
The core sense is taking in sights, shops or events with no job to do. 시장을 구경하다 means wandering through a market, not buying from it. The thing you look around takes 을/를, so 구경해요 after 시장을 is the natural way to say it.
The word belongs to travel talk. A visitor says 구경하러 가다 to announce a sightseeing trip, and 눈요기 is the related idea of a feast for the eyes, such as shop displays you only look at. In neither case is anything expected to change hands.
- to look around: Look at sights, shops or events: 시장을 구경하다.
How Do You Pronounce 구경하다?
Four syllables, and the dictionary form is said as it is written. The changes appear in the endings: 구경했어요 is said [구경해써요], and 구경하고 싶어요 is said [구경하고 시퍼요], where the final ㅍ of 싶 moves into the next syllable. In Revised Romanization the verb is gugyeonghada.
How Do You Use 구경하다 in a Sentence?
시장을 구경해요.
I look around the market.
A habitual present. The market is what you look around, so it carries 을/를.
어제 서울을 구경했어요.
I looked around Seoul yesterday.
Past tense with a time word and a whole city as the thing explored: a finished sightseeing day.
같이 구경하면 재미있어요.
It is fun to look around together.
The -면 ending (구경하면) frames looking around as something better shared.
How Does Gugyeonghada Conjugation Work?
This is a regular 하다-type verb. The stem 구경하 plus 여 contracts to 해, so every ending that starts with 아 or 어 turns into 해-: 구경해요, 구경해서, 구경했어요. The 안 negative is 구경 안 해요, and the long negative is 구경하지 않아요.
The pattern behind 구경하다 is taught step by step in 하다 to 해요.
구경하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 구경해요 | ||
| Polite past | 구경했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 구경할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 구경하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 구경합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 구경했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 구경할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 구경해 | ||
| Casual past | 구경했어 | ||
| Casual future | 구경할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 구경하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 구경하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 구경해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 구경하면 | ||
| Present modifier | 구경하는 | ||
| Past modifier | 구경한 | ||
| Future modifier | 구경할 | ||
| Short negative | 구경 안 해요 | ||
| Long negative | 구경하지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 구경해요 | as written |
| Polite past | 구경했어요 | [구경해써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 구경할 거예요 | [구경할꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 구경하겠어요 | [구경하게써요] |
| Formal present | 구경합니다 | [구경함니다] |
| Formal past | 구경했습니다 | [구경핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 구경할 것입니다 | [구경할꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 구경해 | as written |
| Casual past | 구경했어 | [구경해써] |
| Casual future | 구경할 거야 | [구경할꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 구경하고 싶어요 | [구경하고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 구경하세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 구경해서 | as written |
| If (conditional) | 구경하면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 구경하는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 구경한 | as written |
| Future modifier | 구경할 | as written |
| Short negative | 구경 안 해요 | as written |
| Long negative | 구경하지 않아요 | [구경하지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 서울을 봐요 (when you mean sightseeing)
Correct: ✓ 서울을 구경해요.
Why: For sightseeing or browsing use 구경하다, not just 보다.
How Does 구경하다 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How to tell it from 구경하다 |
|---|---|
| 보다 | Plain seeing or watching. Use it when no enjoyment of wandering is implied. |
| 쇼핑하다 | Shopping aims at buying. 구경하다 can end with nothing bought, so it suits browsing. |
Browsing a Small Shop
A customer enters a shop while sightseeing. The assistant offers help, and the customer explains that they are browsing.
Assistant
편하게 구경하세요.
Pyeonhage gugyeonghaseyo.
Feel free to look around.
Customer
네, 잠깐 구경할 거예요.
Ne, jamkkan gugyeonghal geoyeyo.
Thanks. I’m going to look around for a moment.
Assistant
도움이 필요하면 말씀해 주세요.
Doumi piryohamyeon malsseumhae juseyo.
Please let me know if you need help.
Customer
네. 어제도 이 거리를 구경했어요.
Ne. Eojedo i georireul gugyeonghaesseoyo.
Thank you. I looked around this street yesterday too.
