Key Facts
- Hangul: 피다 (pida)
- Meaning: to bloom
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: verb
- Stem: 피
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: The flower takes 이/가 (꽃이 피어요).
- Usage: Often in spring talk about 벚꽃.
What Does 피다 Mean?
The flower takes 이/가: 꽃이 피다. In spring conversation it often pairs with 벚꽃. Because the flower acts by itself, there is no object.
Senses:
- to bloom: Flowers open: 꽃이 피다.
How Do You Pronounce 피다?
피다 is read as spelled. The formal present 핍니다 is [핌니다], with ㅂ turning into [ㅁ] before ㄴ. The past 피었어요 is [피어써요], and the ㅆ moves to the front of the last syllable.
How Do You Use 피다 in a Sentence?
봄에 꽃이 피어요.
Flowers bloom in spring.
봄에 꽃이 피어요 is the plain statement. 봄에 means in spring and 꽃이 is the subject.
벚꽃이 피었어요.
The cherry blossoms bloomed.
벚꽃이 피었어요 reports that the cherry blossoms are out. The past is [피어써요].
꽃이 피면 공원에 가요.
When the flowers bloom, I go to the park.
꽃이 피면 공원에 가요 puts the blossoming first and the plan second, with 피면 as the conditional.
How Does Pida Conjugation Work?
피다 is regular. The stem 피 ends in ㅣ, and the polite present is written 피어요. Endings that begin with a consonant attach to the bare stem, so 피면, 피는 and 피지 are straightforward. The past modifier is 핀. There is no 고 싶어요 form, because the subject does not control this event.
피다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 피어요 | ||
| Polite past | 피었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 필 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 피겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 핍니다 | ||
| Formal past | 피었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 필 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 피어 | ||
| Casual past | 피었어 | ||
| Casual future | 필 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 피세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 피어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 피면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 피는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 핀 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 필 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 피어요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 피지 않아요 |
Form left out on purpose (Want to (polite)): The subject does not control this event, so -고 싶다 is not normally used.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 피었어요 | [피어써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 필 거예요 | [필꺼예요] |
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 피겠어요 | [피게써요] |
| Formal present | 핍니다 | [핌니다] |
| Formal past | 피었습니다 | [피얻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 필 것입니다 | [필꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 피었어 | [피어써] |
| Casual future | 필 거야 | [필꺼야] |
| Negative (long form) | 피지 않아요 | [피지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 꽃을 피어요
Correct: ✓ 꽃이 피어요
Why: 피다 is intransitive, so the flower takes 이/가. When someone or something makes a flower bloom, the verb changes to the transitive 피우다 (꽃을 피우다).
What Is Easy to Confuse with 피다?
| Word | How to tell it from 피다 |
|---|---|
| 지다 | The opposite: flowers fall or wither. |
| 피우다 | The transitive partner: to make bloom (꽃을 피우다), and also to smoke or make a fire. |
| 펴다 | To spread or open. |
지다 is the opposite: flowers fall or wither. 피우다 is the transitive partner: to make bloom, and also to smoke or light a fire. 펴다 is to spread or open, and its spelling looks close to 피다.
Where Does 피다 Turn Up?
Spring is the season for this verb. 자라다 and 예쁘다 often come up in the same conversation about gardens and parks. Past and present both work: 피어요 says flowers are blooming now, and 피었어요 says they have bloomed and are out.
Planning a Walk to See Cherry Blossoms
Jisu and Alex are choosing a day to visit a park. The first line asks about a completed change. The last line makes a prediction about flowers that have not opened yet.
Jisu
공원에 벚꽃이 피었어요?
Gongwone beotkkochi pieosseoyo?
Have the cherry blossoms bloomed in the park?
Alex
네, 꽃이 많이 피었어요.
Ne, kkochi mani pieosseoyo.
Yes, lots of flowers have bloomed.
Jisu
우리 동네는 아직 안 피어요.
Uri dongneneun ajik an pieoyo.
They are not blooming in our neighborhood yet.
Alex
곧 필 거예요.
Got pil geoyeyo.
They will bloom soon.
