Key Facts
- Hangul: 주다 (juda)
- Meaning: to give
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: A1
- Stem: 주
- Class: regular
- Object marking: transitive
What Does 주다 Mean?
- to give. Hand or give something to someone, as in 친구에게 선물을 주다.
주다 is to hand or give something to someone, as in 친구에게 선물을 주다. The thing given takes 을/를 and the receiver takes 에게/한테. It is one of the most frequent verbs in Korean, and it also works as a helper verb meaning 'do something for someone'.
Two honour verbs sit around it. The honorific 주시다 honours the giver, so a teacher giving you something is 선생님이 주셨어요. The humble 드리다 honours the receiver, so you give a grandparent something with 드리다. The form you will use most is 주세요, "please give me", the polite way to ask for something in a shop or café.
How Do You Pronounce 주다?
주다 is read as written: a soft j and a rounded ㅜ. The past 줬어요 is read [줘써요], the formal present 줍니다 is [줌니다], and the future plan is [줄꺼예요]. In 줘 the ㅜ glides straight into ㅓ, so it is one syllable, jwo.
How Do You Use 주다 in a Sentence?
저는 친구에게 선물을 줘요.
I'm giving my friend a present.
The basic three-part pattern: 저는 (I), 친구에게 (receiver) and 선물을 (thing given), with 줘요. Notice that the verb is the last word.
엄마가 용돈을 줬어요.
Mom gave me pocket money.
Here 엄마가 is the giver, 용돈을 the pocket money, and 줬어요 the past. The stem 주 and the past ending fuse into the single syllable 줬.
동생에게 책을 주고 싶어요.
I want to give a book to my younger sibling.
The want-to form 주고 싶어요 with 동생에게 (younger sibling) and 책을 (book). Giving to a younger sibling, so no humble verb is needed.
How Does Juda Conjugation Work?
The stem 주 ends in ㅜ, which merges with 어 into 줘: 줘요, 줬어요, 줘서. Endings that begin with a consonant leave the stem alone, giving 줍니다, 주면 and 주는. The negative is 안 줘요.
주다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 줘요 | ||
| Polite past | 줬어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 줄 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 주겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 줍니다 | ||
| Formal past | 줬습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 줄 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 줘 | ||
| Casual past | 줬어 | ||
| Casual future | 줄 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 주고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 주세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 줘서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 주면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 주는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 준 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 줄 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 줘요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 주지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 줘요 | as written |
| Polite past | 줬어요 | [줘써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 줄 거예요 | [줄꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 주겠어요 | [주게써요] |
| Formal present | 줍니다 | [줌니다] |
| Formal past | 줬습니다 | [줟씀니다] |
| Formal future | 줄 것입니다 | [줄꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 줘 | as written |
| Casual past | 줬어 | [줘써] |
| Casual future | 줄 거야 | [줄꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 주고 싶어요 | [주고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 주세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 줘서 | as written |
| If (conditional) | 주면 | as written |
| Modifier, present | 주는 | as written |
| Modifier, past | 준 | as written |
| Modifier, future | 줄 | as written |
| Negative, short | 안 줘요 | as written |
| Negative, long | 주지 않아요 | [주지 아나요] |
The rule behind to give (regular) is taught in polite present recipe.
Common Mistake with 주다
Wrong (not respectful enough): ✗ 할머니께 선물을 줘요
Correct: ✓ 할머니께 선물을 드려요
Why: When the receiver is an elder, use the humble 드리다 (with 께) instead of 주다.
The slip is mixing the respectful particle 께 with the plain verb 줘요. The receiver is an elder, so the humble 드리다 is correct: 할머니께 선물을 드려요, with 께 in place of 에게.
주다 Versus Similar Verbs
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 드리다 | 주다 is for equals or juniors; 드리다 is the humble verb used when giving to a senior. |
| 받다 | 주다 is to give; 받다 is to receive. |
드리다 is the humble give that you use toward a senior. 주다 is for equals or juniors.
받다 is the other side of the exchange: to receive. In a sentence with a giver and a receiver, the verb tells you whose point of view the sentence takes.
Handing out Birthday Presents
Two friends are sorting birthday presents before a party. One present has already been handed over; another still needs to reach its recipient.
Jisu
민수에게 선물을 줬어요?
Minsuege seonmureul jwosseoyo?
