Key Facts
- Hangul: 시작하다 (sijakada)
- Pronunciation: [시자카다]
- Meaning: to start; to begin
- Level: A1
- Stem: 시작하
- Class: 하다 type
- Objects: both
- Honorific polite: 시작하세요
What Does 시작하다 Mean?
시작하다 means to start or begin: to start an activity or event, as in 일을 시작하다 or 수업이 시작하다. It works both ways. With a person doing the starting it takes 을/를 (공부를 시작하다), and with an event as the subject it takes 이/가 (수업이 시작해요). With an event as the subject, the passive 시작되다 is also common, especially in writing.
Senses:
- to start; to begin. Used for starting an activity or event: 일을 시작하다, 수업이 시작하다.
Very common. Typical patterns: N을/를 시작하다, -기 시작하다 (begin to ...). The noun 시작 means 'start'.
How Do You Pronounce 시작하다?
The spelling and the sound differ: 시작하다 is read [시자카다], because the ㄱ and ㅎ merge into an aspirated sound. The ending part follows the spelling.
Pronunciation of each form:
- 시작해요 [시자캐요]
- 시작했어요 [시자캐써요]
- 시작할 거예요 [시자칼꺼예요]
- 시작하겠어요 [시자카게써요]
- 시작합니다 [시자캄니다]
- 시작했습니다 [시자캗씀니다]
- 시작할 것입니다 [시자칼꺼심니다]
- 시작해 [시자캐]
- 시작했어 [시자캐써]
- 시작할 거야 [시자칼꺼야]
- 시작하고 싶어요 [시자카고 시퍼요]
- 시작하세요 [시자카세요]
- 시작해서 [시자캐서]
- 시작하면 [시자카면]
- 시작하는 [시자카는]
- 시작한 [시자칸]
- 시작할 [시자칼]
- 시작하지 않아요 [시자카지 아나요]
How Do You Use 시작하다 in a Sentence?
수업이 아홉 시에 시작해요.
Class starts at nine.
The subject is the class, 수업이, so the verb takes 이/가 and has no object. 아홉 시에 gives the time. (시작해요)
어제 운동을 시작했어요.
I started exercising yesterday.
The subject is a person, and the object 운동을 marks what began. 어제 sets the past, and 시작했어요 is the past form. (시작했어요)
내일부터 한국어를 시작할 거예요.
I will start Korean tomorrow.
내일부터 means from tomorrow, and the plan form 시작할 거예요 states an intended start. 한국어를 is the object. (시작할 거예요)
How Does Sijakada Conjugation Work?
시작하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 시작해요 | ||
| Polite past | 시작했어요 | ||
| Polite future | 시작할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 시작하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 시작합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 시작했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 시작할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 시작해 | ||
| Casual past | 시작했어 | ||
| Casual future | 시작할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 시작하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 시작하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 시작해서 | ||
| Conditional | 시작하면 | ||
| Present modifier | 시작하는 | ||
| Past modifier | 시작한 | ||
| Future modifier | 시작할 | ||
| Short negative | 시작 안 해요 | ||
| Long negative | 시작하지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 시작해요 | [시자캐요] |
| Polite past | 시작했어요 | [시자캐써요] |
| Polite future | 시작할 거예요 | [시자칼꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 시작하겠어요 | [시자카게써요] |
| Formal present | 시작합니다 | [시자캄니다] |
| Formal past | 시작했습니다 | [시자캗씀니다] |
| Formal future | 시작할 것입니다 | [시자칼꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 시작해 | [시자캐] |
| Casual past | 시작했어 | [시자캐써] |
| Casual future | 시작할 거야 | [시자칼꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 시작하고 싶어요 | [시자카고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 시작하세요 | [시자카세요] |
| Because / and then | 시작해서 | [시자캐서] |
| Conditional | 시작하면 | [시자카면] |
| Present modifier | 시작하는 | [시자카는] |
| Past modifier | 시작한 | [시자칸] |
| Future modifier | 시작할 | [시자칼] |
| Short negative | 시작 안 해요 | as written |
| Long negative | 시작하지 않아요 | [시자카지 아나요] |
Is 시작하다 Regular or Irregular?
시작하다 is a 하다 verb built on the noun 시작 (start). The 하 meets 여 and contracts to 해 before any 아/어 ending: 시작해요, 시작했어요, 시작해서. See the 하다 to 해요 page. For negatives, the page on negating 하다 verbs explains the placement.
Which Mistake Do Learners Make with 시작하다, to Start?
Wrong: ✗ 새 일을 시작돼요
Correct: ✓ 새 일을 시작해요
Why: 시작되다 is passive and takes no object; use 시작하다 with 을/를.
Learners mix up 시작하다 and its passive partner 시작되다 (to be started). 시작되다 takes no object, so it cannot have 을/를. When someone starts the thing, use 시작하다 with 을/를: 새 일을 시작해요.
