Key Facts
- Hangul: 모으다 (moeuda)
- Meaning: to gather/save
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 모으
- Class: ㅡ-drop
- Objects: transitive
- Honorific polite: 모으세요
What Does 모으다 Mean?
모으다 covers two everyday jobs: building up a collection and bringing a group into one place. You can 돈을 모으다 (save money), 우표를 모으다 (collect stamps) or gather people. Because it is transitive, whatever you collect takes 을/를, and the person doing the gathering is always the one in control. When the people or things come together without anyone steering them, Korean switches to the partner verb 모이다.
How Do You Pronounce 모으다?
The dictionary form is read as spelled. Sound changes show up once an ending is added: the formal present 모읍니다 is said [모음니다] because ㅂ turns into ㅁ before ㄴ, and the formal past 모았습니다 is said [모앋씀니다]. After the future ending ㄹ, the ㄱ of 거 becomes tense: 모을 거예요 is [모을꺼예요].
How Do You Use 모으다 in a Sentence?
저는 매달 돈을 모아요.
I save money every month.
Money is the object here, so it takes 를 and 매달 (every month) shows the saving is a habit. The polite present 모아요 is what you would say to a coworker.
친구들을 한곳에 모았어요.
I gathered my friends in one place.
A person-group object, 친구들을, shows the other main use: you did the gathering. 한곳에 (in one place) names where they ended up, and the past 모았어요 is the polite past.
돈을 모으면 여행 갈 거예요.
If I save money, I will travel.
The 모으면 clause is a condition and 돈 is its object. The result clause 여행 갈 거예요 is a plan, so the sentence reads as a savings goal.
How Does Moeuda Conjugation Work?
모으다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 모아요 | ||
| Polite past | 모았어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 모을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 모으겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 모읍니다 | ||
| Formal past | 모았습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 모을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 모아 | ||
| Casual past | 모았어 | ||
| Casual future | 모을 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 모으고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 모으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 모아서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 모으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 모으는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 모은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 모을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 모아요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 모으지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 모아요 | — |
| Polite past | 모았어요 | [모아써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 모을 거예요 | [모을꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 모으겠어요 | [모으게써요] |
| Formal present | 모읍니다 | [모음니다] |
| Formal past | 모았습니다 | [모앋씀니다] |
| Formal future | 모을 것입니다 | [모을꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 모아 | — |
| Casual past | 모았어 | [모아써] |
| Casual future | 모을 거야 | [모을꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 모으고 싶어요 | [모으고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 모으세요 | — |
| Because / and then | 모아서 | — |
| Conditional (if) | 모으면 | — |
| Modifier, present | 모으는 | — |
| Modifier, past | 모은 | — |
| Modifier, future | 모을 | — |
| Short negative | 안 모아요 | — |
| Long negative | 모으지 않아요 | [모으지 아나요] |
Is 모으다 Regular or Irregular?
모으다 is a ㅡ-drop verb. The stem 모으 ends in ㅡ, and that vowel disappears when an 아/어 ending is added, so 모으 + 아요 becomes 모아요 with no leftover syllable. The 아 is chosen because the vowel before it is ㅗ. Before consonant endings or 으-endings the ㅡ stays: 모으면, 모으세요, 모으고 싶어요. The lesson on ㅡ-drop verbs and adjectives covers the whole group.
Common Mistake with 모으다
Wrong: ✗ 돈을 모우어요.
Correct: ✓ 돈을 모아요.
Why: Learners treat the stem as 모우 and write an extra 우 before the ending. The ㅡ simply vanishes, so the right form is 모아요, and the same drop gives 모았어요 in the past.
모으다 Versus 모이다 and 저축하다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 모이다 | 모이다 is what a group does by itself (its subject is the group); 모으다 is gathering them yourself with 을/를. |
| 저축하다 | 저축하다 is formally putting money into savings; 모으다 is collecting or saving in a general way. |
Saving for a Trip
Two friends compare their travel savings. One asks about the habit, then about the money already saved.
Mina
여행 가려고 돈을 모아요?
Yeohaeng garyeogo doneul moayo?
Are you saving money to go on a trip?
Jisu
네. 매달 조금씩 모아요.
Ne. Maedal jogeumssik moayo.
Yes. I save a little each month.
Mina
많이 모았어요?
