Key Facts
- Hangul: 섞다 (seokda)
- Meaning: to mix
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: verb
- Stem: 섞
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: What is mixed takes 을/를 (색을 섞어요).
- Usage: Pronounced [석따]. Often with A와/과 B or A를 B에 섞다.
What Does 섞다 Mean?
What is mixed takes 을/를, as in 색을 섞어요. It often appears as A와/과 B or as A를 B에 섞다, for example 물과 주스를 섞다.
Senses:
- to mix: Mix things together: 물과 주스를 섞다.
How Do You Pronounce 섞다?
섞다 is pronounced [석따]. The final ㄲ of 섞 is read as a plain ㄱ at the end of the syllable, and the ㄷ of 다 turns tense. Before a vowel the ㄲ moves forward, so 섞어요 is [서꺼요]. The formal present 섞습니다 is [석씀니다].
How Do You Use 섞다 in a Sentence?
물과 주스를 섞어요.
I mix water and juice.
물과 주스를 섞어요 pairs two items with 과 and marks the group with 을/를.
밀가루와 계란을 섞었어요.
I mixed flour and eggs.
밀가루와 계란을 섞었어요 is a cooking sentence in the past, [서꺼써요].
두 색을 섞으면 새 색이 나와요.
If you mix two colors, a new color appears.
두 색을 섞으면 새 색이 나와요 uses the 으 conditional, [서끄면].
How Does Seokda (seokkda) Conjugation Work?
섞다 is regular. The stem ends in a consonant, so endings that start with 아 or 어 attach directly (섞어요, 섞었어요), and endings that begin with 으 keep it (섞으면, 섞으세요). 고 and 지 endings attach to the bare stem.
섞다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 섞어요 | ||
| Polite past | 섞었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 섞을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 섞겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 섞습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 섞었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 섞을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 섞어 | ||
| Casual past | 섞었어 | ||
| Casual future | 섞을 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 섞고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 섞으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 섞어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 섞으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 섞는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 섞은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 섞을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 섞어요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 섞지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 섞어요 | [서꺼요] |
| Polite past | 섞었어요 | [서꺼써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 섞을 거예요 | [서끌꺼예요] |
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 섞겠어요 | [석께써요] |
| Formal present | 섞습니다 | [석씀니다] |
| Formal past | 섞었습니다 | [서껃씀니다] |
| Formal future | 섞을 것입니다 | [서끌꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 섞어 | [서꺼] |
| Casual past | 섞었어 | [서꺼써] |
| Casual future | 섞을 거야 | [서끌꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 섞고 싶어요 | [석꼬 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 섞으세요 | [서끄세요] |
| Because / and then | 섞어서 | [서꺼서] |
| If (conditional) | 섞으면 | [서끄면] |
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 섞는 | [성는] |
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 섞은 | [서끈] |
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 섞을 | [서끌] |
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 섞어요 | [안 서꺼요] |
| Negative (long form) | 섞지 않아요 | [석찌 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 물감을 썩어요
Correct: ✓ 물감을 섞어요
Why: 썩다 means to rot; mixing is 섞다. The two look alike, but they differ in the first consonant (ㅅ against ㅆ) and in the final consonant.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 섞다?
| Word | How to tell it from 섞다 |
|---|---|
| 젓다 | To stir. |
| 비비다 | To mix food by stirring it together, as in 비빔밥. |
| 섞이다 | Intransitive: to get mixed. |
젓다 is to stir. 비비다 is to mix food by stirring it together, as in 비빔밥. 섞이다 is intransitive and means to get mixed.
Where Does 섞다 Turn Up?
Cooking and painting are the typical scenes: a recipe mixes ingredients, often as A를 B에 섞다, and an art lesson mixes paints. 끓이다 and 볶다 are often the next steps in a recipe.
Dialogue: Mixing Paint in an Art Class
A learner asks a classmate about making green paint. The conversation moves from a regular mixing action to a result and then a completed action.
Yuna:
노란색과 파란색을 섞어요?
Noransaekgwa paransaegeul seokkeoyo?
Do you mix yellow and blue?
Ben:
네, 두 색을 섞으면 초록색이 나와요.
Ne, du saegeul seokkeumyeon choroksaegi nawayo.
Yes, if you mix the two colors, you get green.
Yuna:
저도 두 색을 섞었어요.
