Key Facts
- Hangul: 먹이다 (meogida)
- Meaning: to feed
- Level: B1
- Stem: 먹이
- Conjugation class: regular
- Polite present: 먹여요
- Object marking: transitive
What Does 먹이다 Mean?
먹이다 is the causative of 먹다: you make or let another eat. The one fed takes 에게/한테 and the food takes 을/를, as in 아기에게 밥을 먹이다. It also covers medicine, as in 약을 먹이다. It is mostly heard around children and pets.
Because two things are named, the one fed and the food, 먹이다 needs one more slot than 먹다, which only has the food as its object. In casual speech 한테 often replaces 에게.
How Do You Pronounce 먹이다?
The final ㄱ of 먹 moves across to the next syllable: the dictionary form is read [머기다], 먹여요 [머겨요] and 먹였어요 [머겨써요]. In 먹입니다 the ㅂ also becomes ㅁ before ㄴ: [머김니다]. The future 먹일 거예요 is [머길꺼예요].
How Do You Use 먹이다 in a Sentence?
The examples show feeding a baby, a puppy and a child.
아기에게 밥을 먹여요.
I feed the baby.
The baby is marked with 에게 and the food 밥을 with 을.
강아지에게 간식을 먹였어요.
I fed the puppy a snack.
The past 먹였어요 shows the same frame with a puppy and 간식을.
아이에게 채소를 먹이면 건강해져요.
If you feed a child vegetables, they get healthy.
The conditional 먹이면 turns feeding a child 채소를 into advice.
Useful Patterns with 먹이다
Typical objects of 먹이다 are 밥, 간식, 채소 and 약. Common contexts include feeding babies, children, pets and people who need help eating. For animals, the everyday phrase 밥을 주다 (give food) sounds lighter; use 먹이다 when you want to stress that you are making sure they actually eat.
How Does Meogida Conjugation Work?
먹이다 is regular. Its stem ends in 이, and 이 + 어 merges to 여: 먹여요, 먹였어요. Other endings attach to the stem unchanged: the honorific is 먹이세요, the modifier 먹이는 and the conditional 먹이면.
먹이다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 먹여요 | ||
| Polite past | 먹였어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 먹일 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 먹이겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 먹입니다 | ||
| Formal past | 먹였습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 먹일 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 먹여 | ||
| Casual past | 먹였어 | ||
| Casual future | 먹일 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 먹이고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 먹이세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 먹여서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 먹이면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 먹이는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 먹인 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 먹일 | ||
| Short negative | 안 먹여요 | ||
| Long negative | 먹이지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 먹여요 | [머겨요] |
| Polite future | 먹일 거예요 | [머길꺼예요] |
| Formal past | 먹였습니다 | [머겯씀니다] |
| Casual present | 먹여 | [머겨] |
| Want to | 먹이고 싶어요 | [머기고 시퍼요] |
| Because | 먹여서 | [머겨서] |
| Past modifier | 먹인 | [머긴] |
| Long negative | 먹이지 않아요 | [머기지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 강아지에게 밥을 먹었어요
Correct: ✓ 강아지에게 밥을 먹였어요
Why: 먹다 means to eat yourself; feeding another needs 먹이다. The two look so close that learners use 먹다 for someone else's meal, which fails to express that you fed the puppy.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 먹이다 |
|---|---|
| 먹다 | To eat yourself; 먹이다 is the causative 'make/let someone eat'. |
| 주다 | Commonly used with animals: 밥을 주다 is the everyday way to say 'give food'. |
| 키우다 | To raise; feeding is only one part of it. |
Checking Who Has Fed the Puppy
Two housemates compare feeding times before giving the puppy more food. They use the past to check the earlier meal, the future for a plan, and the negative present for a decision.
Mina
강아지에게 밥을 먹였어요?
Gangajiege babeul meogyeosseoyo?
Have you fed the puppy?
Alex
아니요. 지금 먹일 거예요.
Aniyo. Jigeum meogil geoyeyo.
No. I’m going to feed it now.
Mina
저는 아침에 먹였어요.
Jeoneun achime meogyeosseoyo.
I fed it this morning.
Alex
그럼 간식은 안 먹여요.
Geureom gansigeun an meogyeoyo.
Then I won’t give it a snack.
