Jukda conjugation is regular, so every form below follows the standard rules.
Key Facts
- Hangul: 죽다 (jukda)
- Meaning: to die
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: A2
- Stem: 죽
- Class: regular
- Object marking: intransitive
What Does 죽다 Mean?
- to die. Stop living, as in 꽃이 죽다 (the flower dies) or 물고기가 죽다.
It is intransitive: the one who dies takes 이/가, as in 물고기가 죽었어요, and there is no object.
It is also used figuratively, for example 배고파 죽겠어요, "I am starving". For a respected person's death, use the honorific euphemism 돌아가시다; 죽으셨어요 sounds disrespectful about a senior. The formal word 사망하다 belongs to news reports and documents.
How Do You Pronounce 죽다?
Watch the final ㄱ. When a vowel ending follows, it moves across to start the next syllable: 죽어요 is read [주거요] and 죽었어요 [주거써요]. Before a consonant it stays and makes the next sound tense: 죽습니다 is read [죽씀니다].
How Do You Use 죽다 in a Sentence?
물이 없으면 꽃이 죽어요.
If there is no water, the flower dies.
A condition: 물이 없으면 (if there is no water) leads to 꽃이 죽어요. The if-clause uses the conditional ending, and the verb is the present.
어제 우리 집 물고기가 죽었어요.
Our fish died yesterday.
A past event about a pet, with 우리 집 (our house) and 물고기가 (fish) as subject, and the past 죽었어요.
물을 안 주면 나무가 죽을 거예요.
If you do not water it, the tree will die.
A prediction with 죽을 거예요 (it will die), plus 물을 안 주면 (if you do not water it), which puts the short negative 안 before 주면.
How Does Jukda Conjugation Work?
The stem 죽 ends in a consonant, so the 으 linking sound appears before consonant-start endings: 죽으세요, 죽으면, 죽은. Vowel harmony picks 어 here, giving 죽어요 and 죽었어요. The table leaves out the want-to form: it exists grammatically, but 'I want to die' is a serious statement rather than a model sentence.
죽다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 죽어요 | ||
| Polite past | 죽었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 죽을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 죽겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 죽습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 죽었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 죽을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 죽어 | ||
| Casual past | 죽었어 | ||
| Casual future | 죽을 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 죽으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 죽어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 죽으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 죽는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 죽은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 죽을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 죽어요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 죽지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 죽어요 | [주거요] |
| Polite past | 죽었어요 | [주거써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 죽을 거예요 | [주글꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 죽겠어요 | [죽께써요] |
| Formal present | 죽습니다 | [죽씀니다] |
| Formal past | 죽었습니다 | [주걷씀니다] |
| Formal future | 죽을 것입니다 | [주글꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 죽어 | [주거] |
| Casual past | 죽었어 | [주거써] |
| Casual future | 죽을 거야 | [주글꺼야] |
| Honorific polite | 죽으세요 | [주그세요] |
| Because / and then | 죽어서 | [주거서] |
| If (conditional) | 죽으면 | [주그면] |
| Modifier, present | 죽는 | [중는] |
| Modifier, past | 죽은 | [주근] |
| Modifier, future | 죽을 | [주글] |
| Negative, short | 안 죽어요 | [안 주거요] |
| Negative, long | 죽지 않아요 | [죽찌 아나요] |
The rule behind 죽다 (regular) is taught in polite present recipe.
Common Mistake with 죽다
Wrong: ✗ 할아버지가 죽으셨어요
Correct: ✓ 할아버지가 돌아가셨어요
Why: For a senior person's death, use the euphemism 돌아가시다, not the plain 죽다 even with -(으)시-.
Adding -(으)시- to the plain verb is not respectful enough here. For a grandparent, say 할아버지가 돌아가셨어요: 돌아가셨어요 is the honorific past of 돌아가시다.
죽다 Versus Similar Verbs
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 돌아가시다 | 죽다 is plain and direct; 돌아가시다 is the honorific euphemism for a respected person's death. |
| 사망하다 | 죽다 is the everyday word; 사망하다 is formal, used in news and documents. |
A Worried Conversation about a Houseplant
Two roommates are checking a plant after a trip. The concern is literal, so the verb describes the plant rather than exaggerating how the speakers feel.
Mina
이 나무는 죽었어요?
I namuneun jugeosseoyo?
Has this tree died?
Alex
아니요. 아직 안 죽었어요.
Aniyo. Ajik an jugeosseoyo.
No. It has not died yet.
