Key Facts
- Hangul: 살다 (salda)
- Meaning: to live
- Level: A1
- Stem: 살
- Class: ㄹ-drop
- Objects: intransitive
- Honorific polite: 사세요
What Does 살다 Mean?
살다 means to live: to be alive or to reside somewhere, as in 서울에 살다. It is intransitive and takes no object. The place takes 에 or 에서, as in 서울에 살아요.
Meanings:
- to live. Be alive or reside somewhere, as in 서울에 살다.
살다 is one of the most frequent verbs in Korean. Its present modifier 사는 appears in everyday phrases such as 사는 곳, the place where you live.
How Do You Pronounce 살다?
The final ㄹ moves onto the next syllable before a vowel, so 살아요 is read [사라요] and 살았어요 is read [사라써요]. Before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ it disappears, so the formal present 삽니다 is read [삼니다]. The plan form 살 거예요 is read [살꺼예요].
How the forms sound:
- 살아요 [사라요]
- 살았어요 [사라써요]
- 살 거예요 [살꺼예요]
- 살겠어요 [살게써요]
- 삽니다 [삼니다]
- 살았습니다 [사랃씀니다]
- 살 것입니다 [살꺼심니다]
- 살아 [사라]
- 살았어 [사라써]
- 살 거야 [살꺼야]
- 살고 싶어요 [살고 시퍼요]
- 살아서 [사라서]
- 안 살아요 [안 사라요]
- 살지 않아요 [살지 아나요]
How Do You Use 살다 in a Sentence?
저는 서울에 살아요.
I live in Seoul.
저는 marks the speaker, 서울에 marks the place, and 살아요 is the polite present. The ㄹ stays because the ending starts with a vowel. (살아요)
저는 작년에 부산에 살았어요.
I lived in Busan last year.
작년에 (last year) with 부산에 gives a past residence. The past 살았어요 keeps the ㄹ. (살았어요)
사는 곳이 어디예요?
Where is the place you live?
사는 is the present modifier with the ㄹ dropped. The question asks about the place of living, with 곳 as the noun and 어디예요 for where. (사는)
How Does Salda Conjugation Work?
살다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 살아요 | ||
| Polite past | 살았어요 | ||
| Polite future | 살 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 살겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 삽니다 | ||
| Formal past | 살았습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 살 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 살아 | ||
| Casual past | 살았어 | ||
| Casual future | 살 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 살고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 사세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 살아서 | ||
| Conditional | 살면 | ||
| Present modifier | 사는 | ||
| Past modifier | 산 | ||
| Future modifier | 살 | ||
| Short negative | 안 살아요 | ||
| Long negative | 살지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 살아요 | [사라요] |
| Polite past | 살았어요 | [사라써요] |
| Polite future | 살 거예요 | [살꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 살겠어요 | [살게써요] |
| Formal present | 삽니다 | [삼니다] |
| Formal past | 살았습니다 | [사랃씀니다] |
| Formal future | 살 것입니다 | [살꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 살아 | [사라] |
| Casual past | 살았어 | [사라써] |
| Casual future | 살 거야 | [살꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 살고 싶어요 | [살고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 사세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 살아서 | [사라서] |
| Conditional | 살면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 사는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 산 | as written |
| Future modifier | 살 | as written |
| Short negative | 안 살아요 | [안 사라요] |
| Long negative | 살지 않아요 | [살지 아나요] |
Is 살다 Regular or Irregular?
살다 is ㄹ-irregular. The stem-final ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ: 삽니다, 사세요, 사는, and it stays elsewhere, as in 살아요 and 살면. The honorific 사세요 follows the same rule: the ㄹ drops before the ㅅ of the ending, and no extra vowel is added. See the ㄹ-drop verbs and adjectives page for the whole pattern.
Which Mistake Do Learners Make with 살다, to Live?
Wrong: ✗ 살는 사람
Correct: ✓ 사는 사람
Why: 살다 is a ㄹ-irregular verb: ㄹ drops before ㄴ, so the modifier is 사는 (not 살는).
Learners add the modifier ending to the whole stem and write 살는 사람. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, so the form is 사는 사람.
How Does 살다, to Live, Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 지내다 | 지내다 is to get by or to spend time. 살다 asks where or whether you live; 지내다 asks how you are getting on. |
| 사다 | 사다 is to buy. 사는 can be read either way, which is why the context decides: 사는 곳 is the place where one lives, while buying needs an object. |
Getting to Know a New Classmate
Two classmates talk about their homes before class. They ask where each person lives now and where one of them lived before.
Jisu
지금 어디에 살아요?
