Key Facts
- Hangul: 결혼하다 (gyeolhonhada, 4 syllables)
- Meaning: to marry
- Level: A2
- Stem: 결혼하
- Conjugation class: 하다 type
- What it takes: The partner takes 와/과 or 하고 (친구와 결혼하다), not 을/를.
What Does 결혼하다 Mean?
결혼하다 means to get married: 결혼하고 싶다 expresses a wish to marry. It is intransitive, and the partner is marked with 와/과 or 하고, as in 친구와 결혼하다.
Tense carries meaning. 결혼했어요 says you are already married, while 결혼할 거예요 is a plan. The noun 결혼식 is a wedding ceremony.
- to marry: Get married, as in 결혼하고 싶다.
How Do You Pronounce 결혼하다?
Four syllables, said as written. Spoken, 결혼했어요 comes out as [결혼해써요] and 결혼합니다 comes out as [결혼함니다]. Revised Romanization is gyeolhonhada.
How Do You Use 결혼하다 in a Sentence?
언니는 내년에 결혼할 거예요.
My older sister will get married next year.
A future plan: the older sister will marry next year.
저는 아직 결혼하지 않았어요.
I am not married yet.
Being unmarried is a past-tense idea in Korean: 결혼하지 않았어요 means 'have not married', so it describes someone not married yet. The present 결혼하지 않아요 would mean 'I do not marry'.
결혼한 사람도 많이 와요.
Many married people come too.
결혼한 is the past modifier, which describes people who are already married.
How Does Gyeolhonhada Conjugation Work?
결혼하다 is a regular 하다 verb. The stem 결혼하 plus 여 gives 해, so 결혼해요, 결혼했어요 and 결혼해서. The short negative is 결혼 안 해요. In written style, as in news or a diary, the plain past 결혼했다 reports a wedding.
The pattern behind 결혼하다 is taught step by step in 하다 to 해요.
결혼하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 결혼해요 | ||
| Polite past | 결혼했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 결혼할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 결혼하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 결혼합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 결혼했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 결혼할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 결혼해 | ||
| Casual past | 결혼했어 | ||
| Casual future | 결혼할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 결혼하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 결혼하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 결혼해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 결혼하면 | ||
| Present modifier | 결혼하는 | ||
| Past modifier | 결혼한 | ||
| Future modifier | 결혼할 | ||
| Short negative | 결혼 안 해요 | ||
| Long negative | 결혼하지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 결혼해요 | as written |
| Polite past | 결혼했어요 | [결혼해써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 결혼할 거예요 | [결혼할꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 결혼하겠어요 | [결혼하게써요] |
| Formal present | 결혼합니다 | [결혼함니다] |
| Formal past | 결혼했습니다 | [결혼핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 결혼할 것입니다 | [결혼할꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 결혼해 | as written |
| Casual past | 결혼했어 | [결혼해써] |
| Casual future | 결혼할 거야 | [결혼할꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 결혼하고 싶어요 | [결혼하고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 결혼하세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 결혼해서 | as written |
| If (conditional) | 결혼하면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 결혼하는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 결혼한 | as written |
| Future modifier | 결혼할 | as written |
| Short negative | 결혼 안 해요 | as written |
| Long negative | 결혼하지 않아요 | [결혼하지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 그 사람을 결혼했어요
Correct: ✓ 그 사람과 결혼했어요
Why: English 'marry someone' has an object, but Korean marks the partner with 와/과 or 하고.
How Does 결혼하다 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How to tell it from 결혼하다 |
|---|---|
| 사귀다 | To date or befriend. 결혼하다 is to get legally married. |
| 이혼하다 | To divorce, the opposite of 결혼하다. |
Sharing Wedding News with a Coworker
A coworker has heard about an upcoming wedding and checks whose wedding it is. Present, past and future forms distinguish the two people.
Coworker
다음 달에 결혼해요?
Daeum dare gyeolhonhaeyo?
Are you getting married next month?
Mina
아니요. 저는 작년에 결혼했어요.
Aniyo. Jeoneun jangnyeone gyeolhonhaesseoyo.
No. I got married last year.
Coworker
그럼 누가 결혼해요?
Geureom nuga gyeolhonhaeyo?
Then who is getting married?
Mina
제 동생이 결혼할 거예요.
Je dongsaengi gyeolhonhal geoyeyo.
My younger sibling is going to get married.
