Key Facts
- Hangul: 못하다 (motada)
- Meaning: to be unable to; to be poor at
- Level: A1
- Part of speech: verb
- Stem: 못하
- Conjugation class: 하다 type
- Grammar: The activity takes 을/를 (요리를 못하다); the person who is poor at it takes 은/는.
- Honorific polite: 못하세요
- Usage: Basic A1. The forms are regular like 하다. The negative is 못하지 않아요 (not 못 못해요); with 하다 verbs, 못 goes before 하다: 운동 못 해요.
What Does 못하다 Mean?
- to be unable to; to be poor at: Used for lacking skill, e.g. 운동을 못하다 (to be bad at sports).
- to be worse than: Used in comparisons, e.g. 이것이 저것만 못하다 (this is not as good as that).
못하다 is to be unable to do something and to be poor at it. 운동을 못하다 is to be bad at sports, and 수영을 못하다 is not being able to swim. The activity takes 을/를, and the person who is poor at it is usually marked with 은/는.
A second use appears in comparisons: 이것이 저것만 못하다 means this is not as good as that. 못하다 already contains a negative meaning. For a plain 'cannot' with a 하다 verb, the 못 goes before 하다: 운동 못 해요.
Which Set Phrases Use 못하다?
- 수영을 못하다: To be unable to swim.
- 운동 못 해요: I can't do sports; 못 is spaced before 해요.
- 이것이 저것만 못하다: This is not as good as that.
How Do You Pronounce 못하다?
The dictionary form 못하다 is read [모타다]: the final ㅅ of 못 becomes ㄷ, and ㄷ meeting ㅎ becomes ㅌ. The polite present 못해요 is [모태요], the past 못했어요 is [모태써요] and the formal 못합니다 is [모탐니다].
How Do You Use 못하다 in a Sentence?
저는 수영을 못해요.
I cannot swim.
저는 (I) is the topic, and 수영을 is the activity. The polite present 못해요 states inability.
어제는 피곤해서 숙제를 못 했어요.
I was tired yesterday, so I could not do my homework.
피곤해서 (because I was tired) gives the reason. 숙제를 못 했어요 reports that the homework did not happen; 못 is separate because tiredness prevented the action.
요리를 못하면 배달을 시켜요.
If I cannot cook, I order delivery.
요리를 is the skill, and the if-form 못하면 gives the condition. 배달을 시켜요 is the result: order delivery.
How Does Motada Conjugation Work?
못하다 is a 하다 verb. 하 + 여 becomes 해, so the polite present is 못해요 and the past is 못했어요. Consonant endings keep 하: 못하면, 못합니다. Because 못하다 is already negative, the long negative is 못하지 않아요.
못하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 못해요 | ||
| Polite past | 못했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 못할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 못하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 못합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 못했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 못할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 못해 | ||
| Casual past | 못했어 | ||
| Casual future | 못할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 못하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 못하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 못해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 못하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 못하는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 못한 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 못할 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 못하지 않아요 |
No short 안 form is given: 못하다 is already negative, so 안 못해요 is not used.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 못해요 | [모태요] |
| Polite past | 못했어요 | [모태써요] |
| Polite future | 못할 거예요 | [모탈꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 못하겠어요 | [모타게써요] |
| Formal present | 못합니다 | [모탐니다] |
| Formal past | 못했습니다 | [모탣씀니다] |
| Formal future | 못할 것입니다 | [모탈꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 못했어 | [모태써] |
| Casual future | 못할 거야 | [모탈꺼야] |
| Past modifier | 못한 | [모탄] |
| Long negative | 못하지 않아요 | [모타지 아나요] |
Common Mistake with 못하다
Meaning contrast (not the right word for 'cannot'): 저는 안 수영해요 vs 저는 수영을 못해요
For 'I cannot swim', say: ✓ 저는 수영을 못해요.
Why: 안 means not doing by choice, so 안 수영해요 says you do not swim, not that you are unable to. Inability is 못, and 못하다 is already a full verb.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 못하다?
| Word | How to tell it from 못하다 |
|---|---|
| 잘하다 | 잘하다 is the opposite: to be good at something. |
| 안 하다 | 안 하다 means to choose not to do; 못하다 means unable or poor at doing. |
Talking about Cooking before Dinner
Two friends are deciding whether to cook. Alex describes a lack of skill, and Jisu offers an alternative. The scene uses 못해요, 못하면 and 못했어요.
Alex
저는 요리를 못해요.
Jeoneun yorireul motaeyo.
