Ireuda Conjugation: 이르다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 이르다 (ireuda)
• Meaning: early
• Level: B1
• Stem: 이르
• Conjugation class: 르-irregular
• Particles: The time or event described takes 이/가, as in 시간이 일러요.

What Does 이르다 Mean?

Use 이르다 for a time or an event that is ahead of schedule, as in 아직 가기에는 일러요 (it is still too early to go). The thing described takes 이/가, so 시간이 일러요 works. It describes timing, not speed: for speed Korean uses 빠르다, and for arriving early the adverb 일찍 is more common than the adjective. Two other words are also spelled 이르다: a verb meaning to reach and a verb meaning to tell. This page covers only the adjective early. Because it describes a state, 이르다 has no -고 싶다 form.

How Do You Pronounce 이르다?

The dictionary form has 3 syllables and is spoken as written. The conjugated forms add the main sounds: 일렀어요 is [일러써요], the formal 이릅니다 is [이름니다], and 이를 거예요 sounds like [이를꺼예요]. Notice that the ㅂ before ㄴ in 이릅니다 becomes ㅁ.

How Do You Use 이르다 in a Sentence?

아직 sets the stage and 가기에는 means for going. 일러요 is the polite statement, so the whole sentence says it is not yet time.

The modifier 이른 sits in front of 아침 to give early morning. It is the adjective's modifier form, made by adding ㄴ to the stem.

일러서 gives the reason, and 가게가 아직 닫혀 있어요 gives the result. The shop is closed because the hour is early.

How Does Ireuda Conjugation Work?

이르다 is 르 irregular. Before 아 or 어, the ㅡ of 르 drops and a ㄹ doubles, which gives 일러요, 일렀어요 and 일러서. Before a consonant the stem is regular, so you get 이르면, 이를 거예요, 이른 and 이릅니다. The same pattern appears in 모르다.

Sound Changes

Common Mistake

Wrong: ✗ 이르러요

Correct: ✓ 일러요

Why: 이르러요 is a real form, but it belongs to a different verb, 이르다 meaning to reach. For the adjective early, 르 irregular gives 일러요. Mixing them up changes the meaning of the sentence.

How It Differs from Similar Words

Arriving before a Café Opens

Two friends reach a café before its opening time. They discuss the early hour and why the door is still closed.

Mina

Jun

Mina

Jun

일러요 describes the time now. 일러서 connects the early hour to the closed shop, while 이른 modifies 아침. The final line uses 왔어요 for the arrival itself. 이르다 supplies the description of the morning rather than replacing the action verb.

Which Early-Time Phrases Are Useful?

이른 아침 means early morning, and 이른 시간 means an early hour or time. 이른 is the adjective’s form before a noun. It can appear in a description of a walk, a work schedule or a departure without any implication that someone made a mistake by being early.

아직 일러요 means it is still early. When someone proposes leaving or making a decision, the practical meaning may be “it is too soon”. 아직 places the situation before the expected or suitable point. The judgment comes from the activity under discussion, not from a fixed clock time.

너무 일러요 means it is too early. 너무 makes the timing excessive for the purpose. The café dialogue explains that purpose: the shop has not opened. An early morning can be pleasant, but a time that is too early for a particular shop can leave you waiting outside.

시기상조 is a noun meaning that something is premature. You may see it in articles about a proposal or decision. It belongs to the same timing idea as “too early”, but it is not a conjugated form of 이르다. Recognize the meaning without trying to build its endings from 이르.

How Are 이르다 and 일찍 Different?

이르다 describes a time or situation; 일찍 is an adverb, a word that modifies an action. 이른 아침 describes the morning, while 일찍 가다 means to go early. The earlier example 이른 아침에 공원에 갔어요 combines a time description with the separate action of going to the park.

빠르다 can describe speed and can also refer to timing being ahead. The useful starting distinction is that 이르다 focuses on an early time, whereas 일찍 attaches directly to an action such as going or arriving. To describe someone’s early arrival, 일찍 with the arrival verb is a straightforward choice.

What Makes This 이르다 Tricky?

Choose the meaning before choosing the form. The adjective “early” gives 일러요. The different verb “reach” gives 이르러요. The verb “tell” also gives 일러요, so the conjugated spelling alone cannot always identify the meaning. Time words such as 아침 and 아직 help establish the early-time sense here.

The 르 change belongs before 아/어: 이르 becomes 일러 in 일러요 and 일러서. It does not spread to every ending. Use 이르면 for “if it is early” and 이른 before a noun. The ㄴ modifier attaches to 이르; it does not use the doubled ㄹ of 일러요.

Because this entry is an adjective, 이른 is its ordinary present modifier. An action verb would use a different present-modifier pattern. Keep 이른 아침 as a complete learning phrase so that the dictionary’s verb-page layout does not tempt you to give this adjective an action-verb ending.

Where Will You Hear or See It?

Weather reports and travel writing can describe 이른 아침. Everyday conversations use 아직 일러요 when it is not yet time to leave, eat or start something. A meeting discussion can use the same timing idea for a decision that needs more preparation; “early” need not mean the morning.

일러요 is polite conversational Korean; 일러 is casual. Neither is an instruction to make the clock earlier. Since time itself is being described, the honorific form in a general conjugation table is not a useful everyday request. The forms to prioritize here are 일러요, 일렀어요, 일러서 and 이른.

See time expressions for vocabulary that locates an action before or after an expected time.

Mini Drill: Choose the Early Form

1. Give the polite present of 이르다 meaning early.
2. Complete “early morning”: ____ 아침.
3. Give the reason form meaning “because it is early”.
4. Choose the adverb before an action: 이른 or 일찍?

Quick Self-Test

1. Does 이르러요 belong to the adjective meaning early?
2. Can 아직 일러요 mean that a decision is premature?
3. Does 이른 아침 necessarily mean the morning is too early?

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Say It Is Too Early?

Say 아직 일러요, which means it is still early.

Why Is the Polite Form 일러요?

Because 이르다 is 르 irregular, the ㅡ of 르 drops and ㄹ doubles before 어.

Is There a Different 이르다?

Yes, a verb meaning to reach has the form 이르러요, and a verb meaning to tell has the form 일러요. Their meanings are unrelated to early.

Can I Say I Want to Be Early with It?

No. Adjectives do not take -고 싶다, so use another structure.

Which Words Are Related to 이르다?

• 늦다
• 빠르다
• 느리다
• 오래되다

What Should You Learn Next?

Compare 늦다 and 빠르다 next, then read the lesson on the 르 irregular pattern. The pattern behind 이르다 is covered in the 르 irregular pattern; to check any other form, open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.