Key Facts
- Hangul: 오다 (oda)
- Meaning: to come
- Level: A1
- Stem: 오
- Class: regular
- Objects: intransitive
- Honorific polite: 오세요
What Does 오다 Mean?
오다 has a single core sense, to come: moving toward the speaker or the place where the speaker is: 우리 집에 오다, to come to my house. Like its partner 가다, it is intransitive. The place you arrive at takes 에 (집에 와요), and nothing in the sentence takes 을/를.
In brief:
- to come. Move toward the speaker or the place where the speaker is, as in 우리 집에 오다 (come to my house).
Korean also uses 오다 for weather, where English uses a separate verb. Rain and snow are said to come, 비가 오다 (it rains) and 눈이 오다 (it snows), with the weather word as the subject. The polite request form for a respected person is 오세요.
How Do You Pronounce 오다?
The dictionary form, 오다, is read as written. The sound changes appear once the past marker or a formal ending is attached: the past 왔어요 is read [와써요], and the formal past 왔습니다 is read [왇씀니다]. The formal present 옵니다 turns the ㅂ into an m sound and is read [옴니다]. The plan form 올 거예요 is read [올꺼예요].
How the main forms sound:
- 왔어요 [와써요]
- 올 거예요 [올꺼예요]
- 오겠어요 [오게써요]
- 옵니다 [옴니다]
- 왔습니다 [왇씀니다]
- 올 것입니다 [올꺼심니다]
- 왔어 [와써]
- 올 거야 [올꺼야]
- 오고 싶어요 [오고 시퍼요]
- 오지 않아요 [오지 아나요]
How Do You Use 오다 in a Sentence?
친구가 우리 집에 와요.
My friend comes to my house.
The subject is a person, the goal is 우리 집, and the particle 에 marks arrival. This is the plain use of the verb, and 와요 is the form to copy for a visitor. (와요)
어제 비가 왔어요.
It rained yesterday.
Here the subject is rain, not a person. 어제 (yesterday) places it in the past, so 왔어요 is the past form. English says it rained; Korean says the rain came. (왔어요)
버스가 와서 탔어요.
The bus came, so I got on.
The ending 와서 links two events: the bus arrived, and then I boarded. The first clause names the arrival, the second names what you did next. (와서)
How Does Oda Conjugation Work?
오다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 와요 | ||
| Polite past | 왔어요 | ||
| Polite future | 올 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 오겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 옵니다 | ||
| Formal past | 왔습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 올 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 와 | ||
| Casual past | 왔어 | ||
| Casual future | 올 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 오고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 오세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 와서 | ||
| Conditional | 오면 | ||
| Present modifier | 오는 | ||
| Past modifier | 온 | ||
| Future modifier | 올 | ||
| Short negative | 안 와요 | ||
| Long negative | 오지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 와요 | as written |
| Polite past | 왔어요 | [와써요] |
| Polite future | 올 거예요 | [올꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 오겠어요 | [오게써요] |
| Formal present | 옵니다 | [옴니다] |
| Formal past | 왔습니다 | [왇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 올 것입니다 | [올꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 와 | as written |
| Casual past | 왔어 | [와써] |
| Casual future | 올 거야 | [올꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 오고 싶어요 | [오고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 오세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 와서 | as written |
| Conditional | 오면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 오는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 온 | as written |
| Future modifier | 올 | as written |
| Short negative | 안 와요 | as written |
| Long negative | 오지 않아요 | [오지 아나요] |
Is 오다 Regular or Irregular?
오다 is regular. The stem 오 ends in the vowel ㅗ, and before the ending 아 the two vowels join into the single syllable 와, so the polite present is 와요 and the past is 왔어요. Nothing is dropped or added besides that vowel contraction. The step-by-step recipe is on the polite present recipe page.
Which Mistake Do Learners Make with 오다, to Come?
Wrong: ✗ 지금 와요 (answering someone who called you)
Correct: ✓ 지금 가요
Why: Korean uses 가다 when moving to the listener's location, where English often says 'I'm coming'.
An English speaker who is called by someone says I'm coming and reaches for 오다. Korean describes this reply from the speaker's position: you are travelling from your location to the other person's, so the verb is 가다. 지금 와요 would instead mean that someone else is coming toward you now.
