Jupda conjugation is ㅂ-irregular: the stem's ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel.
Key Facts
- Hangul: 줍다 (jupda)
- Meaning: to pick up
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 줍
- Class: ㅂ-irregular
- Object marking: transitive
What Does 줍다 Mean?
- to pick up. Used for picking something up from the ground or a surface: 쓰레기를 줍다, 동전을 줍다.
Typical objects are 쓰레기 (litter), 동전 (a coin) and 지갑 (a wallet). Because these are things you come across by chance, 줍다 often suggests finding something that someone else dropped or lost. The thing you pick up takes the object particle 을/를: 쓰레기를 줍다 means to pick up litter. It is an everyday verb at B1 level.
How Do You Pronounce 줍다?
Consonant endings keep the written stem 줍, with different sound changes: the formal present 줍습니다 is read [줍씀니다], the want-to form 줍고 싶어요 is read [줍꼬 시퍼요], and the modifier 줍는 is read [줌는]. The vowel-ending forms such as 주웠어요 are read [주워써요].
How Do You Use 줍다 in a Sentence?
길에서 동전을 주워요.
I pick up a coin on the street.
길에서 means 'on the street', 동전을 is the object, and 주워요 is the irregular polite present.
바닥에서 지갑을 주웠어요.
I picked up a wallet from the floor.
바닥에서 means 'from the floor': the particle 에서 marks where the action happens. 주웠어요 is the polite past.
돈을 주우면 경찰서에 가요.
If I find money, I go to the police station.
This sentence states a habit with the conditional 주우면 (if I pick up). The ㅂ has turned into 우 here too, so the form is never built on the plain stem 줍.
How Does Jupda Conjugation Work?
The stem 줍 changes only in front of a vowel: the ㅂ becomes 우. With 어 this gives 워 (주워요, 주웠어요, 주워서). With endings such as -면 (if) and -세요 (honorific), the 우 takes the place of the extra linking vowel: 주우면, 주우세요. Most ㅂ-irregular verbs work this way; 돕다 and 곱다 instead give 와 in their 아-ending forms, such as 도와요. Before a consonant the stem stays as it is: 줍습니다, 줍고 싶어요, 줍는.
줍다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 주워요 | ||
| Polite past | 주웠어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 주울 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 줍겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 줍습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 주웠습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 주울 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 주워 | ||
| Casual past | 주웠어 | ||
| Casual future | 주울 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 줍고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 주우세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 주워서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 주우면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 줍는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 주운 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 주울 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 주워요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 줍지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 주워요 | as written |
| Polite past | 주웠어요 | [주워써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 주울 거예요 | [주울꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 줍겠어요 | [줍께써요] |
| Formal present | 줍습니다 | [줍씀니다] |
| Formal past | 주웠습니다 | [주웓씀니다] |
| Formal future | 주울 것입니다 | [주울꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 주워 | as written |
| Casual past | 주웠어 | [주워써] |
| Casual future | 주울 거야 | [주울꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 줍고 싶어요 | [줍꼬 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 주우세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 주워서 | as written |
| If (conditional) | 주우면 | as written |
| Modifier, present | 줍는 | [줌는] |
| Modifier, past | 주운 | as written |
| Modifier, future | 주울 | as written |
| Negative, short | 안 주워요 | as written |
| Negative, long | 줍지 않아요 | [줍찌 아나요] |
The full rule is taught in ㅂ-irregular verbs and adjectives.
Common Mistake with 줍다
Wrong: ✗ 줍어요
Correct: ✓ 주워요
Why: 줍어요 attaches 어요 straight to the stem 줍, as if the verb were regular. 줍다 is ㅂ-irregular, so the ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel ending, and 우 + 어 gives 주워요.
줍다 Versus Similar Verbs
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 들다 | 들다 is to lift or carry something; 줍다 is to pick up small things from the ground. |
| 찾다 | 찾다 is to look for or find; 줍다 is to pick something up, often by chance. |
Finding a Wallet after Class
Two classmates notice a wallet on the classroom floor and work out what to do with it.
Mina
바닥에서 지갑을 주웠어요.
Badageseo jigabeul juwosseoyo.
I picked up a wallet from the floor.
Alex
저는 돈을 주우면 경찰서에 가요.
