Key Facts
- Hangul: 졸업하다 (joreopada)
- Meaning: to graduate
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: A2
- Stem: 졸업하
- Class: 하다 type
- Object marking: transitive
What Does 졸업하다 Mean?
- to graduate. Finish a school: 대학교를 졸업하다.
졸업하다 means to graduate, to finish a school: 대학교를 졸업하다. It is transitive and the school is the object. The related nouns 졸업 (graduation), 졸업식 (graduation ceremony) and 졸업생 (graduate) are common.
Grammar. The school is the object with 을/를: 대학교를 졸업하다.
Usage note. Noun 졸업 is common: 졸업식 (graduation ceremony), 졸업생 (graduate).
The example sentences below follow a life path: a finished graduation last year, a graduation planned for next year, and a plan for after graduation. Related verbs continue the path: 입학하다 (enter a school), 합격하다 (pass an exam) and 취직하다 (get a job).
How Do You Pronounce 졸업하다?
The ㄹ of 졸 moves into the next syllable, and the ㅂ of 업 merges with the ㅎ of 하 into ㅍ: 졸업해요 is read [조러패요], 졸업했어요 is [조러패써요], and 졸업합니다 is [조러팜니다].
How Do You Use 졸업하다 in a Sentence?
저는 작년에 대학교를 졸업했어요.
I graduated from university last year.
작년에 means last year, and the school takes 를: 대학교를.
내년에 졸업할 거예요.
I will graduate next year.
내년에 (next year) with the plan future 졸업할 거예요.
졸업하면 취직하고 싶어요.
After I graduate, I want to get a job.
졸업하면 (once I graduate) sets the time, and 취직하고 싶어요 means I want to get a job.
How Does Joreopada Conjugation Work?
Conjugation is the 하다 contraction on 졸업하: 졸업해요, 졸업했어요, 졸업해서. The negative is 졸업 안 해요.
졸업하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 졸업해요 | ||
| Polite past | 졸업했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 졸업할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 졸업하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 졸업합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 졸업했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 졸업할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 졸업해 | ||
| Casual past | 졸업했어 | ||
| Casual future | 졸업할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 졸업하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 졸업하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 졸업해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 졸업하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 졸업하는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 졸업한 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 졸업할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 졸업 안 해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 졸업하지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 졸업해요 | [조러패요] |
| Polite past | 졸업했어요 | [조러패써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 졸업할 거예요 | [조러팔꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 졸업하겠어요 | [조러파게써요] |
| Formal present | 졸업합니다 | [조러팜니다] |
| Formal past | 졸업했습니다 | [조러팯씀니다] |
| Formal future | 졸업할 것입니다 | [조러팔꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 졸업해 | [조러패] |
| Casual past | 졸업했어 | [조러패써] |
| Casual future | 졸업할 거야 | [조러팔꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 졸업하고 싶어요 | [조러파고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 졸업하세요 | [조러파세요] |
| Because / and then | 졸업해서 | [조러패서] |
| If (conditional) | 졸업하면 | [조러파면] |
| Modifier, present | 졸업하는 | [조러파는] |
| Modifier, past | 졸업한 | [조러판] |
| Modifier, future | 졸업할 | [조러팔] |
| Negative, short | 졸업 안 해요 | [조러반 해요] |
| Negative, long | 졸업하지 않아요 | [조러파지 아나요] |
The pattern for this verb is explained in 하다 to 해요.
Common Mistake with 졸업하다
Wrong: ✗ 대학교에서 졸업했어요.
Correct: ✓ 대학교를 졸업했어요.
Why: The school is the object of 졸업하다, so use 을/를.
The mistake is 대학교에서 졸업했어요, which uses a place particle, probably because English says "graduate from" and feels like leaving a place. Korean treats the school as the thing completed, so it takes 을/를.
졸업하다 Versus Similar Verbs
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 입학하다 | 입학하다 is entering a school; 졸업하다 is finishing it. |
| 끝나다 | 끝나다 is for things ending; 졸업하다 is only for finishing a school or program. |
Talking about Graduation Plans
Two university classmates meet near the campus noticeboard. One is graduating this year; the other still has another year of study.
Jisu
올해 졸업해요?
Olhae joreopaeyo?
Are you graduating this year?
Alex
아니요. 내년에 졸업할 거예요.
Aniyo. Naenyeone joreopal geoyeyo.
No. I will graduate next year.
Jisu
졸업하면 취직하고 싶어요?
Joreopamyeon chwijikago sipeoyo?
Do you want to get a job after you graduate?