How Does 오다, to Come, Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 가다 | 가다 points the other way. Use 오다 when the movement ends at the speaker, and 가다 when it ends at the listener or somewhere else. |
| 도착하다 | 도착하다 focuses on the moment of reaching the destination, while 오다 only describes travelling toward the speaker. A bus can be coming (오다) for several minutes before it actually arrives (도착하다). |
Inviting a Coworker to Your Home
Jisu is hosting dinner and asks a coworker about his visit. Her home is the destination she takes as the reference point, even if she makes the invitation while at work.
Jisu
내일 우리 집에 와요?
Naeil uri jibe wayo?
Are you coming to my place tomorrow?
Alex
네. 여섯 시에 올 거예요.
Ne. Yeoseot sie ol geoyeyo.
Yes. I’ll come at six.
Jisu
민수 씨도 와요.
Minsu ssido wayo.
Minsu is coming too.
Alex
지난번에도 왔어요?
Jinanbeonedo wasseoyo?
Did he come last time too?
와요 checks an arrangement, 올 거예요 gives a plan, and 왔어요 asks about a previous visit. Korean can omit the subject when the conversation makes it clear. In the last question, Alex is still talking about Minsu.
Arrival Phrases You Will Hear Often
어서 오세요 means “Welcome” or “Come in”. In a shop, this greeting welcomes you rather than telling you to hurry. A host can also use it for a guest.
잘 왔어요 can mean “I'm glad you came” or “You came to the right place”. Literally “came well”, it can welcome a guest or reassure someone seeking help.
잠이 오다 means to feel sleepy: literally, sleep comes. 잠 is the subject, so 잠이 와요 describes sleepiness rather than a person's travel. This is useful in evening conversations and in complaints about being unable to sleep.
Where Does 오다 Appear outside Invitations?
Weather forecasts use 오다 with rain and snow. The pattern 비가 와요 has rain as its subject; no empty English-style “it” is needed. The weather vocabulary lesson teaches the nouns that help you understand these reports.
Messages and deliveries can also “come”. 전화가 오다 means to receive a phone call, and 택배가 오다 means that a parcel arrives. These expressions describe an incoming event. They do not say that you made the call or sent the parcel.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 방문 | a visit | Names the event of visiting someone or somewhere. |
| 손님 | guest / customer | The person a host or shop welcomes. |
| 도착 | arrival | Names the moment of reaching a destination. |
| 비 | rain | Takes 이/가 with 오다 in weather expressions. |
A Direction Mistake and an Honorific Trap
The speaker's reference point matters more than the English translation. A host invites someone to come to her home with 오다. A guest answering a call from that host while setting off normally uses 가다. The destination is the same, but each person describes the trip from a different position.
Keep 와요 separate from 오세요 in your mind. 와요 is polite to the listener, while 오세요 also contains the honorific element used for the person coming. When you speak about your own arrival, 와요 or 왔어요 fits; 오세요 would wrongly apply that honorific to yourself.
Mini Drill: Choose the Arrival Form
- Change 오다 to the polite past.
- Give the present modifier used before a noun.
- Make the short negative of 와요.
- Give the respectful form used to invite a guest.
Show drill answers
- 왔어요.
- 오는.
- 안 와요, with a space after 안.
- 오세요.
Quick Self-Test
- In a shop, does 어서 오세요 normally ask you to hurry?
- What does 잠이 오다 describe?
- You are setting off toward someone who called you. Which is the usual reply: 지금 가요 or 지금 와요?
Show answers
- No. It is a welcoming greeting.
- Feeling sleepy.
- 지금 가요. You are going from your location to theirs.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Do I Use 지금 가요 Instead of 지금 와요?
Use 지금 가요 when someone calls you and you are moving to their location. Korean judges direction from the speaker's position, so going to the listener is 가다, where English says "I'm coming".
Can 오다 Be Used for Rain and Snow?
Yes. 비가 오다 means it rains and 눈이 오다 means it snows, with the weather word as the subject, as in 어제 비가 왔어요.
What Is the Polite Request Form of 오다?
오세요. It is the honorific polite form, used to invite or ask a respected person to come.
What Does 와서 Mean in the Bus Sentence?
It joins two events: 버스가 와서 탔어요 means the bus came, and so I got on. The ending shows cause or sequence.
Which Words Are Related to 오다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read the 가다 entry for the opposite direction. The compounds 돌아오다, 나오다 and 들어오다 add a direction to the same verb, and 도착하다 is the entry to read for the arrival itself. The Korean verb conjugator checks any form of to come; the whole Korean verb dictionary lists the other entries, and the class rule is on the polite present recipe page.