The subject can disappear once both speakers know they are discussing cherry blossoms. In the last line, 필 거예요 predicts a natural event; it does not mean that the flowers have made a plan. 아직 means “yet,” and 곧 means “soon.” Together they help you describe the stage of the season.
Phrases for Buds, Full Bloom and Smiles
꽃이 피다 describes a flower opening. 활짝 피다 adds the picture of something fully open, so flowers described this way are spread wide rather than still in tight buds. Pairing 활짝 with 피다 is more informative than simply saying that flowers are pretty.
꽃이 피는 계절 means “the season when flowers bloom.” Here 피는 links the action to the noun 계절. Compare 핀 꽃, “a flower that has bloomed,” with 필 꽃, “a flower that will bloom.” These small forms tell you whether the opening is happening, completed or still ahead.
웃음꽃이 피다 is a figurative phrase for laughter and happiness spreading through a group. Literally, “laughter flowers bloom.” In a family scene or a warm description of friends together, the phrase describes cheerful faces and shared laughter, rather than actual plants. The Korean Learners’ Dictionary entry for 피다 also gives uses with smiles and laughter.
What Makes 피다 Easy to Misread?
피어요 can contract to 펴요, and 피었어요 can contract to 폈어요. Those shorter forms can look exactly like forms of 펴다, “to unfold.” Keep the full forms while learning the contrast: a flower blooms by itself, while a person unfolds a book or umbrella. The National Institute of Korean Language confirms the past-tense contraction.
The object marker gives another clue. 꽃이 피어요 has a flower as its subject. 꽃을 피우다 has an object and means to make flowers bloom. Learning the particle with the verb helps more than learning the English word “open,” which covers several different Korean actions.
The table’s 피세요 is a grammatical honorific form, but it is not an everyday instruction to a flower. For ordinary garden talk, use 피어요, 피었어요 or 필 거예요. A story or poem may speak to a flower as if it were a person; that is a different setting from reporting what is happening in a park.
In a flower photo caption, 핀 꽃 draws attention to the open blossom. In a planting discussion, 필 꽃 points ahead to what will open later. A forecast may use 피는 시기, “the time when flowers bloom.” These noun phrases identify a stage or time without needing a complete polite sentence. They are useful when reading headings, captions and short park notices.
Words around the Flowering Season
| Related word | Meaning | When it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 꽃봉오리 | flower bud | A bud has not opened yet. |
| 꽃잎 | petal | This names one part of a flower. |
| 개화 | flowering | A noun seen in blossom reports and forecasts. |
| 만개 | full bloom | Used when blossoms are fully open. |
Weather reports and travel notices may use 개화 시기, “flowering time,” where friends simply ask when flowers will bloom. A blossom forecast concerns the timing of opening; a festival date is an event schedule and does not itself tell you how open the flowers are. Learn the surrounding plant names in flower vocabulary.
Mini Drill: Choose the Flowering Form
- Complete “The flowers bloomed”: 꽃이 ____.
- Put 피다 before 꽃 to mean “a flower that has bloomed.”
- Give the conditional form meaning “if the flowers bloom.”
- Choose the particle for a flower blooming by itself: 꽃이 or 꽃을?
Show drill answers
- 피었어요.
- 핀 꽃.
- 꽃이 피면.
- 꽃이. Use 꽃을 with the transitive partner 피우다.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 필 거예요 always express someone’s intention?
- What extra picture does 활짝 add to 피다?
- Is 웃음꽃이 피다 about gardening?
Show answers
- No. With flowers it predicts future blooming.
- Being fully or widely open.
- No. It describes laughter and a cheerful atmosphere.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say the Cherry Blossoms Bloomed?
벚꽃이 피었어요.
Does 피다 Take an Object?
No. The flower takes 이/가.
Can I Say I Want to Bloom?
The 고 싶다 form is not normally used, because the subject does not control the event.
What Is the Opposite of 피다?
지다, when flowers fall or wither.
Which Words Are Related to 피다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 지다 and 펴다, then 자라다. The rule behind 피어요 (to bloom) is in polite present recipe, and the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems. 피다 (to bloom) sits beside 지다 and 펴다 in the Korean verb dictionary.