Mina
물을 안 주면 죽을 거예요.
Mureul an jumyeon jugeul geoyeyo.
If we do not water it, it will die.
Alex
그럼 지금 물을 줘요.
Geureom jigeum mureul jwoyo.
Then let’s water it now.
죽었어요 asks about a completed event. 아직 안 죽었어요 denies that it has happened yet; 죽을 거예요 predicts what will happen. The final 줘요 belongs to 주다, “give”, in the expression 물을 주다, “water a plant”. The similar-looking beginnings of 주다 and 죽다 belong to different verbs.
Literal Death and Everyday Exaggeration
배고파 죽겠어요 literally suggests dying of hunger, but in everyday conversation it usually means “I'm starving”. 더워 죽겠어요 means “I'm dying from the heat” or “It's unbearably hot”. 피곤해 죽겠어요 expresses being extremely tired. These are familiar exaggerations, especially among people who know each other.
The ending 죽겠어요 intensifies the speaker's present feeling in these expressions. It does not function as a straightforward promise about a future event. A person complaining after a long walk is describing how strong the discomfort feels. Listen for the feeling word before 죽겠어요 to understand the complaint.
죽을 뻔했어요 means “I almost died”. It describes a near event, so the speaker survived. It can refer to a real danger or an exaggerated account of a difficult experience. The surrounding story tells you how literally to take it; the phrase itself does not say what caused the danger.
Where Will You Hear 죽다?
In a home or garden, 죽었어요 may report the loss of a plant or pet. It states death directly. In a family conversation about a respected person, 돌아가셨어요 is the usual respectful choice. A formal report can use 사망하다. Those choices carry different tones even when they describe the same event.
Dramas and variety shows also use 죽겠어요 in complaints about hunger, embarrassment, heat, or exhaustion. This emphatic style can sound playful between friends, but it is stronger than a neutral statement of discomfort. A short subtitle such as “I'm dying” can therefore translate either a literal danger or an exaggerated feeling.
The table's 죽으세요 shows a grammatical honorific form, not a greeting or a phrase to offer someone. Directed at a person as a command, it is hostile. For respectful discussion of someone's death, the separate verb 돌아가시다 is the useful expression to learn.
What Makes 죽다 Tricky?
The spelling keeps ㄱ even when the sound changes. 죽는 is pronounced [중는], because ㄱ becomes a nasal sound before ㄴ. 죽은 is pronounced [주근], because a vowel follows instead. The first describes a dying event or general process; the second describes someone or something that has died.
The verb has no direct object in its basic sense. 죽다 says that a living thing dies; 죽이다 means causing a living thing to die, “to kill”. Keeping these separate matters more than memorizing a long list of endings. The extra syllable changes who acts and what happens.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 살다 | to live | The basic opposite of dying. |
| 살아 있다 | to be alive | Describes a continuing state. |
| 죽이다 | to kill | Describes causing death rather than dying. |
| 사망 | death | A formal noun found in reports and documents. |
The health vocabulary lesson provides the broader words used to describe someone's condition.
Mini Drill: Describe the Plant
- Put 죽다 in the polite past.
- Complete the conditional: 죽다 → ___ (“if it dies”).
- Choose the subject marker: 꽃___ 죽었어요.
- Give the spelling of the modifier pronounced [중는].
Show plant drill answers
- 죽었어요.
- 죽으면.
- 꽃이 죽었어요.
- 죽는. The sound changes; the spelling retains ㄱ.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 배고파 죽겠어요 normally report literal death?
- Which verb means “to kill”: 죽다 or 죽이다?
- Did the speaker die if they say 죽을 뻔했어요?
Show answers
- No. It normally exaggerates hunger.
- 죽이다.
- No. The phrase means “I almost died”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Say 죽으셨어요 about My Grandfather?
No. Use the honorific euphemism instead: 할아버지가 돌아가셨어요.
Why Is There No Want-to Form?
The form exists grammatically, but 'I want to die' is a serious statement, so the table does not use it as a model. Learners mostly meet 죽다 in the past or in figurative phrases.
What Does 배고파 죽겠어요 Mean?
It is a figurative use meaning "I am starving".
What Marks the One Who Dies?
The particle 이/가, because the verb is intransitive.
What Is the Polite past of 죽다?
죽었어요, pronounced [주거써요].
Which Words Are Related to 죽다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Next study 살다 for the opposite and 태어나다 for the start of life. When 죽다 feels familiar, compare it with other entries in the verb dictionary or check a form in the conjugator.