Key Facts
- Hangul: 포기하다 (pogihada)
- Meaning: to give up
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: verb
- Stem: 포기하
- Conjugation class: 하다 type
- Grammar: The thing given up takes 을/를, as in 시험을 포기하다.
- Usage: Common in everyday speech and news. A set phrase is 포기하지 마세요 (do not give up), often said to encourage someone.
What Does 포기하다 Mean?
It covers letting go of a goal, as in 꿈을 포기하다 (give up a dream), and dropping an idea or plan, as in 계획을 포기하다 (abandon a plan). What is given up takes 을/를. It is common in both speech and news.
Senses:
- to give up: Stop trying or let go of a goal, plan or right, as in 꿈을 포기하다.
- to abandon: Drop an idea or a claim, as in 계획을 포기하다.
How Do You Pronounce 포기하다?
포기하다 is read as spelled. The formal present 포기합니다 is [포기함니다], and the past 포기했어요 is [포기해써요]. Each syllable is pronounced clearly, with no merging.
How Do You Use 포기하다 in a Sentence?
지금 포기하면 후회할 거예요.
If you give up now, you will regret it.
지금 포기하면 후회할 거예요 is a warning. 후회할 거예요 is the future of regret.
너무 어려워서 그냥 포기했어요.
It was too hard, so I just gave up.
너무 어려워서 그냥 포기했어요 gives the reason first, 너무 어려워서, and the past [포기해써요] second.
저는 이 꿈을 포기하지 않아요.
I won't give up this dream.
저는 이 꿈을 포기하지 않아요 uses the long negative 지 않아요, [포기하지 아나요].
How Does Pogihada Conjugation Work?
포기하다 is a 하다 verb. 하 and 여 contract to 해, giving 포기해요 and 포기했어요. Endings that begin with a consonant keep 하. The negative is 포기하지 않아요, and 포기하지 마세요 is the set phrase telling someone not to give up.
포기하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 포기해요 | ||
| Polite past | 포기했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 포기할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 포기하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 포기합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 포기했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 포기할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 포기해 | ||
| Casual past | 포기했어 | ||
| Casual future | 포기할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 포기하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 포기하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 포기해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 포기하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 포기하는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 포기한 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 포기할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 포기 안 해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 포기하지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 포기했어요 | [포기해써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 포기할 거예요 | [포기할꺼예요] |
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 포기하겠어요 | [포기하게써요] |
| Formal present | 포기합니다 | [포기함니다] |
| Formal past | 포기했습니다 | [포기핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 포기할 것입니다 | [포기할꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 포기했어 | [포기해써] |
| Casual future | 포기할 거야 | [포기할꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 포기하고 싶어요 | [포기하고 시퍼요] |
| Negative (long form) | 포기하지 않아요 | [포기하지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 회사를 포기했어요 (for 'I quit my job')
Correct: ✓ 회사를 그만뒀어요
Why: English 'give up' and 'quit' overlap, so learners use 포기하다 for leaving a job. 포기하다 is giving up on a goal or attempt; leaving a job, school or habit is 그만두다.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 포기하다?
| Word | How to tell it from 포기하다 |
|---|---|
| 그만두다 | 그만두다 means to quit a job, school or habit you were doing; 포기하다 means to give up a goal or attempt. |
| 도전하다 | 도전하다 is to take on a challenge, the opposite attitude to giving up. |
그만두다 is to quit a job, school or habit you were doing. 포기하다 is giving up a goal or attempt. 도전하다 is taking on a challenge, the opposite attitude.
Where Does 포기하다 Turn Up?
포기하지 마세요 is the encouraging phrase for do not give up. 노력하다 and 성공하다 are the words around it.
Encouragement during Exam Preparation
Alex is struggling with a practice test. Jisu responds to the wish to give up, and Alex decides to continue. The object can be left unstated because both speakers know which task is difficult.
Alex
너무 어려워서 포기하고 싶어요.
Neomu eoryeowoseo pogihago sipeoyo.
It is so hard that I want to give up.
Jisu
지금 포기하면 아쉬울 거예요.
Jigeum pogihamyeon aswiul geoyeyo.
It would be a shame to give up now.
Alex
그럼 포기하지 않을 거예요.
Geureom pogihaji aneul geoyeyo.
Then I will not give up.
포기하고 싶어요 describes a wish, not a completed decision. 포기하면 introduces the possible choice and its consequence. The final negative answers that choice. Unlike a plain past report, this exchange lets you hear someone move from discouragement to renewed effort.
