Key Facts
- Hangul: 일어나다 (ireonada)
- Meaning: to get up; to wake up
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: A1
- Stem: 일어나
- Class: regular
- Polite present: 일어나요
- Polite past: 일어났어요
- Formal present: 일어납니다
- Objects: intransitive
What Does 일어나다 Mean?
- to wake up/get up. Get out of bed or rise from lying or sitting; also to occur (사고가 일어나다).
Particles and objects. Takes no object; the subject takes 이/가 and the time is marked with 에 (일곱 시에 일어나요).
Respectful speech. The honorific polite form is 일어나세요, built the regular way from 일어나시다; there is no special honorific verb. 일어나세요 is also what a parent says to wake someone: "Get up!"
How Do You Pronounce 일어나다?
일어나다 is pronounced [이러나다]; Revised Romanization: ireonada. The ㄹ of 일 moves to the next syllable and becomes a light tap, and ㅓ is an open, unrounded "uh".
Sound changes under the standard pronunciation rules (국립국어원):
- 일어나요 sounds like [이러나요]
- 일어났어요 sounds like [이러나써요]
- 일어날 거예요 sounds like [이러날꺼예요]
- 일어나겠어요 sounds like [이러나게써요]
- 일어납니다 sounds like [이러남니다]
How Do You Use 일어나다 in a Sentence?
저는 아침 일곱 시에 일어나요.
I get up at seven in the morning.
Form shown: polite present (일어나요), with the clock time marked by 에.
오늘 일찍 일어났어요.
I got up early today.
Form shown: polite past (일어났어요); 일찍 means "early".
내일은 늦게 일어날 거예요.
I will get up late tomorrow.
Form shown: polite future for a plan (일어날 거예요); 늦게 means "late".
Ireonada Conjugation: What Are the Forms of 일어나다?
일어나다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 일어나요 | ||
| Polite past | 일어났어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 일어날 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 일어나겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 일어납니다 | ||
| Formal past | 일어났습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 일어날 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 일어나 | ||
| Casual past | 일어났어 | ||
| Casual future | 일어날 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 일어나고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 일어나세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 일어나서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 일어나면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 일어나는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 일어난 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 일어날 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 일어나요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 일어나지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 일어나요 | [이러나요] |
| Polite past | 일어났어요 | [이러나써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 일어날 거예요 | [이러날꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 일어나겠어요 | [이러나게써요] |
| Formal present | 일어납니다 | [이러남니다] |
| Formal past | 일어났습니다 | [이러낟씀니다] |
| Formal future | 일어날 것입니다 | [이러날꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 일어나 | [이러나] |
| Casual past | 일어났어 | [이러나써] |
| Casual future | 일어날 거야 | [이러날꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 일어나고 싶어요 | [이러나고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 일어나세요 | [이러나세요] |
| Because / and then | 일어나서 | [이러나서] |
| If (conditional) | 일어나면 | [이러나면] |
| Present modifier | 일어나는 | [이러나는] |
| Past modifier | 일어난 | [이러난] |
| Future modifier | 일어날 | [이러날] |
| Short negative | 안 일어나요 | [안 이러나요] |
| Long negative | 일어나지 않아요 | [이러나지 아나요] |
Is 일어나다 Regular or Irregular?
일어나다 is a regular verb. The stem 일어나 ends in ㅏ, so the ending 아 merges into it: 일어나요, 일어났어요. Lesson: polite present recipe. Tool: conjugator.
What Is the Most Common Mistake with 일어나다?
Wrong: ✗ 일어나어요
Correct: ✓ 일어나요
Why: The stem ends in 나, and 나 + 아요 merges to 나요; do not add another 어 or 아.
Polite requests such as 일어나세요 are covered with other respectful forms in honorific and humble verbs.
How Is 일어나다 Different from Similar Words?
| Word | How it differs from 일어나다 |
|---|---|
| 깨다 | 깨다 is to wake from sleep (eyes open); 일어나다 is to get up, usually out of bed. |
| 일어서다 | 일어나다 can mean getting out of bed; 일어서다 is only to stand up from a seat. |
Planning an Early Start
Two travellers staying in the same guesthouse compare their mornings before planning tomorrow’s departure.
Mina
오늘 몇 시에 일어났어요?
Oneul myeot sie ireonasseoyo?
What time did you get up today?
Jun
일곱 시에 일어났어요.
Ilgop sie ireonasseoyo.
I got up at seven.
Mina
내일은 여섯 시에 일어날 거예요.
Naeireun yeoseot sie ireonal geoyeyo.
Tomorrow I’m going to get up at six.
Jun
저도 일찍 일어나요.
Jeodo iljjik ireonayo.
I’ll get up early too.
The past form 일어났어요 asks about today’s completed action. 일어날 거예요 gives tomorrow’s plan. Jun’s present form 일어나요 takes its future meaning from the plan just mentioned. Clock times use 에; 일찍, “early”, works as an adverb without that particle.
