Key Facts
- Hangul: 이기다 (igida, 3 syllables)
- Meaning: to win or to overcome
- Level: A2
- Stem: 이기
- Conjugation class: regular
- What it takes: Takes 을/를 for the opponent (동생을 이겼어요); also used as 경기에서 이기다.
What Does 이기다 Mean?
이기다 means to win or to beat a person, as in 동생을 이겨요. It also means to overcome a difficulty, as in 추위를 이기다. Both take 을/를 for the opponent or the difficulty.
The contest itself is usually named with 에서: 경기에서 이기다 means 'win the match'. Sports and games are where you will hear it most.
- to win: Win a game or beat someone: 경기에서 이기다.
- to overcome: Overcome a difficulty: 추위를 이기다.
How Do You Pronounce 이기다?
Three syllables, said as written. Say [이겨써요] for 이겼어요, and [이김니다] for 이깁니다. Revised Romanization is igida.
How Do You Use 이기다 in a Sentence?
우리 팀이 이겼어요.
Our team won.
Past tense with a team as the subject: a short way to report a result.
저는 동생을 자주 이겨요.
I often beat my younger sibling.
A present habit: beating a younger sibling, who takes 을 as the opponent.
이번 경기에서 이기면 좋겠어요.
I hope we win this game.
-면 좋겠어요 ('it would be good if') is the usual way to say 'I hope': here, a hope to win this match.
How Does Igida Conjugation Work?
이기다 is regular, and its stem ends in 기, so 이기 plus 어 contracts to 이겨. That yields 이겨요, 이겼어요 and 이겨서. Before consonants, the stem is unchanged: 이깁니다, 이기는.
The pattern behind 이기다 is taught step by step in the polite present recipe.
이기다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 이겨요 | ||
| Polite past | 이겼어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 이길 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 이기겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 이깁니다 | ||
| Formal past | 이겼습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 이길 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 이겨 | ||
| Casual past | 이겼어 | ||
| Casual future | 이길 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 이기고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 이기세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 이겨서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 이기면 | ||
| Present modifier | 이기는 | ||
| Past modifier | 이긴 | ||
| Future modifier | 이길 | ||
| Short negative | 안 이겨요 | ||
| Long negative | 이기지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 이겨요 | as written |
| Polite past | 이겼어요 | [이겨써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 이길 거예요 | [이길꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 이기겠어요 | [이기게써요] |
| Formal present | 이깁니다 | [이김니다] |
| Formal past | 이겼습니다 | [이겯씀니다] |
| Formal future | 이길 것입니다 | [이길꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 이겨 | as written |
| Casual past | 이겼어 | [이겨써] |
| Casual future | 이길 거야 | [이길꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 이기고 싶어요 | [이기고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 이기세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 이겨서 | as written |
| If (conditional) | 이기면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 이기는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 이긴 | as written |
| Future modifier | 이길 | as written |
| Short negative | 안 이겨요 | as written |
| Long negative | 이기지 않아요 | [이기지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 상을 이겼어요
Correct: ✓ 상을 받았어요
Why: You win a game, but a prize is received: 상을 받다 or 상을 타다.
How Does 이기다 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How to tell it from 이기다 |
|---|---|
| 지다 | The opposite: to lose. |
| 승리하다 | A formal word for winning. |
| 받다 | Used with prizes: 상을 받다. |
After a School Football Match
Two classmates discuss yesterday’s result and the next match. They move from the completed result to a wish and then a conditional hope.
Mina
어제 경기에서 이겼어요?
Eoje gyeonggieseo igyeosseoyo?
Did you win yesterday’s match?
Jun
네, 이겼어요. 다음 경기에서도 이기고 싶어요.
Ne, igyeosseoyo. Daeum gyeonggieseodo igigo sipeoyo.
Yes, we won. I want to win the next match too.
Mina
다음에도 이기면 좋겠어요.
Daeumedo igimyeon jokesseoyo.
I hope you win next time too.
The first question leaves the team unnamed because both speakers know who played. 이겼어요 reports a finished result; 이기고 싶어요 expresses a wish. The final 이기면 does not promise victory. It introduces the outcome Mina hopes for, just as in the earlier example about this game.