Common Objects: Dreams, Plans and Opportunities
꿈을 포기하다 means “give up a dream.” The person stops pursuing a hoped-for future. 계획을 포기하다 means “abandon a plan”; the focus is the planned action, which may be dropped before it even begins. Neither phrase requires that the person has already spent years trying.
기회를 포기하다 means “give up an opportunity.” The speaker may be making a deliberate choice between two possibilities rather than admitting defeat. English “give up” can sound emotional, but 포기하다 also appears in calm descriptions of choosing not to pursue something available.
중도 포기 is a noun phrase for giving up partway through. You may meet it in descriptions of courses, competitions or projects. 중도 supplies the timing: an activity began and was abandoned before completion. 포기 by itself does not tell you how far someone got.
Where Will You Hear Encouragement with 포기하다?
Sports scenes, exam stories and dramas about a difficult ambition often use the negative. 포기하지 마세요 encourages someone to keep trying. 포기하세요, by contrast, tells them to give up. Both have polite endings, but the message changes completely when 하지 마 is removed.
Saying 포기해요 to someone can therefore sound blunt even though the sentence ends politely. It asks them to abandon what matters to them. When describing your own decision, the same form reports that you are giving up. The speaker, listener and subject matter all affect how the line lands.
News and formal writing also use 포기 with applications, bids or plans. In those settings, the word can mean that someone has withdrawn from an attempt. It does not automatically mean laziness or failure. Read the named goal and reason before assigning an emotional meaning to the decision.
Giving up, Stopping and Taking a Break
포기하다 says the goal or attempt is being abandoned. 그만두다 focuses on quitting an ongoing activity, such as a job. 쉬다 means to rest or take a break, which can leave the goal fully intact. A learner who says they will rest is not necessarily announcing that they have stopped studying for good.
This difference matters in a study conversation. A difficult exercise may make you want to 포기하다, while a short rest lets you return to it. Choose the verb for the decision you actually mean, rather than translating every English “stop” as giving up.
| Related word | Meaning | Why it belongs nearby |
|---|---|---|
| 목표 | goal | Names the result someone is working toward. |
| 도전 | challenge / attempt | Names taking on something difficult. |
| 노력 | effort | Describes the work put into the attempt. |
| 후회 | regret | A possible feeling after abandoning a goal. |
The emotions vocabulary lesson gives language for the feelings around a difficult decision. For exam settings, the existing example with 시험 uses the test as the abandoned attempt; the context tells you whether someone stopped preparing, stopped answering or decided not to take it.
Negative Spacing and the Future Meaning
포기 안 해요 splits the noun 포기 from 해요 and places 안 in between. 포기하지 않아요 keeps 포기하지 together and writes 않아요 separately. These are useful patterns when you want to reject giving up without issuing a command to somebody else.
The existing sentence 저는 이 꿈을 포기하지 않아요 can express a firm continuing stance, which English may render as “I won’t give up this dream.” The Korean form itself is present negative. If you need an explicitly future statement, 포기할 거예요 supplies the future construction; its negative meaning still needs to be expressed rather than assumed.
Mini Drill: a Decision or Encouragement?
- Change 포기하다 to the polite past.
- Say “I want to give up.”
- Give the conditional form for “if someone gives up.”
- Write the short negative with 안 between 포기 and 해요.
Show drill answers
- 포기했어요.
- 포기하고 싶어요.
- 포기하면.
- 포기 안 해요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does taking a short rest always mean 포기하다?
- What does 중도 add to 중도 포기?
- Is 포기하세요 a phrase of encouragement to keep trying?
Show answers
- No. A break can be temporary while the goal remains.
- The person gave up partway through.
- No. It tells someone to give up; 포기하지 마세요 tells them not to.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Tell Someone Not to Give Up?
포기하지 마세요.
How Do I Say I Won't Give up This Dream?
저는 이 꿈을 포기하지 않아요.
Is 포기 안 해요 Correct?
Yes. 포기 안 해요 puts 안 before 하다 and is the usual short negative. 포기하지 않아요 is the long form and sounds more neutral in writing.
What Is the Difference between 포기하다 and 그만두다?
그만두다 is quitting something you were doing, while 포기하다 is giving up a goal.
Which Words Are Related to 포기하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 그만두다 and 도전하다, then 노력하다. The rule behind 포기해요 (to give up) is in 하다 to 해요, and the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems. For the negative of 포기하다 (to give up), see negating 하다 verbs. 포기하다 (to give up) sits beside 도전하다 and 노력하다 in the Korean verb dictionary.