Jeopda Conjugation: 접다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 접다 (jeopda)
• Meaning: to fold
• Level: B1
• Stem: 접
• Conjugation class: regular
• Particles: What is folded takes 을/를 (종이를 접어요).
• Spoken as: [접따]

What Does 접다 Mean?

접다 turns a flat or open thing into a folded one: 종이를 접다, 우산을 접다. What is folded takes 을/를. It appears in 종이접기, the Korean word for origami, and it is the natural verb for closing an umbrella. Folding laundry or bedding is usually 개다 rather than 접다, so reach for 접다 when the object is paper or something that opens and shuts. Its opposite is 펴다, to unfold or spread out.

How Do You Pronounce 접다?

The dictionary form has 2 syllables and is spoken [접따]: the ㄷ after the ㅂ batchim turns tense, though Revised Romanization still writes jeopda. Before a vowel the ㅂ slides across to the next syllable, so 접어요 is [저버요] and 접었어요 is [저버써요]. That sliding is ordinary linking, not an irregular change. Before ㄴ the ㅂ turns nasal, which is why the modifier 접는 is spoken [점는].

How Do You Use 접다 in a Sentence?

종이를 marks the paper as the object of 접어요. The sentence is the plain description of the craft.

The past 접었어요 follows 우산을, so the umbrella has been closed.

The condition 접으면 uses the vowel-linked ending 으면 after a final consonant. The folded clothes then fit in the bag, 가방에 들어가요.

How Does Jeopda Conjugation Work?

접다 is regular. The ㅂ batchim stays put: 접어요, 접었어요, 접어서. Endings that start with 으 keep the 으 after the consonant, so you see 접으면 and 접은. Verbs of the ㅂ irregular group change to 워 instead, but 접다 does not.

Sound Changes

Common Mistake

Wrong: ✗ 접워요

Correct: ✓ 접어요

Why: 접워요 follows the ㅂ irregular pattern of verbs like 돕다. 접다 does not belong to that group, so the polite form is simply 접어요.

How It Differs from Similar Words

Making a Paper Decoration

Two classmates fold paper for a display. The instruction, completed action, and next step use three forms from the same regular stem.

Mina

Alex

Mina

반으로 specifies the result, “in half”, and 한 번 더 means “one more time”. 접으세요 gives a clear instruction. 접었어요 confirms that the first fold is finished, while 접어요 can guide the next action in this shared activity.

Common Combinations with 접다

반으로 접다 means to fold in half. It is a literal description of what happens to the paper or other material. In craft instructions, the direction or number of folds matters: 한 번 더 adds one more repetition. The verb itself does not tell you whether the fold is lengthwise, sideways, or diagonal.

우산을 접다 means to close or fold an umbrella. English often says “close” here, but Korean chooses 접다 because the umbrella folds inward. A folding fan works the same way. For closing a door, 닫다 describes the action; the door does not normally fold like an umbrella.

생각을 접다 means to give up an idea or stop considering it. 계획을 접다 means to abandon a plan. The image is of folding something away, but the real action is a decision to stop pursuing it. In a drama, a character discussing a plan may use 접다 without handling any physical object.

Where Will You Hear 접다?

접다 appears in origami lessons, school craft activities, packing instructions, and requests at an entrance on a rainy day. In a craft tutorial, the object may be omitted after the paper has been introduced. You can then hear 접어요 repeatedly as the teacher demonstrates each fold.

접는 우산 means a folding umbrella. Here the present modifier describes how the object functions, rather than claiming someone is folding it at that exact moment. 접은 종이, by contrast, is paper that has already been folded. The difference helps when identifying which piece to use in the next step of a craft.

For laundry, 개다 is often the natural word for folding clothes or bedding neatly for storage. 접다 still fits an actual folding motion, especially when explaining how to make something smaller for packing. The original clothes example uses that practical sense. The object and purpose help you choose between the two verbs.

Why Does the ㅂ Stay in 접어요?

접다 belongs to the regular group even though its stem ends in ㅂ. Keep that consonant when you write 접어요, 접으면, and 접은. A familiar irregular verb with the same final letter is not a rule for every ㅂ stem. The spelling 접워요 does not belong to this verb.

The pronunciation changes according to the next sound, without changing that spelling. 접어요 links the final consonant into the following vowel. 접는 is pronounced [점는] because ㅂ becomes nasal before ㄴ. These are sound rules, so write 접는 even when your ear hears an ㅁ sound.

접으세요 can politely instruct someone to fold, and the fuller 접어 주세요 asks for the action as a favor. Choose the object carefully: an instruction about paper is literal, while telling someone to drop an idea can sound forceful. A polite ending does not remove the social weight of the request.

Words for Folding and Unfolding

The everyday objects lesson teaches useful object names. For folding laundry, the cleaning and laundry lesson gives the household context for 개다.

Mini Drill

1. Give the polite past of 접다.
2. Make the conditional “if I fold”.
3. Put 접다 before 종이 for paper already folded.
4. Write the present modifier, even though it sounds [점는].

Quick Self-Test

1. What does 반으로 add to 접다?
2. Which verb reverses a fold: 펴다 or 묶다?
3. What does 계획을 접다 mean?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 접다 ㅂ Irregular?

No. It is regular, so the polite present is 접어요, not 접워요.

How Do I Say I Folded My Umbrella?

Say 우산을 접었어요.

What Word Means Origami?

종이접기 means origami.

How Do I Fold Clothes?

For laundry or bedding the usual verb is 개다. The sentence 옷을 접으면 가방에 들어가요 shows 접다 for clothes you fold small to pack.

Which Words Are Related to 접다?

• 펴다
• 묶다
• 붙이다
• 자르다

What Should You Learn Next?

Study 펴다 for the opposite action and read the lesson on regular verbs that look irregular. The pattern behind 접다 is covered in regular verbs that look irregular; to check any other form, open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.