Jigeum eodie sarayo?
Where do you live now?
Alex
학교 근처에 살아요.
Hakgyo geuncheoe sarayo.
I live near the school.
Jisu
작년에도 거기에 살았어요?
Jangnyeonedo geogie sarasseoyo?
Did you live there last year too?
Alex
아니요. 올해부터 살아요. 내년에도 여기서 살고 싶어요.
Aniyo. Olhaebuteo sarayo. Naenyeonedo yeogiseo salgo sipeoyo.
No. I’ve lived here since this year. I want to live here next year too.
살아요 states a current home, 살았어요 asks about a past residence, and 살고 싶어요 expresses a wish about continuing to live somewhere. 거기 and 여기 refer back to the area near the school. Neither person needs to give a street address to answer this kind of friendly question.
Phrases about Home and Everyday Life
혼자 살다 means to live alone. 같이 살다 means to live together. These phrases describe a living arrangement; 같이 살다 does not by itself tell you that the people are married. They may be relatives, partners or roommates.
잘 살다 has more than one everyday reading. It can describe living well or being financially comfortable. In a wish for someone's future, it can mean having a good life. The words around the phrase show whether the speaker is talking about money or happiness.
먹고살다 means to make a living or support oneself. Its literal parts are eating and living, but together they concern earning enough for everyday life. This compound is written as one word, unlike a loose list of two unrelated actions.
사는 곳 means the place where someone lives. It is useful when asking about an area or neighborhood without asking for a full address. The modifier 사는 describes 곳; it is not a separate tense-marked statement.
Where Will You Hear 살다?
Introductions often include a city or neighborhood with 살아요. Housing conversations add whether someone lives alone, with family or with a roommate. A sentence about residence does not tell you whether the person owns the home or rents it.
In a tense drama scene, 살다 may concern being alive rather than a home address. Nearby references to injury, danger or death make that reading clear. The same dictionary meaning “live” covers both residence and life itself.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 집 | home / house | Names the home, without saying who owns it. |
| 동네 | neighborhood | Gives a local area rather than a full address. |
| 이사 | moving house | Names a change of residence. |
| 생활 | daily life / living | Describes how someone lives rather than only where. |
The house and home vocabulary lesson supplies the rooms and housing types used in longer answers.
Keep Residence Separate from Being Somewhere Now
살아요 describes where someone lives. 있어요 can simply say where someone is at the moment. A person can live in Seoul but be in Busan for the weekend; a current location is not automatically a home.
사세요 is useful when respectfully asking where another person lives. When answering about your own home, use 살아요. The respectful form drops ㄹ, but that does not make 사다, “buy”, the underlying verb. A place phrase such as 서울에 helps identify the residence meaning.
살 거예요 is shared with 사다 too. In a housing conversation it can mean “will live”; in a shopping conversation it can mean “will buy”. If a short message is unclear, look for a place of residence or a thing to purchase in the previous line.
Mini Drill: Keep or Drop ㄹ?
- Give the formal present of 살다.
- Complete “the place where I live”: ____ 곳.
- Change 살아요 to the polite past.
- Give the conditional meaning “if someone lives”.
Show drill answers
- 삽니다: ㄹ drops before the formal ending.
- 사는 곳: ㄹ drops before ㄴ.
- 살았어요: ㄹ stays before a vowel.
- 살면: add 면 directly, keeping ㄹ.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 같이 살다 always mean being married?
- Does 살아요 say that someone owns their home?
- What does 먹고살다 mean?
Show answers
- No. Roommates and family members can live together too.
- No. It describes residence, not ownership.
- To make a living or support oneself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is It 사는 and Not 살는?
The stem-final ㄹ drops before ㄴ, so the modifier is 사는. The same rule gives 사세요 and 삽니다.
Which Particle Goes with the Place?
에 or 에서, as in 서울에 살아요 (I live in Seoul). Both particles are common with 살다.
Is the Honorific Form Irregular?
It follows the ㄹ-drop rule: the ㄹ drops before the ㅅ of the ending, so the honorific polite form is 사세요. It looks the same as the honorific of 사다 (to buy), so context decides.
How Is 살다 Different from 사다?
살다 is to live and 사다 is to buy. Their forms overlap at 사세요, 삽니다 and 사는.
Which Words Are Related to 살다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 지내다 for spending time. 죽다 is the opposite of being alive, 태어나다 covers being born, and 사다 covers buying. The Korean verb conjugator checks any form of 살다; the whole Korean verb dictionary lists the other entries, and the class rule is on the ㄹ-drop verbs and adjectives page.