Key Facts
- Hangul: 외우다 (oeuda)
- Meaning: to memorize
- Level: A2
- Stem: 외우
- Class: regular
- Objects: transitive
- Honorific polite: 외우세요
What Does 외우다 Mean?
외우다 has one sense: to learn something by heart. Typical pairs are 단어를 외우다 (memorize words), 전화번호를 외우다 (memorize a phone number) and 노래 가사를 외우다 (memorize song lyrics). The effort is part of the meaning, which is why it is such a common student verb.
Senses:
- to memorize. Learn something by heart: 단어를 외우다, 전화번호를 외우다.
The verb is transitive, and the thing memorized takes 을/를. Compare 기억하다, which is closer to keeping something in mind, and 알다, which only states that you know.
How Do You Pronounce 외우다?
The dictionary form is read as written, and so are 외워요 and 외웁니다 apart from the nasal in the formal ending, [외움니다]. In the past, the ㅆ moves into the next syllable: 외웠어요 is [외워써요] and 외웠습니다 is [외웓씀니다]. The plan form 외울 거예요 is read [외울꺼예요].
Pronunciation of each form:
- 외웠어요 [외워써요]
- 외울 거예요 [외울꺼예요]
- 외우겠어요 [외우게써요]
- 외웁니다 [외움니다]
- 외웠습니다 [외웓씀니다]
- 외울 것입니다 [외울꺼심니다]
- 외웠어 [외워써]
- 외울 거야 [외울꺼야]
- 외우고 싶어요 [외우고 시퍼요]
- 외우지 않아요 [외우지 아나요]
How Do You Use 외우다 in a Sentence?
저는 매일 단어를 외워요.
I memorize words every day.
The time word 매일 (every day) fits a routine, and 단어를 shows the usual object. 외워요 is the polite present. (외워요)
시를 다 외웠어요.
I memorized the whole poem.
The adverb 다 (all) makes the verb complete: the whole poem is now in memory. 외웠어요 is the past of a finished effort, with the object 시를 marked by 을/를. (외웠어요)
단어를 외워서 시험을 봤어요.
I memorized the words and took the test.
외워서 gives the reason or the preceding step: first the words were memorized, then the test was taken. The order of the two verbs matches the order of events. (외워서)
How Does Oeuda Conjugation Work?
외우다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 외워요 | ||
| Polite past | 외웠어요 | ||
| Polite future | 외울 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 외우겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 외웁니다 | ||
| Formal past | 외웠습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 외울 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 외워 | ||
| Casual past | 외웠어 | ||
| Casual future | 외울 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 외우고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 외우세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 외워서 | ||
| Conditional | 외우면 | ||
| Present modifier | 외우는 | ||
| Past modifier | 외운 | ||
| Future modifier | 외울 | ||
| Short negative | 안 외워요 | ||
| Long negative | 외우지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 외워요 | as written |
| Polite past | 외웠어요 | [외워써요] |
| Polite future | 외울 거예요 | [외울꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 외우겠어요 | [외우게써요] |
| Formal present | 외웁니다 | [외움니다] |
| Formal past | 외웠습니다 | [외웓씀니다] |
| Formal future | 외울 것입니다 | [외울꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 외워 | as written |
| Casual past | 외웠어 | [외워써] |
| Casual future | 외울 거야 | [외울꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 외우고 싶어요 | [외우고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 외우세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 외워서 | as written |
| Conditional | 외우면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 외우는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 외운 | as written |
| Future modifier | 외울 | as written |
| Short negative | 안 외워요 | as written |
| Long negative | 외우지 않아요 | [외우지 아나요] |
Is 외우다 Regular or Irregular?
외우다 is regular, but its stem 외우 ends in the vowel ㅜ, and that is the one thing to watch. Before 어 the vowels ㅜ and ㅓ join into ㅝ, so 외우 + 어요 is written 외워요 and the vowel is not repeated. This is the same contraction described on the polite present recipe page.
Which Mistake Do Learners Make with 외우다, to Memorize?
Wrong: ✗ 단어를 외우어요.
Correct: ✓ 단어를 외워요.
Why: The stem 외우- contracts to 외워 before 어, not 외우어.
Learners build the polite present by writing the stem and the ending side by side, and produce 외우어요. In Korean the stem vowel and the ending vowel merge into one syllable, 워, in every 어-ending form: 외워요, 외웠어요, 외워서.
How Does 외우다, to Memorize, Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 기억하다 | 기억하다 is to remember, or to keep in mind; 외우다 is the deliberate effort of learning by heart. You can 기억하다 something you never tried to 외우다. |
| 알다 | 알다 states that you know something. 외우다 names the work of getting there, so 단어를 외우다 is the study activity and 단어를 알다 is the result. |
Preparing for a Vocabulary Quiz
Two classmates compare their preparation before class. One asks about completed work; the other explains the next step. The final line uses the conditional form to connect memorizing with review.