Which Phrases Go with 이기다?
상대를 이기다 means to beat an opponent. 상대 is the other player, team or side, so it takes the object marker. 경기에서 이기다 names the contest where the victory happens. You can also meet 경기를 이기다, “win a game”; the 에서 pattern is a useful starting point when naming the event separately from the opponent.
추위를 이기다, literally “beat the cold”, means to withstand cold weather. It need not suggest that the temperature changed. A warm coat can help someone endure the conditions. The same idea extends to 어려움을 이기다, overcoming difficulties: the object is a hardship rather than a rival.
자신을 이기다 literally means to beat oneself. In encouragement or sports talk, it describes overcoming your own weakness or limits. It is about self-control and effort, rather than losing a contest against yourself. Read the object before deciding whether 이기다 describes a sporting result or an inner struggle.
이기는 팀 is the team that wins or is winning; 이긴 팀 is the team that won. The modifier sits directly before 팀. A match report can use the past modifier to identify the winning side without making a separate sentence about the score.
Where Will You Hear Winning Language?
이기다 appears in football commentary, board games, video games and playground competitions. A short 이겼어요 can report a whole team’s victory. Among close friends, 이겼어 is a casual version; the 요 form suits a conversation with a classmate you do not know well.
A score can follow the result in a report, but 이기다 alone only identifies the winner. It does not tell you whether the victory was close.
Sports coverage also uses 승리, the noun “victory”, and 승리하다, “to be victorious”. These sound more like reporting than the simple conversational verb. A headline naming a victory and a friend saying 이겼어요 may describe exactly the same result.
안 이겨요 says someone does not win, but it does not explain why. In a match where winning was attempted and unsuccessful, 지다, “lose”, often gives the result more directly. A draw is another possible result, so the absence of a win alone does not always establish a defeat.
What Makes the Forms Easy to Confuse?
이겨요 contains 겨 because 기 and 어 contract. The spelling change is a regular vowel contraction; it does not make this a ㄱ-irregular verb. Keep the full 기 before consonant endings: 이기면 and 이기는. The past 이겼어요 contains ㅆ, while 이겨요 has no past marker.
In 이길 거예요, the future modifier 이길 and 거예요 are separate words. 이길 can also stand before a noun. Learn the ending with the space so that a planned victory is written clearly. No special replacement verb is needed simply because the winner is someone older; ordinary honorific endings handle that relationship.
| Related word | Meaning | When it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 경기 | match / game | Names the contest rather than its winning side. |
| 상대 | opponent | Identifies the person or team beaten. |
| 승리 | victory | Common in reports and match summaries. |
| 무승부 | draw / tie | A completed contest can end without either side winning. |
The sports vocabulary lesson gives these competition words a wider setting with sports and activities.
Mini Drill: Build a Match Report
- Give the polite present of 이기다.
- Change that answer to the polite past.
- Complete “if we win”: ____.
- Choose the particle for an opponent: 상대를 or 상대에서?
Show drill answers
- 이겨요: 기 plus 어 contracts to 겨.
- 이겼어요: the past adds ㅆ.
- 이기면: the stem stays 이기 before 면.
- 상대를. Use 에서 to name the contest in 경기에서 이기다.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 추위를 이기다 describe defeating a sports team?
- Which noun names a result where neither side wins?
- Which verb do you need for receiving a prize?
Show answers
- No. It means withstanding or overcoming the cold.
- 무승부, a draw or tie.
- 받다, as in 상을 받다. A prize is received.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Opposite of 이기다?
지다 means to lose.
How Do I Say 'Win a Prize'?
Use 상을 받다. 상을 이기다 is not used.
What Is the Polite Past?
It is 이겼어요.
Can It Mean Something Other than Winning Games?
Yes. It can mean to overcome a difficulty, like cold weather.
Which Words Are Related to 이기다?
What Should You Learn Next?
See 지다 for the other side of a game, then 도전하다, 성공하다 and 실패하다 for the story around winning. To test another form of 이기다 ('to win'), open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.