Jeodo du saegeul seokkeosseoyo.
I mixed the two colors too.
Ben:
물을 조금 섞어요.
Mureul jogeum seokkeoyo.
I mix in a little water.
두 색을 groups the two colors as the object. 물을 조금 섞어요 adds an amount: 조금 means a little. The last line describes adding water to the paint already under discussion, so the paint does not need to be named again.
Which Phrases Use 섞다 Literally or Figuratively?
- 잘 섞다 — to mix well. In a recipe, 잘 asks for thorough mixing. It gives no precise speed or duration; another instruction may provide those details.
- 골고루 섞다 — to mix evenly. 골고루 focuses on distribution. When seasoning is added to a bowl, the aim is to spread it through the ingredients rather than leave it in one spot.
- 말을 섞다 — to exchange words. Literally “mix words,” this means talking with someone. In a negative context, it can express not wanting any conversation with that person, so it can sound unfriendly.
- 농담을 섞다 — to add jokes. A speaker can mix jokes into an explanation or conversation. Nothing physical is being blended; the jokes become part of the speech.
The same object pattern carries over to figurative uses. In 농담을 섞다, 농담 takes 을 because it is what the speaker adds. The listener uses the context to understand whether 섞다 concerns ingredients, colors, or the contents of speech.
Where Will You Hear 섞다?
Cooking instructions, art lessons, and card games all use 섞다. 카드를 섞다 means to shuffle cards: the cards change order rather than dissolve into a mixture. This is a useful reminder that English may need a different translation even when Korean keeps the same verb.
In a kitchen, 섞다 describes combining ingredients. 젓다 describes stirring, which can be the movement used to combine them. 비비다 often appears with rice and other foods mixed together before eating. A recipe chooses the verb for the action it wants, rather than treating every motion in a bowl as the same thing.
섞이다 changes the viewpoint. With 섞다, someone mixes something; with 섞이다, something gets mixed. For example, 색을 섞다 names an action on colors, while 색이 섞이다 describes colors becoming mixed. The object marker changes to a subject marker because the colors now occupy a different role.
What Should You Watch in the Spelling?
Keep one ㅅ at the beginning and ㄲ at the end of 섞. 썩다 means to rot, so reversing which consonant is doubled changes the word. Reading the whole syllable matters here: the first consonant and the final consonant both carry information.
The table's 섞는 has a nasal sound before ㄴ, but its written stem remains 섞. Likewise, 섞어요 moves the final consonant into the next spoken syllable without changing the spelling. 섞다 is regular: these sound changes do not require a new conjugation stem.
A를 B에 섞다 highlights an addition to a base mixture. A와 B를 섞다 presents the two ingredients together. Both can describe the same bowl, but the first helps when a recipe has already prepared B and now tells you what to add.
Words for Mixing and Preparation
| Korean | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 재료 | ingredient; material | Covers food ingredients and materials used in other tasks. |
| 양념 | seasoning | Often needs to be distributed evenly. |
| 반죽 | dough; batter | A mixture whose next step depends on the recipe. |
| 물감 | paint | Used when discussing mixing colors. |
Follow the Korean cooking vocabulary lesson for the preparation words that surround 섞다 in recipes.
Mini Drill: Action or Result?
- Change 섞다 to the polite past.
- Choose the particle in “mix the colors”: 색을 or 색이.
- Which verb means “get mixed”: 섞다 or 섞이다?
- Write the conditional form meaning “if you mix.”
Show drill answers
- 섞었어요.
- 색을: 색을 섞다.
- 섞이다.
- 섞으면.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 카드를 섞다 mean?
- Does 말을 섞다 mean blending a physical material?
- Which spelling means mixing: 섞다 or 썩다?
Show answers
- To shuffle cards.
- No. It means exchanging words or talking.
- 섞다. 썩다 means to rot.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Pronounce 섞다?
[석따].
What Is the past Tense?
섞었어요.
How Is 섞다 Different from 썩다?
썩다 means to rot.
What Is the Intransitive Form?
섞이다, which means to get mixed.
Which Words Are Related to 섞다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 젓다 and 비비다, then 풀다. The rule behind 섞어요 (to mix) is in polite present recipe, and the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems. 섞다 (to mix) sits beside 풀다 and 끓이다 in the Korean verb dictionary.