The puppy stays understood after the first question, so later lines can omit 강아지에게. 간식은 makes the snack the topic of the final decision. The dialogue is about coordinating care; the verb itself does not specify a feeding schedule or portion size.
Which Feeding Phrases Are Useful?
밥을 먹이다 means to feed a meal. 간식을 먹이다 means to give a snack for someone to eat. 사료를 먹이다 is useful for animal feed. The noun tells you what is provided, while 먹이다 shows that another person or animal is the eater.
약을 먹이다 means to give someone medicine to take by mouth. Korean uses 먹다 for taking medicine, so its causative partner 먹이다 follows the same pattern. 약을 먹다 describes the person taking the medicine; 약을 먹이다 describes the person giving it. The same change in roles appears with meals.
애를 먹이다 means to give someone trouble or a hard time. This is a fixed expression: 애 here concerns trouble or effort, and the phrase is not about feeding a child. In a story about a difficult task or troublesome behavior, the surrounding problem makes the figurative meaning clear. Compare the literal 아이에게 밥을 먹이다, which names a child and food.
Does 먹이다 Always Mean Spoon-Feeding?
먹이다 can cover physically feeding someone, but it can also describe arranging or providing what they eat. A person who feeds an animal need not put every bite into its mouth. The sentence focuses on causing or enabling the eating. The situation tells you how much physical help is involved.
For everyday pet care, 밥을 주다 focuses on giving food, and 먹이다 focuses on feeding. If someone has only filled a bowl, 주다 reports that action directly. If you are asking whether the animal has been fed, 먹이다 is also useful. Neither verb by itself proves that every piece of food was eaten.
For an adult guest, the ordinary social action is offering or serving food. 먹이다 can sound as if you are managing what the other person eats, so it needs the right context. Serving a respected guest is usually expressed through giving or offering, rather than describing them like a dependent child.
Why Do the Particles and the Extra 이 Matter?
Compare 아기가 밥을 먹어요, “the baby eats”, with 아기에게 밥을 먹여요, “I feed the baby”. In the first, the baby does the eating and takes 가. In the second, the feeder is the understood subject, the baby takes 에게, and the food stays marked with 을. The role of the baby changes along with the verb.
The causative stem is 먹이, not 먹. Its 이 combines with 어 to give 여 in 먹여요 and 먹였어요. With a consonant ending, keep 먹이: 먹이면 and 먹이는. The honorific 먹이세요 honors the person doing the feeding; it does not turn the person being fed into the subject.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 밥 | cooked rice / meal | Can refer to a pet’s meal as well as human food. |
| 간식 | snack | Food given between meals. |
| 사료 | animal feed | A precise noun for commercially prepared animal food. |
| 먹이 | food / feed for animals | A noun related in meaning to feeding. |
The animal vocabulary lesson helps name the animal being fed. For meal preparation, use the cooking vocabulary lesson.
Mini Drill: Keep the Eater and Feeder Separate
- Give the polite past of 먹이다.
- Give the conditional meaning “if someone feeds”.
- Choose the baby’s particle in “I feed the baby rice”: 아기가 or 아기에게.
- Give the short negative polite form.
Show drill answers
- 먹였어요.
- 먹이면.
- 아기에게. The feeder is the subject.
- 안 먹여요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 먹이다 always mean putting food directly into a mouth?
- What does 애를 먹이다 mean?
- Does 먹이세요 honor the feeder or the person receiving food?
Show answers
- No. It can also cover providing or arranging food.
- To give someone trouble or a hard time.
- The feeder, who performs the action.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference between 먹다 and 먹이다?
먹다 is eating yourself. 먹이다 is making or letting someone else eat, so it names both the one fed and the food.
Which Particle Goes with the Person Fed?
에게, or 한테 in casual speech: 아기에게 밥을 먹여요.
Is 먹이다 the Usual Way to Say Giving Food to a Pet?
Both are used. In daily talk 밥을 주다 is common and sounds lighter; 먹이다 is the more exact feeding verb.
Can 먹이다 Describe Giving Medicine?
Yes. 약을 먹이다 means to give someone their medicine, typically a child or a pet.
Which Words Are Related to 먹이다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 먹다 for the base verb and 키우다 for the wider job of raising what you feed. 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.