How Does 시작하다, to Start, Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 끝나다 | 끝나다 is the opposite: to end. A class can 시작하다 at nine and 끝나다 at ten. |
| 출발하다 | 출발하다 is to set out on a trip. 시작하다 is the wider word for beginning any activity, but it is not used for leaving a place. |
Before an Evening Class
A learner checks the start time with the instructor. The instructor gives the regular time, and the learner describes when they began studying.
Learner
수업이 지금 시작해요?
Sueobi jigeum sijakaeyo?
Does class start now?
Instructor
아니요. 일곱 시에 시작해요.
Aniyo. Ilgop sie sijakaeyo.
No. It starts at seven.
Learner
저는 어제 한국어 공부를 시작했어요.
Jeoneun eoje hangugeo gongbureul sijakaesseoyo.
I started studying Korean yesterday.
The first two lines have the class as the understood subject. The final line switches to a person starting an activity, so 한국어 공부 takes 를. The endings show present and past, while the particles show two different ways to organise the same verb.
How Does “Begin to” Work?
The pattern -기 시작하다 describes the beginning of another action. Attach 기 to the action stem, leave a space, and then conjugate 시작하다. 먹기 시작하다 means “begin to eat”, and 읽기 시작하다 means “begin to read”. The first verb names what begins; the final verb carries the tense and politeness.
This pattern also works when nobody deliberately starts an activity. 비가 오기 시작하다 means “it begins to rain”. The rain is beginning on its own. There is no person doing the starting and no object marker after 비; the weather expression keeps its subject marker 가.
Compare 공부를 시작하다 with 공부하기 시작하다. Both can describe beginning to study. The first treats studying as a noun activity; the second presents it as an action that begins. You do not need the longer pattern every time an activity noun already says what you are starting.
Where Will You Hear 시작하다?
Teachers and meeting leaders use 시작합니다 to announce that they are beginning. It sounds more formal than 시작해요 and fits a speaker addressing a group. Among close friends, 시작해 can be a casual instruction to start. The activity may be obvious from the scene, so neither sentence needs to repeat it.
Timetables and event notices often use 시작 시간, “start time”. 시작 is the noun; 시간 means time. If a notice lists both 시작 and 종료, it is giving the beginning and end. These labels do not tell you whether an audience member should arrive earlier for entry or preparation.
처음부터 means “from the beginning”. 다시 시작하다 means “start again”. Together these ideas help when restarting a game, a recording or a piece of work. 다시 asks for a new attempt; it does not necessarily mean returning to the very first step unless the context says so.
Beginning, Continuing and Finishing
새로 시작하다 means to make a fresh start or begin anew. 새로 describes the new beginning; it does not mean the activity itself has never existed. Someone returning to study after a long break can use the phrase even if they studied before.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 시작 | start / beginning | The noun inside 시작하다. |
| 처음 | first time / beginning | Useful when explaining that an experience is new. |
| 준비 | preparation | What you do before the activity begins. |
| 끝 | end | Names the other boundary of an activity. |
The school vocabulary lesson teaches words for classes and study routines, where questions about start times come up often.
What Is Tricky about the Spelling?
Keep the full spelling 시작하 even though the ㄱ and ㅎ combine in pronunciation. This is a sound rule, so you still write 시작해요 rather than copying the spoken consonant into the spelling. In -기 시작하다, the space separates the first action from 시작하다; the ending 해요 stays attached to 시작.
Mini Drill: What Starts?
- Give the polite past of 시작하다.
- Pick the marker for a class that begins: 수업이 or 수업을?
- Complete “begin to eat”: 먹___ 시작하다.
- Give the plan form for “will start”.
Show drill answers
- 시작했어요.
- 수업이, when the class is the subject.
- 먹기 시작하다.
- 시작할 거예요.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 다시 시작하다 mean?
- Does -기 시작하다 require a person to cause the beginning?
- Which noun phrase means “start time”?
Show answers
- To start again.
- No. It can describe rain or another event beginning.
- 시작 시간.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 시작하다 Take 을/를 or 이/가?
Both. A person starts something with 을/를 (공부를 시작하다), and an event that starts takes 이/가 (수업이 시작해요). For events, 시작되다 is also common.
How Is 시작하다 Pronounced?
It is read [시자카다]: the ㄱ of 작 and the ㅎ of 하 merge into the aspirated ㅋ.
How Do I Say "Begin to Do Something"?
Use the pattern -기 시작하다, which attaches to a verb stem (begin to do).
Why Is 새 일을 시작돼요 Wrong?
시작되다 is passive and takes no object. When you start something, use 시작하다 with 을/를: 새 일을 시작해요.
Which Words Are Related to 시작하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 끝나다 for the opposite and 끝내다 for finishing something yourself. 계속하다 covers continuing, and 출발하다 covers leaving. The Korean verb conjugator checks any form of 시작하다; the whole Korean verb dictionary lists the other entries, and the class rule is on the 하다 to 해요 page.