Mani moasseoyo?
Have you saved a lot?
Jisu
아니요. 더 모을 거예요.
Aniyo. Deo moeul geoyeyo.
No. I’m going to save more.
모아요 describes the saving habit, 모았어요 asks about the amount built up so far, and 모을 거예요 looks ahead. 돈을 appears in the first question and is then understood. The friends do not need to repeat the object every time they use the verb.
What Can You 모으다 besides Money?
우표를 모으다 means to collect stamps. Here the goal may be a collection, rather than money for a future purchase. 사진을 모으다 means to collect photos, perhaps for an album. In both phrases, separate items are brought together, and the object tells you what kind of collecting is happening.
돈을 모으다 focuses on building up money. It does not tell you whether the money is in cash, in a bank account or spread across several accounts. To understand the speaker's savings method, you need more information than this verb alone provides.
힘을 모으다 literally means to gather strength. In a shared task, it means to join forces or pool efforts. You might hear it when a team has a difficult job to finish together. The phrase concerns combined effort rather than collecting physical objects in a container.
의견을 모으다 means to gather opinions. A group leader may ask people for their views before making a decision. The phrase can concern collecting contributions to a discussion; the opinions do not have to be identical from the start.
Where Will You Meet 모으다?
In conversations about a trip, a home or a large purchase, 모으다 often explains the preparation before spending. 매달, “every month”, describes a schedule; 조금씩, “a little at a time”, describes gradual progress. They fit saving because the total often grows through repeated contributions.
In hobby introductions, the object can quickly identify someone's interest. 우표를 모으다 points to stamp collecting. The same grammar works for other collectable items, but 모으다 alone does not imply that a collection is rare, valuable or complete.
In group work, people can collect materials, opinions or effort. Formal wording may use 모읍니다, while everyday descriptions use 모아요. The ordinary verb works in both settings; its object supplies the difference between a savings conversation and a team project.
모아요 and 모여요: One Vowel Changes the Viewpoint
모아요 belongs to 모으다, the collecting verb. 모여요 belongs to 모이다, the gathering verb. Compare 돈을 모아요, “I save money”, with 돈이 모여요, “money builds up”. Both may describe the same savings, but the first follows the saver and the second follows the growing total.
The distinction also works with people. 친구들을 모았어요 reports that someone brought the friends together. 친구들이 모였어요 reports that the friends gathered. A gathering can still be planned; 모이다 simply leaves the organiser outside the main grammar of the sentence.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 저축 | saving / savings | Useful for talking about setting money aside. |
| 우표 | postage stamp | A common object of hobby collecting. |
| 수집 | collecting | Names collecting as an activity or hobby. |
| 목표 | goal | Explains what the saving or collecting is for. |
Explore the hobbies vocabulary hub for ways to introduce a collection and other interests.
Mini Drill: Keep or Drop ㅡ?
- Change 모으다 to the polite present.
- Give the conditional “if someone collects”.
- Say “I collected/saved” in the polite past.
- Choose the marker for the thing you collect: 이/가 or 을/를?
Show drill answers
- 모아요; ㅡ drops before 아요.
- 모으면; the stem keeps ㅡ in this form.
- 모았어요.
- 을/를, as in 돈을 모아요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 돈을 모으다 specify a bank account?
- What does 힘을 모으다 mean in a team project?
- Which verb belongs in “the friends gathered”: 모으다 or 모이다?
Show answers
- No. It says that money is being saved up.
- To join forces or pool efforts.
- 모이다, with the friends as the subject.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does the ㅡ Disappear in 모아요?
The final ㅡ of the stem drops before 아/어, and the vowel before it (ㅗ) decides it is 아. That gives 모아요.
Can I Use 모으다 for Saving Money in a Bank?
Yes for everyday saving, as in 돈을 모으다. If you mean formally depositing into a savings account, 저축하다 is the more precise word.
How Do I Say People Gathered without Anyone Organising Them?
Use the intransitive partner 모이다. 모으다 needs someone doing the gathering.
Which Objects Go with 모으다?
The most common are 돈, 우표 and 사람, as in 돈을 모으다 and 우표를 모으다.
Which Words Are Related to 모으다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 모으다 together with its intransitive partner 모이다, then look at 벌다 (earn) for the next step in the money vocabulary. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.