Key Facts
- Hangul: 입히다 (ipida)
- Meaning: to dress (someone)
- Level: B2
- Stem: 입히
- Conjugation class: regular
- Particles: The person dressed takes 에게/한테, the clothes take 을/를 (아이에게 코트를 입혀요).
- Spoken as: [이피다]
What Does 입히다 Mean?
입히다 often describes helping a young child get dressed. The verb takes two partners: the person dressed takes 에게/한테, and the clothes take 을/를, as in 아이에게 코트를 입히다. Parents use it all the time with babies. In this sense it covers clothes on the body only. For shoes and socks the verb is 신기다, and for hats or covers it is 씌우다, so 입히다 is not a general word for putting something on. 입히다 also has a less physical use, to cause someone damage or harm, which you will meet in news writing.
How Do You Pronounce 입히다?
The dictionary form has 3 syllables and is spoken [이피다]. The key sound change is that ㅂ from 입 meets ㅎ from 히 and both blend into an aspirated ㅍ, so Revised Romanization writes ipida with a p and the h disappears. The same thing happens before 어: 입혀요 sounds like [이펴요], and 입혔어요 becomes [이펴써요].
How Do You Use 입히다 in a Sentence?
아이에게 코트를 입혀요.
I put a coat on the child.
아이에게 marks the child as the person dressed and 코트를 marks the coat. The word order moves the person ahead of the clothes.
엄마가 아기에게 새 옷을 입혔어요.
Mom dressed the baby in new clothes.
The past form 입혔어요 pairs with 엄마가 as the subject. The baby is again marked by 에게, and 새 옷을 says what went on.
아이에게 따뜻한 옷을 입히면 감기에 안 걸려요.
If you dress the child warmly, they won't catch a cold.
입히면 makes the clothing action a condition. The second clause describes the speaker’s expected result. 감기에 안 걸려요 shows a short 안 negative.
How Does Ipida Conjugation Work?
입히다 is regular. The stem 입히 is unchanged, and 히 plus 어 contracts into 혀, as in 입혀요 and 입혔어요. Endings that begin with a consonant attach directly: 입히고 싶어요, 입히면, 입히는. The short negative is 안 입혀요, with 안 coming before the verb.
입히다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 입혀요 | ||
| Polite past | 입혔어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 입힐 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 입히겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 입힙니다 | ||
| Formal past | 입혔습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 입힐 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 입혀 | ||
| Casual past | 입혔어 | ||
| Casual future | 입힐 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 입히고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 입히세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 입혀서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 입히면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 입히는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 입힌 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 입힐 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 입혀요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 입히지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 입혀요 | [이펴요] |
| Polite past | 입혔어요 | [이펴써요] |
| Plan future | 입힐 거예요 | [이필꺼예요] |
| Guess future | 입히겠어요 | [이피게써요] |
| Formal present | 입힙니다 | [이핌니다] |
| Formal past | 입혔습니다 | [이펻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 입힐 것입니다 | [이필꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 입혀 | [이펴] |
| Casual past | 입혔어 | [이펴써] |
| Casual future | 입힐 거야 | [이필꺼야] |
| Want to | 입히고 싶어요 | [이피고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific | 입히세요 | [이피세요] |
| Because | 입혀서 | [이펴서] |
| If | 입히면 | [이피면] |
| Present modifier | 입히는 | [이피는] |
| Past modifier | 입힌 | [이핀] |
| Future modifier | 입힐 | [이필] |
| Short negative | 안 입혀요 | [안 이펴요] |
| Long negative | 입히지 않아요 | [이피지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 아기에게 옷을 입어요
Correct: ✓ 아기에게 옷을 입혀요
Why: Dressing a baby with the plain verb for wearing sounds as if the baby wears the clothes herself, or that you do. The causative 입히다 is the one that expresses putting clothes on another person.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|
| 입다 | 입다 is to wear clothes yourself. 입히다 is the causative: you make someone wear them, which is why a parent uses 입히다 for a baby. |
| 신기다 | 신기다 is to put shoes or socks on someone else. It is the footwear counterpart of 입히다. |
| 씌우다 | 씌우다 is to put a hat or cover on someone. Choose it for anything placed on the head or over something. |
Getting a Child Ready to Go Outside
Two parents are getting their child ready for a cold morning. The conversation distinguishes a coat already put on from the warmer clothing they plan to use.
Mina
아이에게 코트를 입혔어요?
Aiege koteureul ipyeosseoyo?
Did you put a coat on the child?
Jun
네. 오늘은 두꺼운 코트를 입혀요.
Ne. Oneureun dukkeoun koteureul ipyeoyo.