Jeoneun doneul juumyeon gyeongchalseoe gayo.
When I find money, I go to the police station.
Mina
그럼 이 지갑도 경찰서에 가져갈 거예요.
Geureom i jigapdo gyeongchalseoe gajyeogal geoyeyo.
Then I will take this wallet to the police station too.
주웠어요 reports the discovery and pickup. 주우면 introduces a general response to finding something. The last line switches to 가져가다, “take something somewhere,” because carrying the wallet away is a new action. Finding, lifting and taking an item to another place do not all use 줍다.
Common Objects and Expressions
쓰레기를 줍다 means to pick up litter. It is useful in conversations about a park cleanup or a classroom floor. 동전을 줍다 means to pick up a coin, while 지갑을 줍다 means to pick up a wallet. A found wallet may have been lost, but 줍다 itself does not identify the owner or say what happens afterward.
밤을 줍다 means to gather chestnuts from the ground. Here 밤 means “chestnut,” not “night.” The verb gives a useful clue: a person collects fallen chestnuts rather than picking them from a branch. 줍다 therefore also covers gathering suitable small objects, not only discovering lost belongings.
Where Will You Hear 줍다?
A school or neighborhood cleanup uses 줍다 for collecting litter. A conversation at a lost-property desk may use 주웠어요 to explain how an item came into your hands. Saying where you picked it up, with a phrase such as 바닥에서, supplies useful information beyond simply saying you found it.
English “pick up” also means collecting a person by car or answering a phone. 줍다 does not cover those meanings. For this verb, picture an object on the ground or another surface being gathered up. For lifting and holding something, compare 들다; for searching and finding, compare 찾다.
Why Do 주워요 and 주우면 Look Different?
주워요 contracts 우 plus 어 into 워. 주우면 has no 어 to trigger that contraction, so the two written 우 vowels remain. The same distinction explains 주워서 beside 주운 and 주울. Memorizing only 주워요 can hide the longer stem used by these other endings.
Before ㄴ, the spelling 줍 stays in 줍는 even though the pronunciation changes to [줌는]. That sound change is separate from the ㅂ-irregular change in 주워요. Use the written ending to choose the pattern, rather than assuming every form must begin with 주워.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 바닥 | floor / ground surface | Says where a dropped object may be. |
| 동전 | coin | A common small object with 줍다. |
| 지갑 | wallet | A typical lost item someone may pick up. |
| 분실물 | lost property | Names the item in a lost-and-found context. |
See everyday object vocabulary for items you may drop, find or pick up.
Mini Drill: Keep or Change ㅂ?
- Give the polite present of 줍다.
- Give the conditional, “if I pick up.”
- Give the formal present, keeping the consonant stem.
- Choose the past modifier: 주운 or 줍는?
Show drill answers
- 주워요.
- 주우면.
- 줍습니다.
- 주운. 줍는 is the present modifier.
Quick Self-Test
- Can 줍다 mean answering a phone?
- What does 밤 mean in 밤을 줍다?
- Does 주웠어요 tell you who owns the item?
Show answers
- No. The English phrase “pick up” has more meanings than 줍다.
- Chestnuts.
- No. It describes picking it up, not ownership.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 줍다?
It is 주워요. The ㅂ of the stem becomes 우 before a vowel ending, and 우 + 어 contracts to 워.
Is the Conditional Built on the Plain Stem?
No. The conditional is 주우면, with the ㅂ turned into 우. Adding the ending straight to the plain stem 줍 is a common learner error.
Which Objects Are Typical with 줍다?
Common objects are 쓰레기 (litter), 동전 (a coin) and 지갑 (a wallet). These are small things you find on the ground, which is why 줍다 often hints at finding something lost.
What Is the past Form?
The polite past is 주웠어요, read [주워써요]. For example, 바닥에서 지갑을 주웠어요 means 'I picked up a wallet from the floor'.
What Is the Difference between 줍다 and 찾다?
줍다 means to pick something up, often something you came across by chance; 찾다 means to look for or find something.
Which Words Are Related to 줍다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 돕다, which has 도와요 but 도우면, then see 버리다 for the opposite action. Once 줍다 feels familiar, compare it with other entries in the verb dictionary or check a form in the conjugator.