Kkeurida Conjugation: 끓이다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 끓이다 (kkeurida)
• Meaning: to boil
• Level: A2
• Stem: 끓이
• Conjugation class: regular
• Polite present: 끓여요
• Object marking: transitive

What Does 끓이다 Mean?

끓이다 is transitive: what is boiled takes 을/를, as in 라면을 끓이다 or 물을 끓이다. It is the usual verb for making ramen. When water boils by itself, use the intransitive 끓다.

Note the English: Koreans "boil" ramen, soup and stew, so 라면을 끓여요 is best translated "I make ramen", and 국을 끓이다 is "to make soup". The phrase 라면을 끓이다 is a handy chunk to learn whole, since it gives you the object marker and the verb together.

How Do You Pronounce 끓이다?

The stem 끓 ends in the two-letter cluster ㅀ. Before a vowel the ㅎ is silent and the ㄹ moves across, so the dictionary form is read [끄리다], 끓여요 [끄려요] and 끓였어요 [끄려써요]. That is also why the romanization is kkeurida, with no h. Formal 끓입니다 sounds like [끄림니다].

How Do You Use 끓이다 in a Sentence?

The examples cover ramen, water and soup, the three most common objects.

The phrase 라면을 끓여요 is the everyday way to say you make ramen, with 저녁에 giving the time.

물을 끓였어요 reports the finished action in the past.

국을 끓이면 links the action to a tasty result.

Useful Patterns with 끓이다

A quick test: if you are the one heating it, use 끓이다 with 을/를; if the liquid is simply bubbling, use 끓다 with the liquid as the subject. For cooking solid food in water, as with eggs, the verb is 삶다, and for warming up leftovers it is 데우다.

How Does Kkeurida Conjugation Work?

끓이다 is regular. Its stem ends in 이, and 이 + 어 contracts to 여: 끓여요, 끓였어요, 끓여서. Other endings attach to the stem unchanged: the honorific is 끓이세요 and the modifier is 끓이는.

Sound Changes

Common Mistake

Wrong: ✗ 물이 끓여요

Correct: ✓ 물이 끓어요

Why: 끓이다 is transitive: someone boils something. When the water is the subject and boils by itself, the verb is 끓다. Learners often meet 끓이다 first in recipes and then use it for every kind of boiling.

How It Differs from Similar Words

Making Ramen in a Shared Kitchen

Jisu is cooking a late lunch. Alex checks whether the water is ready. The same verb appears as a plan, a question about a completed step, and an action happening now.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

The object changes from water to ramen, but the verb stays 끓이다. 이제 means “now” or “at this point”, so the last line moves the cooking process forward. The present 끓여요 can describe the current action; it does not have to describe a daily habit.

Which Cooking Phrases Go with 끓이다?

국을 끓이다 means to make soup, and 찌개를 끓이다 means to make stew. These are ordinary cooking combinations, not idioms. English often chooses “make” because the whole dish is being prepared. Translating each one as “boil” can sound as if you are only reheating a finished dish.

푹 끓이다 means to simmer or boil something thoroughly, often to soften ingredients or develop the broth. 더 끓이다 means to cook it longer. 다시 끓이다 means to bring it to the boil again. These words describe different parts of the process: 푹 concerns thorough cooking, 더 adds time, and 다시 repeats the action.

애를 끓이다 is a figurative expression meaning to worry or fret. No liquid is involved. In a family story or drama, the surrounding problem tells you that the speaker is talking about anxiety. For a beginner, the literal food combinations are the ones to use first.

Where Will You See 끓이다 in Instructions?

Recipes and instant-noodle packets use 끓이다 for water, broth, soup and noodles. A recipe may use the formal 끓입니다 to describe a step. That form has the same cooking meaning as 끓여요; the ending suits written instructions. A family member asking you to handle the pot may use 끓이세요 as a polite request.

The noun phrase 끓인 물 means “boiled water”. It describes water that has undergone boiling; it does not tell you whether the water is still hot. Compare 끓이는 물, “water that someone is boiling”. The modifier changes whether you picture the completed preparation or the action in progress.

What Makes the Spelling Tricky?

The dictionary form 끓이다 already contains 이. Remove only 다 to find the stem 끓이. Starting from 끓 instead would send you to the different verb 끓다 and give you the wrong set of forms for “boil something”.

Keep the full spelling 끓 even when the ㅎ is silent. The sound [끄리다] is a pronunciation guide, not an alternative spelling. In 끓여요, two things happen together: 이 and 어 contract to 여, and the ㅎ is not pronounced. Neither process makes this an irregular verb.

The cooking vocabulary lesson groups these words with other cooking methods. Choosing the dish first helps you choose between 끓이다, 삶다 and 볶다. A pot can contain several kinds of food, so the cooking vessel alone does not settle the verb. Think about whether you are preparing a liquid dish, boiling a solid ingredient, or stir-frying it.

Mini Drill: Keep the Cook and the Liquid Separate

1. Choose the verb for “I boil water”: 끓이다 or 끓다.
2. Give the polite past of 끓이다.
3. Complete “boiled water”: ____ 물.
4. Give the polite future for a plan to boil something.

Quick Self-Test

1. Does 국을 끓이다 usually mean preparing soup or frying it?
2. Does 끓인 물 have to be hot now?
3. Which part remains in the written stem even when it is silent?

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Difference between 끓이다 and 끓다?

끓이다 is transitive: you boil something (물을 끓여요). 끓다 is intransitive: the liquid boils by itself (물이 끓어요).

How Is 끓이다 Different from 삶다?

삶다 is to boil solid food in water, like eggs. 끓이다 is for the liquid itself, or a dish that is mostly liquid such as soup or ramen.

How Is 끓이다 Different from 데우다?

데우다 is to heat up food that is already cooked. 끓이다 brings something to the boil.

How Do I Say I Am Making Ramen?

Say 라면을 끓여요. Korean uses 끓이다, not a general cooking verb, for ramen, soup and stew.

Which Words Are Related to 끓이다?

• 삶다
• 데우다
• 볶다
• 굽다

What Should You Learn Next?

See 삶다 and 데우다 for the other heating verbs. The 이 + 어 → 여 contraction is covered in how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.