Yes. Today I’m putting a thick coat on them.
Mina
내일도 따뜻한 옷을 입히면 좋겠어요.
Naeildo ttatteutan oseul ipimyeon jokesseoyo.
I hope we dress them warmly tomorrow too.
입혔어요 asks about a completed action; 입혀요 describes today’s clothing choice. 입히면 introduces a hoped-for action for tomorrow. Both parents know which child they mean, so the later lines can leave out 아이에게. The clothes still carry the object marker in 두꺼운 코트를 and 따뜻한 옷을.
Which 입히다 Phrases Go beyond a Baby’s Coat?
옷을 입히다 means to put clothes on someone. It commonly involves children, but an adult helping another adult dress can use the same verb. The key is who performs the dressing, rather than the age of the person wearing the clothes. 인형에게 옷을 입히다, dressing a doll, uses the same clothing pattern.
따뜻하게 입히다 means to dress someone warmly. 따뜻하게 describes how they are dressed, while 따뜻한 옷을 입히다 explicitly names warm clothing. A parent can use the shorter phrase when the clothes are already understood; the longer one helps when choosing an outfit.
피해를 입히다 means to cause damage or harm. The object 피해 is the damage caused, rather than a piece of clothing. This is a set expression with an extended meaning: translating it literally as “put damage on” would sound unnatural in English. In news about an accident, it does not refer to dressing anyone.
상처를 입히다 means to inflict a wound or hurt someone. The context may involve a physical injury or emotional hurt. The noun 상처 supplies that meaning. Reading the object first helps you recognize which sense of 입히다 a report or conversation is using.
Where Will You Hear 입히다?
Parents and caregivers use 입히다 while choosing clothes, helping a child dress or describing an outfit. A clothing shop conversation can use it when someone discusses dressing a child in a particular garment. 입혀요 is an ordinary polite form; the verb itself is neither especially formal nor childish.
News reports use the damage expressions above. The subject is the person or event causing harm, and the affected person or organization can be marked with 에게. The grammatical outline resembles dressing someone, but the noun naming damage changes the meaning completely.
What Makes the Causative Tricky?
A causative verb describes causing another person to do or experience something. With 입히다, someone puts clothing on another person. The earlier 아이에게 코트를 입혀요 has an unstated dresser, a child receiving help and a coat as the object. Naming those three roles helps prevent confusion with 입다.
입혀요 retains 히 in the stem analysis even though 히 plus 어 becomes 혀. Before 면, keep 히 in 입히면; before 요 in the polite present, use 입혀요. The sound change from ㅂ plus ㅎ to ㅍ applies across these forms, but the spelling continues to show 입히.
입히세요 can politely ask someone to dress another person. It does not mean “put your own clothes on”: that action uses 입다. Adding a polite ending changes the relationship to the listener, while the underlying causative meaning still identifies who is doing the dressing.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 옷 | clothes | The usual object of 입히다 in its clothing sense. |
| 외투 | outer coat | A garment put over other clothes. |
| 신기다 | put shoes or socks on someone | Use for footwear rather than a coat. |
| 씌우다 | put a hat or covering on someone | The headwear counterpart of dressing someone. |
The clothing vocabulary lesson gives you garment names to use with these different putting-on verbs.
Mini Drill: Who Dresses Whom?
- Give the polite present of 입히다.
- Change it to the polite past.
- Complete “if you dress the child”: 아이에게 옷을 ____.
- Choose the verb for putting a coat on yourself: 입다 or 입히다?
Show drill answers
- 입혀요: 히 plus 어 contracts to 혀.
- 입혔어요.
- 입히면: keep 히 before 면.
- 입다. 입히다 describes dressing someone else.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 피해를 입히다 involve clothing?
- Can 입히다 describe helping an adult get dressed?
- Which verb puts shoes on someone else?
Show answers
- No. It means causing damage or harm.
- Yes. The other person need not be a child.
- 신기다.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference between 입다 and 입히다?
입다 means you wear the clothes. 입히다 means you put them on someone else.
Which Particles Does 입히다 Use?
The person takes 에게/한테 and the clothes take 을/를, as in 아이에게 코트를 입혀요.
How Is the Polite Present Pronounced?
입혀요 is spoken [이펴요], because ㅂ and ㅎ blend into ㅍ.
Can I Use It for Shoes?
No. Use 신기다 for shoes or socks and 씌우다 for hats or covers.
Which Words Are Related to 입히다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Learn 입다 and 벗다 first if you have not yet, then 신다 and 먹이다, which follow the same pattern of doing something for another person. The pattern behind 입히다 is covered in how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense; to check any other form, open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.