Common Combinations: Mornings, Seats and Events
| Combination | Meaning | How to read the scene |
|---|---|---|
| 일찍 일어나다 | to get up early | A morning habit or a particular early start. |
| 늦게 일어나다 | to get up late | The opposite timing. |
| 자리에서 일어나다 | to rise from one’s seat | A change from sitting to standing. |
| 사고가 일어나다 | for an accident to happen | An event, without a person getting up. |
| 문제가 일어나다 | for a problem to arise | Something troublesome begins or occurs. |
These are common combinations rather than a single idiom. In 자리에서 일어나다, 자리 is a seat or place, and 에서 marks where the rising starts. In 사고가 일어나다, the accident is the subject. Looking at that subject is the quickest way to choose between “get up” and “happen”.
The event meaning is useful even at beginner level because it appears in news and everyday explanations. A report about an accident may use the same verb as a sentence about your morning alarm. The event did not literally stand up; Korean uses 일어나다 for its occurrence.
Where Will You Hear 일어나다?
At home, 일어나 can be a familiar instruction to get out of bed. 일어나세요 is a polite request to rise, heard when someone is asked to stand or get up. The verb does not specify sleep in every situation: in a classroom, a person may already be fully awake and sitting at a desk.
In a daily routine, a clock time plus 일어나요 normally tells when someone gets up. The time they first become awake can be earlier. If you are explaining that distinction, 깨다 names waking from sleep, while 일어나다 names getting up. They often happen together, which is why English translations sometimes use “wake up” for both.
In news or a drama discussing a problem, listen for the noun before 가/이. An accident or problem as the subject points to “occur”. This use does not require a person to cause the event deliberately. The verb reports that it happened; another part of the sentence must explain who caused it.
Getting up Yourself Versus Waking Someone Else
일어나다 describes the subject getting up. It does not take another person as the object being woken. 깨우다 means to wake someone else, while 깨다 can describe your own waking. These three verbs let you separate opening your eyes, leaving the bed and causing another person to wake.
The spelling is also easy to misread because 일 resembles the noun for work. Here 일어나다 is one verb, with the stem 일어나. Keep it together when adding 요 or the past ending. It is unrelated to the 하다 contraction in 일해요, “work”. Its present form keeps 나 and adds 요; its past form contains 났어요.
For polite timing questions, 일어나세요 can describe a respected person’s routine, not just give an instruction. A question word such as 몇 시에 makes the reading clear. A short 일어나세요 on its own is more likely to be heard as a request to get up.
Related Words for a Morning Routine
| Korean | Meaning | Difference to remember |
|---|---|---|
| 깨다 | to wake up | Sleep ends, even if the person stays in bed. |
| 깨우다 | to wake someone | Another person is being woken. |
| 알람 | alarm | A device or alert used to wake up. |
| 늦잠 | sleeping late; oversleeping | Commonly paired with 자다. |
| 자다 | to sleep | The night-time partner of getting up. |
The daily routines lesson supplies the surrounding activities. The morning routine story lets you meet the sequence in connected reading.
Mini Drill: Change the Morning
- Give the polite present of 일어나다.
- Change it to the polite past.
- Give the future plan form.
- Give a polite request to get up.
Show the morning forms
- 일어나요.
- 일어났어요.
- 일어날 거예요.
- 일어나세요.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 일어나다 mean when 사고 is its subject?
- Which verb means waking another person: 깨우다 or 일어나다?
- Is 일찍 followed by the time particle 에?
Show answers
- To happen or occur: an accident happens.
- 깨우다.
- No. 일찍 is already an adverb meaning “early”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 일어나다 Regular or Irregular?
일어나다 is regular. The stem 일어나 gives 일어나요 in the polite present and 일어났어요 in the polite past.
How Do You Say "I Get up at Seven in the Morning" in Korean?
Say 저는 아침 일곱 시에 일어나요. 일곱 시에 is "at seven o'clock", and the verb is in the polite present form, 일어나요.
How Do You Make 일어나다 Negative?
There are two ways. The short form puts 안 in front of the verb: 안 일어나요. The long form is 일어나지 않아요.
What Is the Respectful Form of 일어나다?
The honorific polite form is 일어나세요, made with the regular honorific ending. Unlike 자다, it has no special honorific verb.
Which Particles Go with 일어나다?
일어나다 takes no object. The subject takes 이/가, and the time is marked with 에 (일곱 시에 일어나요).
What Is the Difference between 일어나다 and 깨다?
깨다 is to wake from sleep (eyes open); 일어나다 is to get up, usually out of bed.
Which Words Are Related to 일어나다 (to wake up/get up)?
What Should You Learn Next?
Next: 자다, or browse the verb dictionary.