Key Facts
- Hangul: 줄다 (julda)
- Meaning: to decrease
- Level: B1
- Stem: 줄
- Conjugation class: ㄹ-drop
- Polite present: 줄어요
- Object marking: intransitive
What Does 줄다 Mean?
줄다 is intransitive: what decreases is the subject and takes 이/가, as in 체중이 줄어요 or 손님이 줄다. A second sense covers clothes or objects that shrink, as in 세탁 후에 옷이 줄다. To reduce something deliberately, switch to the transitive 줄이다.
You will meet 줄다 with nouns for money, time, weight and crowds, and with clothes that shrink in the wash. The second meaning is easy to miss: 옷이 줄었어요 does not mean you have fewer clothes, but that a piece of clothing has become smaller.
How Do You Pronounce 줄다?
Because the stem ends in ㄹ, the final consonant joins the next vowel: 줄어요 is read [주러요] and 줄었어요 [주러써요]. Before ㅂ the ㄹ vanishes, so 줍니다 is read [줌니다].
How Do You Use 줄다 in a Sentence?
Business dropping in winter, shrunken clothes and falling stress show the three everyday uses.
겨울에는 손님이 줄어요.
Customers decrease in winter.
손님이 is the subject with 이, and the winter context explains the drop.
세탁 후에 옷이 줄었어요.
The clothes shrank after washing.
The past 줄었어요 reports a finished change in 옷.
스트레스가 줄면 잠을 잘 자요.
When stress goes down, I sleep well.
The conditional 줄면 links lower stress to better sleep.
How Does Julda Conjugation Work?
줄다 is a ㄹ verb: the ㄹ is dropped before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ, which gives 줍니다, 주는, 준 and the honorific 주세요. Everywhere else the ㄹ stays: 줄어요, 줄면, 줄 거예요. A trap: 주는 and 줍니다 are also forms of 주다 (to give), so the sentence around them must make the verb clear.
줄다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 줄어요 | ||
| Polite past | 줄었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 줄 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 줄겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 줍니다 | ||
| Formal past | 줄었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 줄 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 줄어 | ||
| Casual past | 줄었어 | ||
| Casual future | 줄 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 줄고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 주세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 줄어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 줄면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 주는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 준 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 줄 | ||
| Short negative | 안 줄어요 | ||
| Long negative | 줄지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 줄어요 | [주러요] |
| Polite past | 줄었어요 | [주러써요] |
| Polite guess | 줄겠어요 | [줄게써요] |
| Formal past | 줄었습니다 | [주럳씀니다] |
| Casual present | 줄어 | [주러] |
| Casual future | 줄 거야 | [줄꺼야] |
| Because | 줄어서 | [주러서] |
| Long negative | 줄지 않아요 | [줄지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 체중을 줄어요
Correct: ✓ 체중이 줄어요
Why: 줄다 is intransitive, so the thing that decreases is the subject and takes 이/가. Learners who want to say "I reduced my weight" reach for an object particle, but an object needs the transitive verb 줄이다: 체중을 줄여요.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 줄다 |
|---|---|
| 늘다 | The opposite: to increase. |
| 줄이다 | Transitive: you reduce something yourself (시간을 줄이다). |
| 작아지다 | Gets smaller in size only; 줄다 also covers amount and number. |
Comparing the Shop’s Customer Numbers
Two shop workers compare this week with last week. The conversation moves from a completed drop to a seasonal pattern and a possible future drop.
Mina
이번 주에는 손님이 줄었어요.
Ibeon jueneun sonnimi jureosseoyo.
We had fewer customers this week.
Jun
겨울에는 손님이 줄어요.
Gyeoureneun sonnimi jureoyo.
We get fewer customers in winter.
Mina
다음 주에도 줄 거예요?
Daeum juedo jul geoyeyo?
Will the number go down next week too?
손님이 is the subject: the number of customers falls. 줄었어요 looks back, 줄어요 describes the seasonal pattern, and 줄 거예요 asks about the next week. The last line omits 손님이 because both speakers know which number they are discussing.
Phrases for Amounts That Go Down
시간이 줄다 means “the time decreases” or “there is less time.” In a discussion about a journey, it may mean the trip takes less time than before. In a schedule discussion, it may concern the time available. The noun 시간 is broad, so the rest of the sentence tells you which period is shrinking.
수입이 줄다 means “income decreases,” while 지출이 줄다 means “expenses decrease.” Both describe a lower amount, but one may be unwelcome and the other welcome. 줄다 itself gives the direction of the change; it does not tell you whether that change is good news.