Did you give Minsu his present?
Alex
네. 이 책은 수진에게 줄 거예요.
Ne. I chaegeun Sujinege jul geoyeyo.
Yes. I will give this book to Sujin.
Jisu
그럼 책을 저한테 주세요.
Geureom chaegeul jeohante juseyo.
Then please give me the book.
Alex
네, 여기 있어요.
Ne, yeogi isseoyo.
Sure, here it is.
The receiver changes from 민수에게 to 수진에게 to 저한테, but the thing given stays marked as an object. 저한테 is “to me” in everyday polite speech. 주세요 asks the other person to give it; 줄 거예요 describes what the speaker plans to do.
Common Combinations beyond Presents
용돈을 주다 means “to give pocket money”. The money might come from a parent or another relative. 선물을 주다 is giving a present, while 기회를 주다 means giving someone an opportunity. The last phrase is abstract: nothing has to pass from hand to hand.
도와주다 means “to help someone”. Here the idea of doing something for another person has become part of a familiar compound verb. In 읽어 주세요, “please read it for me”, 주다 follows another verb to request an action that benefits someone. The first verb names the action; 주세요 makes the request.
Compare 책을 주세요, “please give me the book”, with 책을 읽어 주세요, “please read the book for me”. The extra action verb changes what you are asking for. Recognizing this difference helps with classroom instructions and requests at service counters.
Where Will You Hear 주다?
At a café, the name of an item followed by 주세요 is an everyday order. A customer can ask for 물 주세요, “water, please”, without adding “to me”. The recipient is obvious. Adding a quantity makes the request more precise, while the giving verb stays the same.
In family conversation, 줬어요 often reports a completed gift or payment. In work messages, 주다 frequently appears after an action verb when someone asks a colleague to do something for them. The object may be a file, information, or help rather than a physical gift.
What Makes 주다 Tricky?
줘요 and 주세요 have different jobs in the gift dialogue. 줘요 can report giving; 주세요 is the standard polite request. Saying 줘 to a stranger sounds too familiar. For a simple shop request, learn 주세요 as a complete expression instead of adding 요 to the casual request.
Keep the space in 줄 거예요: 거예요 is separate from the future modifier 줄. For helper-verb requests, spaced writing such as 읽어 주세요 is a useful consistent choice. Some combinations are established single words, including 도와주다, so spacing every occurrence of 주다 mechanically will not work.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 선물 | present | The thing given in 선물을 주다. |
| 용돈 | pocket money | Common with a parent or relative as the giver. |
| 받다 | to receive | Describes the same exchange from the receiver's side. |
| 드리다 | to give respectfully | Use when your giving honours the recipient. |
The shopping vocabulary lesson gives more things you can request with 주세요.
Mini Drill: Follow the Gift
- Complete “to a friend”: 친구___ 선물을 줘요.
- Change 줘요 to the polite past.
- Ask politely for a book, using 책 and 주세요.
- Choose the verb for giving your grandmother a gift: 주다 or 드리다?
Show giving drill answers
- 친구에게 or 친구한테.
- 줬어요.
- 책을 주세요.
- 드리다 honours the receiver.
Quick Self-Test
- Who is honoured by 주시다: the giver or the receiver?
- Does 기회를 주다 require a physical object?
- What changes when 읽어 is added before 주세요?
Show answers
- The giver.
- No. It means giving an opportunity.
- The request becomes “please read it for me” rather than “please give it to me”.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Give Something to a Grandparent?
Use 드리다 and 께, as in 할머니께 선물을 드려요.
What Does 주세요 Mean?
It means "please give me". 주세요 is the honorific polite form of 주다, and it is how you ask for things politely, as in ordering at a café.
How Do I Say "Mom Gave Me Pocket Money"?
엄마가 용돈을 줬어요, using the past form 줬어요.
What Is the Difference between 주시다 and 드리다?
주시다 honours the giver, as in 선생님이 주셨어요 (the teacher gave it to me). 드리다 honours the receiver, as in 할머니께 선물을 드려요.
Which Particles Does 주다 Take?
The thing given takes 을/를 and the receiver takes 에게/한테.
Which Words Are Related to 주다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Continue with 드리다 for the humble verb and 받다 for the other side of the exchange. When to give feels familiar, compare it with other entries in the verb dictionary or check a form in the conjugator.