Jisu
단어를 다 외웠어요?
Daneoreul da oewosseoyo?
Have you memorized all the words?
Alex
아니요. 오늘 다 외울 거예요.
Aniyo. Oneul da oeul geoyeyo.
No. I’m going to memorize them all today.
Jisu
다 외우면 같이 복습해요.
Da oeumyeon gachi bokseuphaeyo.
Once you’ve memorized them all, let’s review together.
다 means “all”, so the question asks about completing the whole set. 외울 거예요 is a plan, not a claim that the words are already learned. 외우면 sets a condition for the shared review; the words are understood, so neither reply needs to repeat 단어를.
What Do People Learn by Heart?
단어를 외우다 names deliberate vocabulary memorization. It says what the learner is trying to store in memory, without specifying a technique. Reading flashcards, repeating words and writing them out can all be ways to do that activity.
가사를 외우다 means learning lyrics by heart. The goal is remembering the words, so it differs from merely recognizing a song when it plays. 대사를 외우다 uses the same pattern for an actor’s lines: 대사 is dialogue or a line of dialogue, not the actor’s opinion about the story.
줄줄 외우다 describes reciting something fluently from memory. 줄줄 adds the sense of the words coming out in an uninterrupted stream. It can suggest knowing a passage very well, but fluent recall by itself does not prove that someone understands the content.
Where Will You Hear 외우다?
Teachers use 외우다 in instructions about vocabulary, formulas or passages. The form 외우세요 can tell a class to memorize something. In this setting it is an instruction, while 외웠어요 from a student reports that the memorizing is finished.
Actors, singers and students also talk about memorizing different kinds of text. The object is your best clue: lyrics belong to a song, lines belong to a performance, and a phone number is a sequence of digits. The verb does not change its conjugation to match any of these objects.
In study conversations, 외우다 can appear beside 이해하다, “to understand”. A learner may know a definition by heart and still need help applying it. Choose 외우다 when you mean storing the wording or information, and 이해하다 when you mean grasping how it works.
Watch Which Endings Need 워
외워요, 외웠어요 and 외워서 contain the contracted 워. 외우면 and 외우는 keep 우 because those endings do not begin with 어. 외울 거예요 also keeps 우, adds ㄹ to the stem’s final syllable, and leaves a space before 거예요.
The past modifier 외운 identifies something already memorized, while 외울 identifies something to memorize. In a study list, that difference separates completed material from the next assignment. Both are short forms built from 외우, without the 워 contraction.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 단어 | word; vocabulary item | A common object in language classes. |
| 암기 | memorization | A noun you may see in study materials and task headings. |
| 복습 | review | Returning to material already studied. |
| 이해하다 | to understand | Understanding and memorizing describe different achievements. |
The school vocabulary lesson introduces words for lessons and assignments that often surround 외우다.
Mini Drill: 우 or 워?
- Change 외우다 to the polite past.
- Give the conditional form meaning “if/when someone memorizes”.
- Give the planned future with 거예요.
- Give the past modifier for something already memorized.
Show drill answers
- 외웠어요: the 어-based ending contracts to 워.
- 외우면: 우 stays before 면.
- 외울 거예요, with a space before 거예요.
- 외운.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 외우다 by itself say that someone understands the material?
- Which object names an actor’s lines: 가사 or 대사?
- In the dialogue, has Alex already memorized every word?
Show answers
- No. It describes memorizing; understanding is a separate point.
- 대사. 가사 means song lyrics.
- No. 외울 거예요 states the plan to finish today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Can 외우다 Take as an Object?
Anything you learn by heart: words (단어를), song lyrics (노래 가사를), phone numbers (전화번호를) or a poem (시를).
Why Is the Polite Present 외워요 and Not 외우어요?
The stem vowel ㅜ and the ending vowel ㅓ merge into one syllable, so 외우 + 어요 is written 외워요.
Is 외우다 the Same as 기억하다?
No. 외우다 is learning something by heart on purpose, while 기억하다 is remembering or keeping something in mind.
What Is the Honorific Polite Form?
외우세요, as in a teacher telling a class to memorize something.
Which Words Are Related to 외우다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 기억하다 next to see how remembering differs from memorizing. 잊다 covers forgetting, 복습하다 covers review, and 공부하다 is the wider study verb. The Korean verb conjugator checks any form of 외우다; the whole Korean verb dictionary lists the other entries, and the class rule is on the polite present recipe page.