Alex
네. 빨리 졸업하고 싶어요.
Ne. Ppalli joreopago sipeoyo.
Yes. I want to graduate soon.
올해 and 내년에 set the year, so the school can stay unspoken: both classmates know which university they mean. 졸업해요 can refer to a scheduled future event when 올해 supplies the time. 졸업할 거예요 makes that future explicit. The conditional 졸업하면 then treats graduation as the point after which a new plan begins.
Graduation Phrases and Milestones
고등학교를 졸업하다 means to graduate from high school; 대학교를 졸업하다 means to graduate from university. The verb itself does not tell you the level of education. If you are explaining your background, name the school level before the verb so the listener does not have to guess.
졸업을 축하해요 means “Congratulations on your graduation.” Here 졸업 is a noun, and 축하해요 carries the congratulation. You will see the shorter 졸업 축하 on cards and banners. Neither phrase says that the person offering congratulations has graduated.
졸업 예정 means graduation is expected or planned. In a job application, 졸업 예정자 identifies someone expected to graduate. It describes a different stage from 졸업생, a graduate. 졸업 증명서 is a certificate of graduation, useful when an employer or another school asks for evidence of completed education.
Where Will You Hear or See 졸업하다?
School conversations use 졸업해요 and 졸업했어요 to discuss the next milestone or a completed one. Application forms often compress the same information into nouns, such as 졸업 and 졸업 예정. Recognizing those noun labels helps even when there is no full sentence to conjugate.
A 졸업식 is the ceremony. Attending the event and completing the requirements are related, but they are different pieces of information. Someone can talk about graduating without describing whether they attended the ceremony. A question about the ceremony’s date therefore needs the noun 졸업식, rather than relying on 졸업하다 alone.
The verb is neutral: it works in a chat with classmates and in a formal account of your education. A formal introduction can use 졸업했습니다; ordinary polite conversation uses 졸업했어요. You do not need a special replacement verb to discuss another person’s graduation respectfully.
What Makes 졸업하다 Tricky?
English puts “from” before the school, but the standard Korean pattern puts 을/를 after it. Keep the school and the event location separate. The school is what someone completes; a location phrase answers where an action takes place. For a simple statement about your education, 대학교를 졸업했어요 gives the needed relationship directly.
Sound and spelling also pull in different directions. The pronunciation of 졸업해요 includes an aspirated ㅍ sound, but you still write the noun 졸업 plus 해요. The sound change does not turn the spelling into a word containing ㅍ. Likewise, 졸업했어요 keeps 했 rather than copying its spoken tense sound into the spelling.
Write 졸업해요 together. In the short negative 졸업 안 해요, 안 separates the noun and 하다. The longer 졸업하지 않아요 keeps the whole verb together before the separate negative expression. Neither negative by itself explains whether graduation is delayed, refused or impossible; the surrounding conversation supplies that reason.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 입학 | school admission / entry | The beginning of study at a school. |
| 재학 | enrollment / attendance | The period when someone is still a student. |
| 졸업생 | graduate | A person who has completed school. |
| 졸업식 | graduation ceremony | The event, rather than the graduate. |
The school vocabulary lesson teaches the school and student words used around these milestones.
Mini Drill: Describe Your Education
- Add the school particle: 대학교____ 졸업했어요.
- Put 졸업하다 into the polite future.
- Supply “once I graduate”: ____ 취직하고 싶어요.
- Write the short negative in the polite present.
Show drill answers
- 대학교를 졸업했어요.
- 졸업할 거예요.
- 졸업하면.
- 졸업 안 해요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 졸업하다 alone tell you whether someone finished high school or university?
- What does 졸업 예정자 tell an employer?
- Which noun names the graduation ceremony?
Show answers
- No. Name the school level to make that clear.
- The applicant is expected to graduate.
- 졸업식.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Particle Goes with the School?
The school takes 을/를, as in 대학교를 졸업했어요. Do not use 에서.
What Is a Graduation Ceremony in Korean?
졸업식, built on the same noun 졸업 (graduation) as the verb.
What Is a Graduate in Korean?
졸업생, a person who has graduated.
What Is the Polite Past?
졸업했어요, read [조러패써요].
How Is 졸업해요 Pronounced?
It is read [조러패요]: the ㄹ links to the next vowel, and the ㅂ of 업 merges with ㅎ into ㅍ.
Which Words Are Related to 졸업하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Next, 입학하다 and 취직하다. Once 졸업하다 feels familiar, compare it with other entries in the verb dictionary or check a form in the conjugator.