Key Facts
- Hangul: 이사하다 (isahada)
- Meaning: to move house
- Level: A2
- Stem: 이사하
- Conjugation class: 하다 type
- Particles: The destination takes (으)로 or 에, as in 서울로 이사하다.
What Does 이사하다 Mean?
이사하다 means moving your home, not carrying a box across the room. The destination takes (으)로 or 에, as in 서울로 이사하다, because the new place is a goal, not an object. The related noun 이사 appears in phrases like 이사 갈 집 (the house to move to), and 이삿짐 means the belongings you move.
How Do You Pronounce 이사하다?
The dictionary form has 4 syllables and is read as written. The sound shifts are in the endings. The future 이사할 거예요 sounds like [이사할꺼예요], and the past 이사했어요 sounds like [이사해써요] with a tense ㅆ.
How Do You Use 이사하다 in a Sentence?
우리는 다음 달에 이사할 거예요.
We will move house next month.
이사할 거예요 is the planned future, and 다음 달에 puts the move next month. The subject 우리는 shows the whole family moves.
작년에 서울로 이사했어요.
I moved to Seoul last year.
서울로 shows the destination with (으)로, and 작년에 sets the time to last year. The past form is 이사했어요.
이사하면 새 이웃에게 인사해요.
When you move, you greet your new neighbors.
The condition 이사하면 introduces what you do after the move. 새 이웃에게 인사해요 reuses the particle 에게 for the people greeted.
How Does Isahada Conjugation Work?
이사하다 is a 하다 verb. 하 plus 여 contracts to 해, so 이사해요, 이사했어요 and 이사해서 follow. Endings beginning with a consonant leave 하 intact: 이사하고 싶어요, 이사하면, 이사하는. The short negative splits the noun: 이사 안 해요.
이사하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 이사해요 | ||
| Polite past | 이사했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 이사할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 이사하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 이사합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 이사했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 이사할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 이사해 | ||
| Casual past | 이사했어 | ||
| Casual future | 이사할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 이사하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 이사하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 이사해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 이사하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 이사하는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 이사한 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 이사할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 이사 안 해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 이사하지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 이사했어요 | [이사해써요] |
| Plan future | 이사할 거예요 | [이사할꺼예요] |
| Guess future | 이사하겠어요 | [이사하게써요] |
| Formal present | 이사합니다 | [이사함니다] |
| Formal past | 이사했습니다 | [이사핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 이사할 것입니다 | [이사할꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 이사했어 | [이사해써] |
| Casual future | 이사할 거야 | [이사할꺼야] |
| Want to | 이사하고 싶어요 | [이사하고 시퍼요] |
| Long negative | 이사하지 않아요 | [이사하지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 서울을 이사했어요
Correct: ✓ 서울로 이사했어요
Why: Learners map English move to a direct object, but the Korean pattern puts the place as a destination. Use 서울로 for to Seoul, and avoid 을, which would treat the city as the thing being moved.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|
| 옮기다 | 옮기다 moves an object or changes a position. For a desk, a meeting or a seat 옮기다 fits, but for changing where you live 이사하다 is the right word. |
| 이동하다 | 이동하다 is to travel from one place to another. It describes the journey, whereas 이사하다 only describes changing residence. |
A New Neighbor in the Hallway
A resident meets someone carrying boxes into the apartment next door. They ask about the move and discuss the new resident’s plans.
Resident
어제 이사했어요?
Eoje isahaesseoyo?
Did you move in yesterday?
New neighbor
네. 서울에서 이사했어요.
Ne. Seoureseo isahaesseoyo.
Yes. I moved from Seoul.
Resident
가족도 이사할 거예요?
Gajokdo isahal geoyeyo?
Will your family move here too?
New neighbor
네. 다음 달에 이사해요.
Ne. Daeum dare isahaeyo.
Yes. They’re moving next month.
이사했어요 places the move in the past, and 이사할 거예요 asks about a future move. The last 이사해요 also refers to the future because 다음 달에 supplies “next month”. The polite present can describe an arranged future event when a time expression makes the plan clear.
Which Moving Expressions Should You Learn Together?
새집으로 이사하다 means to move to a new home. The word 새집 can mean a newly built house or simply the new home in the conversation. The verb does not say whether the person bought the property or rented it; those details need other words.