체중이 줄다 means “weight decreases.” The phrase describes a change in weight without saying what caused it. In contrast, 옷이 줄다 says the clothing has shrunk. It does not describe a wardrobe containing fewer garments. A count of garments would need wording that makes the number explicit.
줄어들다 is a closely related verb meaning “to decrease” or “to shrink.” It is common in reports about falling numbers and everyday talk about quantities. Recognizing the longer word helps you follow the same topic without assuming that every verb beginning with 줄 concerns giving something.
Where Will You See 줄다?
News and business reports use 줄다 with sales, population, income and visitor numbers. A comparison usually needs a reference point, such as last month or the same period last year. The verb alone cannot tell you whether a fall is large, lasting or unusual; those details come from the surrounding figures and time expressions.
Everyday talk uses 줄었어요 after laundry when an item has become smaller. The completed-change meaning is useful because the original size is understood. A sweater need not still be shrinking at the moment of speaking for 줄었어요 to be true.
Formal reports may use 줍니다 for a general downward trend. It has the same spelling as the formal present of 주다, “to give,” but a subject such as 손님이 or 수입이 usually makes the decrease meaning clear. A sentence about giving instead normally identifies a giver and what is given.
Words for Comparing Amounts
| Related word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 늘다 | to increase | The direct opposite of a decrease. |
| 줄이다 | to reduce something | Someone acts on an object with 을/를. |
| 수입 | income | An amount that can rise or fall. |
| 지출 | expenses / spending | A decrease can be financially welcome. |
The money vocabulary lesson supplies more words for everyday amounts and payments. The ㄹ-drop lesson teaches the shared endings of 줄다 and 늘다. For describing one amount against another, see Korean comparatives.
How Do You Separate a Result from an Action?
줄다 reports a decrease; it does not name the person or thing causing it. 줄이다 describes someone reducing an amount. A shop can report 손님이 줄어요 without claiming anyone deliberately reduced the customers. Choose 줄다 when the change is the point of the sentence.
The future 줄 거예요 keeps a space before 거예요. Here 줄 is the modifier from 줄다. The same short shape can appear in sentences about giving, so do not translate it in isolation. In the shop dialogue, the previous mention of customers supplies the meaning.
주세요 is also a possible honorific form of 줄다, but most beginner encounters with 주세요 are requests built from 주다, “to give.” Do not reinterpret an ordinary request for water as a statement about decreasing. The conjugation table shows forms that coincide; the complete phrase tells you which verb is present.
줄고 싶어요 is mechanically possible, but an amount such as income or a customer count cannot itself want to decrease. For an expected decline, 줄 거예요 is the useful form. For a deliberate reduction, first choose 줄이다 and make the thing reduced its object.
Mini Drill: Practice the Forms
- Report a completed decrease: 손님이 ____.
- Give the formal present of 줄다.
- Give the conditional “if it decreases.”
- Choose the particle for the decrease itself: 체중____ 줄어요.
Show drill answers
- 손님이 줄었어요. The past reports the change.
- 줍니다. ㄹ drops before ㅂ.
- 줄면. ㄹ stays before ㅁ.
- 체중이 줄어요. Weight is the subject.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 줄다 say whether the decrease is welcome?
- What does 옷이 줄었어요 usually mean?
- Which verb names deliberately reducing something: 줄다 or 줄이다?
Show answers
- No. Falling income and falling expenses can have different implications.
- The clothing shrank.
- 줄이다. The thing reduced becomes an object.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Opposite of 줄다?
늘다 (to increase). It works the same way: the thing that grows is the subject with 이/가, and it is also an ㄹ-drop verb.
Does 줄다 Take an Object?
No. It is intransitive; the thing that decreases is the subject with 이/가. To reduce something yourself, use the transitive partner 줄이다.
Why Does 줍니다 Look Like 주다?
The ㄹ of 줄다 drops before ㅂ, so the stem becomes 주 and the formal form is 줍니다. 주다 (to give) has the same spelling here, so the subject and particles tell you which verb it is.
How Is 줄다 Different from 작아지다?
작아지다 describes size getting smaller only. 줄다 also covers amount and number, such as customers, stress or weight.
Which Words Are Related to 줄다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Learn 줄다 and 늘다 as a matched pair, since both are intransitive ㄹ-drop verbs. The Korean ㄹ irregular verbs lesson shows why the ㄹ disappears in 줍니다 and 주는. You can check any other form in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.