다음 달, “next month”, gives 결혼해요 a future reading in the first question. Mina uses 결혼했어요 for her own completed marriage and 결혼할 거예요 for the sibling’s plan. The dialogue does not identify the sibling’s gender: 동생 can mean either a younger brother or a younger sister.
Useful Phrases around Marriage
결혼을 축하하다 means to congratulate someone on their marriage. 결혼 is the event being celebrated, so it takes 을. This does not contradict the partner rule: in 그 사람과 결혼하다, the person you marry takes 과, because they are the partner rather than an object of the action.
결혼 생활 means married life. 결혼식 is the wedding ceremony, and 결혼기념일 is a wedding anniversary. These words share 결혼 but point to different things: the ongoing life, the ceremony and the date remembered each year. English “wedding” and “marriage” do not map to a single Korean noun in every phrase.
결혼 상대 means a marriage partner or someone considered as a potential spouse. The word 상대 identifies the other person in a relationship. It does not mean that a wedding date has already been fixed. The conversation must tell you whether the marriage is a possibility or a settled plan.
What Does Tense Tell You about Being Married?
결혼했어요 can report the event, “I got married”, or answer a question about current status, “I am married”. A time phrase such as 작년에 places the event last year. Without a time phrase, the listener often understands the sentence as a statement of marital status.
결혼해요 can announce an arranged wedding when a future time is given. The future form 결혼할 거예요 makes the plan explicit, but Korean does not require it every time the event is still ahead. In the dialogue, 다음 달에 already gives the first question its future setting.
아직 결혼하지 않았어요 says that you have not married yet. 결혼 안 해요 can instead express a present intention not to marry, depending on context. For a straightforward answer about being unmarried, the past negative is clearer than an unexplained present negative.
Where Will You Meet 결혼하다?
In everyday talk, people use 결혼하다 when sharing family news or explaining their own status. On wedding invitations, the noun 결혼 and formal forms may appear alongside the couple's names and ceremony details. In entertainment news, 결혼했다 is the plain written past used to report that someone married.
The word itself is neutral; the ending makes a particular sentence casual, polite or formal. 결혼하세요 from the table contains the honorific 시. Depending on context, it can be a question about a respected person's wedding or a request to marry. It is not the usual way to congratulate a couple.
Marriage questions can be personal. A coworker who has already shared wedding news has supplied a clear context for asking about the date. The verb does not need a special euphemism, but a grammatically polite question can still ask for information someone prefers to keep private.
Partner Markers and Word Boundaries
Use 와 after a vowel and 과 after a consonant when naming the partner. 하고 also expresses “with” and works naturally in conversation. English puts “someone” directly after “marry”; Korean links the two people as partners. Keep that relationship in mind before selecting a particle.
Write 결혼하다 as one word and 결혼할 거예요 with a space before 거예요. In the short negative 결혼 안 해요, 안 appears between the noun and 해요. 결혼한 is a modifier meaning married or having married; it can describe a person without forming a full sentence.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 결혼식 | wedding ceremony | Names the ceremony, not all of married life. |
| 배우자 | spouse | A gender-neutral word, useful in forms and formal contexts. |
| 신랑 | groom | Refers to the man in the wedding setting. |
| 신부 | bride | Refers to the woman in the wedding setting. |
See wedding vocabulary for the ceremony and the people involved.
Mini Drill: News and Status
- Say “I am married” with the usual polite past form.
- Give the future plan form of 결혼하다.
- Choose the partner marker after 사람: 을 or 과?
- Give the completed-action modifier before 사람.
Show drill answers
- 결혼했어요.
- 결혼할 거예요.
- 과: 그 사람과 결혼했어요.
- 결혼한 사람.
Quick Self-Test
- Must a future wedding announcement always use 결혼할 거예요?
- Is 결혼식 the ceremony or the whole married relationship?
- Does 동생 identify a sibling's gender?
Show answers
- No. 결혼해요 can refer to a future event with a time phrase.
- The ceremony.
- No. It means a younger sibling.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say 'I Am Married'?
Use the past form: 결혼했어요.
How Do I Say 'I Will Marry'?
Use the future, 결혼할 거예요.
Which Particle Marks My Partner?
Use 와/과 or 하고, not 을/를.
What Does 결혼식 Mean?
It means a wedding ceremony.
Which Words Are Related to 결혼하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Next, read 이혼하다 for the other end of a marriage, then 사귀다 and 사랑하다 for what comes before. To test another form of 결혼하다 ('to marry'), open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary. Where 안 goes in the negative of 결혼하다 is covered in negating 하다 verbs.