이사 가다 and 이사 오다 add direction. 가다 presents moving away or going to another place; 오다 presents moving to the speaker’s location or the place treated as “here”. A neighbor welcoming someone into the building can use the coming perspective. 이사하다 itself leaves that viewpoint open.
이삿짐을 싸다 means to pack moving belongings, and 이삿짐을 풀다 means to unpack them. These are steps around the move rather than synonyms for moving house. Someone may have changed homes already but still have boxes to unpack, so the actions can have different completion times.
이사 준비 means preparation for a move. 이사 날짜 is the moving date. These noun phrases are useful when arranging help, discussing a schedule or asking when a friend will be available. They let you identify the part of the moving process without repeating a complete verb sentence.
How Do the Place Markers Change the Meaning?
서울로 이사했어요 gives Seoul as the destination. 서울에서 이사했어요 gives Seoul as the starting location, as in the dialogue. The letters 에서 matter: a listener who hears 로 understands “to”, while 에서 identifies where the person moved from in this context.
A destination with 로 or 으로 follows the noun’s final sound: 서울로, but 집으로. After a final ㄹ, use 로; after another final consonant, use 으로. You can also see 에 with a destination. The earlier correction uses 로 to make the new location unmistakable.
이사하다 changes the place where someone lives. If you only move a chair from one room to another, 옮기다 names that action. If you travel to a hotel for a short stay, 이사하다 would imply a residential move rather than simply reaching the hotel.
Where Will You Hear 이사하다?
Neighbors use 이사하다 when meeting a new resident or saying goodbye to someone leaving. Friends use it when arranging help or explaining a change of address. In an apartment hallway, the new building is obvious, so the destination may disappear from the sentence just as it does in the dialogue.
Moving-service advertisements often use the noun 이사 rather than a complete sentence. 포장 이사 refers to a packing-and-moving service. 원룸 이사 refers to moving from or to a one-room apartment. These labels identify a type of move; they do not specify every service included in a particular offer.
A workplace move is commonly described with 이전, “relocation”, especially in an office announcement. Everyday 이사하다 centers on changing homes. Recognizing the office word helps when an address notice is about a company rather than a family.
What Makes the Spelling Tricky?
Write 이사하다 as one word for the compact verb. The noun patterns 이사 가다 and 이사 오다 have a space before the motion verb. In the future 이사할 거예요, leave a space before 거예요. These three structures look similar but place their word boundaries differently.
The short negative 이사 안 해요 splits the noun from 해요, while 이사하지 않아요 keeps the verb together before the long negative. Neither negative by itself tells you whether a person is staying permanently; it only denies the move under discussion. Time words supply whether that means this week, this year or another period.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 이삿짐 | moving belongings | The things packed and transported. |
| 주소 | address | Information to update after a move. |
| 이웃 | neighbor | A person living nearby. |
| 이전 | relocation | Useful in notices about an office changing location. |
The home vocabulary lesson introduces the rooms and housing words needed when describing the new place.
Mini Drill: Describe a Move
- Give the polite past of 이사하다.
- Complete the destination: 서울____ 이사했어요.
- Complete the origin: 서울____ 이사했어요.
- Write the planned future, including its space.
Show drill answers
- 이사했어요.
- 서울로 이사했어요: to Seoul.
- 서울에서 이사했어요: from Seoul.
- 이사할 거예요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 이사하다 tell you whether the new home was bought or rented?
- What does 이삿짐을 풀다 mean?
- Which verb fits moving a chair across the room?
Show answers
- No. It only states the residential move.
- To unpack moving belongings.
- 옮기다.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say I Moved to Seoul?
Say 서울로 이사했어요. The place takes (으)로 or 에.
Which Word Means the Belongings I Move?
이삿짐 is the word for moving belongings.
What Is the Polite Future?
이사할 거예요, spoken [이사할꺼예요].
Is 이사 a Noun?
Yes. 이사 is the noun, and it appears in 이사 갈 집.
Which Words Are Related to 이사하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Move on to 결혼하다, 예약하다 and 준비하다 for other big life tasks, then back to 살다 for the plain verb meaning to live. The pattern behind 이사하다 is covered in how 하다 verbs become 해요; to check any other form, open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.