준비하다 (junbihada) Conjugation: Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 준비하다 (junbihada)
• Meaning: to prepare
• Part of speech: verb (동사)
• Level: A2
• Stem: 준비하
• Class: 하다 type
• Object marking: transitive

What Does 준비하다 Mean?

• to prepare. Get something ready in advance: 저녁을 준비하다, 시험을 준비하다.

준비하다 means to prepare, to get something ready in advance: 저녁을 준비하다 (dinner), 시험을 준비하다 (an exam). It takes 을/를. Two everyday phrases use the same noun: 준비물 (things to bring, such as school supplies) and 준비됐어요? (are you ready?).

Grammar. Takes an object with 을/를, e.g. 시험을 준비해요.

Usage note. A basic daily verb, learned at A1 to A2.

How Do You Pronounce 준비하다?

Most forms are read as written. The past 준비했어요 is read [준비해써요], the formal 준비합니다 is [준비함니다], and the want-to form is [준비하고 시퍼요].

How Do You Use 준비하다 in a Sentence?

어머니가 is the subject and 저녁을 (dinner) the object.

A reason: 발표를 (a presentation) leads to tiredness; the because-form 준비해서 joins the two clauses.

A noun phrase: 여행을 (a trip) with the modifier 준비하는 before 사람 (people).

How Does Junbihada Conjugation Work?

For this noun-plus-하다 verb, the ending contracts on the 하: 준비해요, 준비했어요, 준비해서. The negative goes between the noun and 하다: 준비 안 해요. The modifiers are 준비하는 and 준비한.

The pattern for this verb is explained in 하다 to 해요.

Common Mistake with 준비하다

Wrong: ✗ 시험을 준비 해요.

Correct: ✓ 시험을 준비해요.

Why: 준비하다 is one word; do not separate 준비 and 해요 with a space. A particle can separate them in 준비를 해요; the short negative 준비 안 해요 also has spaces.

Learners see the noun 준비 and the verb 하다 as two words and leave a gap. In the positive form 준비해요, write the noun and 하다 together.

준비하다 Versus Similar Verbs

Preparing for a Class Presentation

Two classmates divide the work before presenting. One checks the slides; the other takes responsibility for the handouts.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

Alex

The same task appears as something completed, something planned and a condition. 도 in 사진도 means “also”: photos were included in the preparation. 미리 means “in advance,” so the last line recommends doing the work before the presentation day rather than waiting until the last moment.

Common Preparation Phrases

시험을 준비하다 means to prepare for an exam. The exam takes 을 even though English inserts “for.” 여행을 준비하다 works the same way for a trip. You can also name the specific thing being made ready: 여권을 준비하다 means to get a passport ready, rather than to plan every part of the journey.

마음의 준비 literally means “preparation of the mind,” or mental preparation. Someone facing difficult news or a big change may need it. The phrase concerns emotional readiness; it does not imply that tickets, bags or documents have been arranged. 미리 준비하다 means to prepare in advance and emphasizes timing.

준비 운동 means warm-up exercise. It is preparation for physical activity, rather than exercise done as the main activity. 준비물 names the things needed or to be brought. On a school notice, a list under 준비물 may include stationery, clothing or materials for a particular lesson.

Where Will You Hear or See 준비하다?

Teachers use 준비하세요 when asking a class to get ready or prepare something. A school trip notice may use the noun 준비물 instead of a full command. In each setting, the surrounding list or activity tells you what to prepare. 준비하다 alone does not specify whether the task is packing, studying or arranging equipment.

At home, 저녁을 준비하다 covers getting dinner ready. It can include more than cooking: arranging the meal or setting things out may also be part of the preparation. 요리하다 specifically names cooking, so it describes a narrower action.

At work, 발표를 준비하다 includes gathering material and organizing what to say. 연습하다 focuses on practice, such as rehearsing the talk repeatedly. A person may have prepared the slides but still need to rehearse. The verbs help you ask which part of the work is complete.

Preparing Something Versus Being Ready

준비했어요 reports an action: “I prepared it.” 준비됐어요 reports readiness: “It is ready” or “I am ready,” depending on the situation. At the door before leaving, 준비됐어요? asks whether everyone is ready to go. A question about who packed the documents is more naturally about the preparation action.

The passive partner 준비되다 can make the prepared thing the subject. 준비하다 puts attention on the person doing the work and can take an object. This is why the subject and object matter even when English translates both sentences with the word “ready.”

Write 준비해요 without a space, but keep the spaces in 준비 안 해요. The negative means someone does not prepare; it does not automatically mean they cannot prepare. If the preparation simply has not happened yet, the time word 아직, “yet,” helps make that timing clear.

See school vocabulary for classroom materials and exam vocabulary for preparation and practice words.

Mini Drill: Get the Materials Ready

1. Change 준비하다 to the polite past.
2. Give the conditional, “if I prepare.”
3. Write the polite short negative with spaces.
4. Choose the modifier for “a person preparing”: 준비하는 or 준비한?

Quick Self-Test

1. What does a list headed 준비물 contain?
2. Which verb specifically means rehearsing or practising: 준비하다 or 연습하다?
3. What does 준비됐어요? ask just before a group leaves?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is There a Space in 준비해요?

No. The positive form 준비해요 is one word. Write 준비 안 해요 with spaces for the short negative, or 준비를 해요 when the object particle separates the noun from 하다.

What Is 준비물?

A noun meaning things to bring or supplies, such as what a pupil needs for class. It is built on the same 준비 as the verb.

How Do I Ask "Are You Ready?"

Say 준비됐어요? (literally "has it been prepared?").

What Is the Short Negative?

준비 안 해요. 안 goes between the noun 준비 and 해요.

What Is the Difference between 준비하다 and 연습하다?

연습하다 is practising something repeatedly to improve; 준비하다 is getting ready for something.

Which Words Are Related to 준비하다?

• 연습하다
• 예습하다
• 복습하다
• 시작하다

What Should You Learn Next?

Next, 연습하다, 예습하다 and 복습하다 give the study verbs. Once 준비하다 feels familiar, compare it with other entries in the verb dictionary or check a form in the conjugator.