구경하세요 welcomes the customer, 구경할 거예요 states a plan, and 구경했어요 recalls yesterday. The same verb fits a shop and an entire street. 편하게 literally means “comfortably”; here it makes the invitation relaxed. Nothing in these lines promises that the customer will buy something.
Common Combinations beyond Sightseeing
구경만 하다 means just looking or browsing. 만 limits the activity to looking, which is useful when a salesperson approaches. The phrase explains your intention without requiring a story about your budget. It also leaves open whether you might decide to buy later.
구경하러 가다 means to go to look around. The destination can be a market, palace or festival. The 러 ending gives the purpose of going; it does not say the sightseeing has already happened. This is useful when explaining why you are heading somewhere rather than reporting a finished visit.
불꽃놀이를 구경하다 means to watch fireworks. Here you may stand in one place throughout. Although English often translates 구경하다 as “look around”, the Korean verb does not require wandering. The enjoyment of watching a sight is enough.
Where Will You Hear 구경하다?
At a market, 구경하다 can describe taking in stalls, food displays and the atmosphere. You can still make purchases during that visit. The verb simply does not require a purchase, so it suits a visitor whose main activity is looking.
In travel conversation, 서울을 구경하다 treats Seoul as the place being explored. 서울에서 구경하다 locates the looking in Seoul but leaves what you looked at unstated. The choice between 을/를 and 에서 changes the role of the place name. A city can be either the object of sightseeing or the location of a more specific activity.
At a museum, 관람하다 is also useful for viewing exhibitions, and you may meet it in visitor information. 구경하다 is natural in casual accounts of a day out. With a personal visit to a friend or an office, 방문하다 emphasizes visiting rather than looking at someone as a sight.
What Is Tricky about 구경하다?
The word is built from the noun 구경 and 하다. Write the dictionary verb as one word. Its short negative 구경 안 해요 separates 안 from 해요, just as the existing table shows. The contraction affects the 하다 part: 구경해요 and 구경했어요 keep 구경 unchanged.
구경하는 describes someone currently looking around or an ongoing activity before a noun. 구경한 looks back at a completed visit. Neither form needs 해: the 해 contraction appears with the 아/어 family of endings, not throughout the entire conjugation.
Register also depends on what you are watching. 구경하다 can sound detached when the scene involves another person's distress: the speaker presents themselves as a spectator. For a relaxed market visit that is appropriate. For someone needing help, describing the scene only as something to watch can sound unkind.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 시장 | market | A common place to browse as well as buy. |
| 관광 | tourism / sightseeing | Useful in travel information and place descriptions. |
| 입장료 | admission fee | Looking around an attraction may still require a ticket. |
| 방문하다 | to visit | Focuses on the visit rather than watching sights. |
See tourist attraction vocabulary for words you will meet at sightseeing destinations.
Mini Drill: a Day Out
- Change 구경해요 to the polite past.
- Invite a visitor to look around politely.
- Give the future plan form of 구경하다.
- Give the short negative from the table.
Show drill answers
- 구경했어요.
- 구경하세요.
- 구경할 거예요, with a space before 거예요.
- 구경 안 해요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 구경하다 always involve walking?
- What does 만 add in 구경만 하다?
- In 서울을 구경하다, is Seoul the object or only the location?
Show answers
- No. Watching fireworks can also be 구경하다.
- “Just” or “only”: browsing without another activity such as buying.
- The object, the place being explored.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Particle Does 구경하다 Take?
It takes 을/를 for what you look around, as in 시장을 구경해요.
How Do I Say I Am Going Sightseeing?
Use 구경하러 가다. The 러 ending links the goal, looking around, to the movement of going.
Can 구경하다 Mean Just Browsing in a Shop?
Yes. Unlike 쇼핑하다, it does not need a purchase, so it fits looking without buying.
Is There a Special Negative Form?
The short negative is 구경 안 해요 and the long one is 구경하지 않아요.
Which Words Are Related to 구경하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
From here, 쇼핑하다 and 방문하다 show how Korean separates browsing and visiting, and 여행하다 widens the travel vocabulary. To test another form of 구경하다 ('to look around'), open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary. Where 안 goes in the negative of 구경하다 is covered in negating 하다 verbs.