I’m not good at cooking.
Jisu
요리를 못하면 같이 연습해요.
Yorireul motamyeon gachi yeonseupaeyo.
If you’re not good at cooking, let’s practice together.
Alex
좋아요. 어제도 요리를 못했어요.
Joayo. Eojedo yorireul motaesseoyo.
Sounds good. I cooked badly yesterday too.
Jisu
오늘은 쉬운 요리를 해요.
Oneureun swiun yorireul haeyo.
Let’s make something easy today.
The topic is cooking ability, so 못해요 is written as one word. In Alex’s third line, the translation describes a poor result, not a meal that never happened. English “couldn’t” can blur skill and circumstance.
How Does Spacing Change 못하다 and 못 하다?
Use 못하다 for being poor at an activity or lacking the ability to do it. 수영을 못해요 can describe someone who cannot swim or swims poorly. The opposite skill judgment is 잘하다. The noun 수영 names the activity being assessed.
Use 못 하다 when 못 separately negates 하다 because circumstances prevent the action. A capable swimmer may be unable to swim today because the pool is closed. That situation calls for 수영을 못 해요. This distinction is explained by the National Institute of Korean Language’s spacing guidance.
Notice the homework example above. If tiredness prevented the homework from being done at all, write 숙제를 못 했어요. If you completed it poorly, 숙제를 못했어요 describes the result. The cause clarifies the meaning.
Before an independent verb such as 가다, 못 is separate: 못 가요, “I can’t go”. This is not a new conjugation of 못하다. It is the negative adverb 못 followed by a different verb. Keeping that structure in view helps when you move from activities named by nouns to actions named by verbs.
Which Set Phrases Go beyond a Simple Inability?
잘하지는 못해요 means “I’m not exactly good at it”. It can qualify a modest claim about a skill: the speaker may be able to do the activity, but not well. The phrase is weaker than saying they have no ability at all.
못하지 않아요 literally negates “be poor at”. In a skill discussion it can mean “not bad at it”. The long negative reverses the negative judgment already inside 못하다. It does not simply mean “can’t”. Pay attention to both negatives before translating it.
예전만 못하다 means “not as good as before”. This is the comparison sense: the earlier condition supplies the standard. The phrase can describe a performance or quality that has declined, without saying that the activity is impossible.
Where Will You Hear 못해요 and 못하겠어요?
In introductions, 못해요 often limits a claim about a skill such as swimming, cooking or speaking a language. In a lesson, it can identify what someone needs help practicing. If you hear it without an activity, recover the activity from the previous question.
못하겠어요 can express that the speaker feels unable to manage a task in the situation. It may also function as a refusal when someone has reached their limit. The 겠 ending adds the speaker’s assessment; the phrase is not a promise to perform badly in the future.
The table’s 못하고 싶어요 means wanting to be bad at something, an unusual wish. It is not the ordinary way to say you do not want to do an activity.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 잘하다 | to do well | Evaluates skill positively. |
| 연습하다 | to practice | Names an action that may improve the skill. |
| 실력 | ability / skill level | Names what a skill judgment evaluates. |
| 안 하다 | not to do | Negates the action without itself stating inability. |
Read negating 하다 verbs for the structure behind these ability and action contrasts.
Mini Drill: Choose the Meaning and Spacing
- Say “I’m bad at cooking”: 요리를 ____.
- Say you cannot do the activity today because circumstances prevent it: 못해요 or 못 해요?
- Give the polite past of the one-word 못하다.
- What does 못하지 않아요 suggest about a skill?
Show drill answers
- 요리를 못해요.
- 못 해요, with a space for the separate negative adverb.
- 못했어요.
- The person is not bad at it.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 안 하다 itself tell you the person lacks ability?
- In 예전만 못하다, what supplies the comparison standard?
- Is 못 가요 a conjugated form of 못하다?
Show answers
- No. It says the action is not done.
- The earlier state or performance.
- No. It is 못 plus the verb 가다.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 못하다?
못해요, read [모태요].
How Is 못하다 Different from 안 하다?
안 하다 means to choose not to do. 못하다 means unable or poor at doing.
Is 못하다 Pronounced as Spelled?
No. It is [모타다], with aspiration.
What Is the Opposite of 못하다?
잘하다, meaning to be good at something.
Which Words Are Related to 못하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Learn 잘하다 as the opposite, then 하다 itself. 공부하다 and 연습하다 show how the 하다 verbs work in daily study talk. For the rule behind these forms, read how 하다 words become 해요, then try another stem in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.