Key Facts
- Hangul: 싣다 (sitda)
- Pronunciation: [싣따]
- Meaning: to load; to carry (cargo)
- Level: B2
- Stem: 싣
- Conjugation class: ㄷ-irregular
- Grammar: transitive
What Does 싣다 Mean?
싣다 is for goods and passengers' belongings going onto a vehicle: 짐을 차에 싣다 (to load luggage into a car). The cargo takes 을/를 and the vehicle takes 에, as in 트럭에 짐을 싣다. A second sense comes from newspapers: 기사를 싣다 (to run an article), and the passive 신문에 기사가 실리다 is often seen in headlines.
People ride a vehicle with 타다, but cargo is loaded with 싣다. The level is B2.
How Do You Pronounce 싣다?
싣다 is read [싣따]: ㄷ stays and the next ㄷ is tensed. Before ㄴ it is [신는] (the modifier 싣는). Vowel endings change ㄷ to ㄹ, so 실어요 is [시러요] and 실었어요 is [시러써요]. Consonant endings keep the ㄷ: 싣습니다 is [싣씀니다].
How Do You Use 싣다 in a Sentence?
아저씨가 짐을 차에 실어요.
The man loads the luggage into the car.
실어요 with 아저씨가 and 차에: a man loading luggage into the car.
이삿짐을 트럭에 실었어요.
We loaded the moving boxes onto the truck.
실었어요 with 이삿짐을 and 트럭에: moving boxes onto a truck.
짐을 실으면 출발할게요.
I will leave once I have loaded the luggage.
실으면 with 출발할게요 makes a promise: I will leave once the luggage is on board.
How Does Sitda Conjugation Work?
ㄷ-irregular stems keep ㄷ before consonants and use ㄹ before vowels. 싣 + 어요 becomes 실어요; the past is 실었어요; the 으 forms are 실으세요 and 실으면. Consonant endings keep ㄷ: 싣습니다, 싣는, 싣지 않아요. The future is 실을 거예요.
싣다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 실어요 | ||
| Polite past | 실었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 실을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 싣겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 싣습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 실었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 실을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 실어 | ||
| Casual past | 실었어 | ||
| Casual future | 실을 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 싣고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 실으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 실어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 실으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 싣는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 실은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 실을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 실어요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 싣지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite now | 실어요 | [시러요] |
| Polite past | 실었어요 | [시러써요] |
| Future plan | 실을 거예요 | [시를꺼예요] |
| Future guess | 싣겠어요 | [싣께써요] |
| Formal now | 싣습니다 | [싣씀니다] |
| Formal past | 실었습니다 | [시럳씀니다] |
| Formal future | 실을 것입니다 | [시를꺼심니다] |
| Casual now | 실어 | [시러] |
| Casual past | 실었어 | [시러써] |
| Casual future | 실을 거야 | [시를꺼야] |
| Want to | 싣고 싶어요 | [싣꼬 시퍼요] |
| Honorific | 실으세요 | [시르세요] |
| Because | 실어서 | [시러서] |
| If | 실으면 | [시르면] |
| Modifier now | 싣는 | [신는] |
| Modifier past | 실은 | [시른] |
| Modifier next | 실을 | [시를] |
| Short negative | 안 실어요 | [안 시러요] |
| Long negative | 싣지 않아요 | [싣찌 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 싣어요
Correct: ✓ 실어요
Why: 싣다 is a ㄷ irregular verb: ㄷ becomes ㄹ before a vowel ending, so 싣 + 어요 becomes 실어요. Check the ending, not the verb: 싣고 and 싣습니다 are right, while 싣어요 is not.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 싣다 |
|---|---|
| 타다 | 타다 is for people riding a vehicle; 싣다 is for putting goods or cargo on it. |
| 넣다 | 넣다 is to put something into a container; 싣다 is to load something onto a vehicle. |
Loading a Car before a Move
Two housemates are putting their belongings into a car. They check what is already loaded and decide where the remaining box should go.
Jisu
짐을 다 실었어요?
Jimeul da sireosseoyo?
Have you loaded all the luggage?
Alex
아니요. 이 상자도 실을 거예요.
Aniyo. I sangjado sireul geoyeyo.
No. I’m going to load this box too.
Jisu
그럼 상자는 뒤에 실어요.
Geureom sangjaneun dwie sireoyo.
Then let’s put the box in the back.
Alex
네. 다 실으면 출발해요.
Ne. Da sireumyeon chulbalhaeyo.
Okay. Let’s leave once everything is loaded.
실었어요 checks the completed action, 실을 거예요 describes the next plan, and 실으면 sets a condition for leaving. 상자는 makes the box the topic of the suggestion. The car is already understood, so both speakers can omit 차에 without changing the loading sense.
Cargo, Vehicles, and the Loading Pattern
짐을 싣다 means “to load luggage” or “to load a load”. 이삿짐을 싣다 is the more specific phrase for loading belongings during a move. The noun before 을/를 tells you what is being loaded, while 에 marks the vehicle or place receiving it. The same structure works for a car, truck, ship, or aircraft.
짐을 차에 싣다 focuses on putting the luggage into a vehicle. 짐을 넣다 focuses more generally on putting it inside something. Loading luggage into the trunk can be described from either viewpoint, but putting a wallet into a handbag does not normally call for the cargo verb 싣다.
짐을 내리다 means unloading or taking luggage off a vehicle. It names the reverse stage of the journey. A moving-day conversation may therefore use 싣다 before departure and 내리다 after arrival. The fact that the luggage travels with you does not make it the subject that “rides” the vehicle in the ordinary passenger pattern.
Publishing: Why Articles Are Also “Loaded”
기사를 싣다 means “to publish” or “to run an article”. 사진을 싣다 is used for including a photograph in a publication. English can likewise speak of a newspaper “carrying” a story. There is no physical loading scene; the newspaper or magazine is the place where the material appears.
신문에 기사가 실리다 shifts attention to the article that appears in the newspaper. 실리다 is a related passive verb: the article is published, rather than an editor publishing it. The Korean Basic Dictionary entry for 싣다 includes both loading and publishing uses. Recognizing the noun 기사 keeps a news sentence from turning into an imaginary delivery scene.
Where Will You Hear 싣다?
On moving day, at a loading area, or beside a full car, 싣다 tells you what must go on board. The past 실었어요 is useful for checking whether something is already packed into the vehicle. It does not by itself say that the vehicle has departed or reached its destination.
In journalism and publishing discussions, the object may be a story or photograph rather than furniture or boxes. Look for the publication marked with 에 and the material marked with 을/를. The particles stay useful even when the meaning moves from transport to printed content.
타다 is the usual choice for saying you get on or ride a bus. 싣다 describes putting a load on board. For a straightforward passenger sentence, start from 타다; for getting luggage onto the bus, start from 싣다. Keeping the traveler and their belongings separate makes the choice easier.
The ㄷ Returns before Consonants
실어요 can tempt you to guess that the dictionary form is based on 실-. The actual stem is 싣-. Its ㄷ becomes ㄹ before vowel endings, so 실어요, 실었어요, 실으면, and 실은 belong together. Before consonants it stays ㄷ, as in 싣고 and 싣습니다.
The present modifier is 싣는, but the completed-action modifier is 실은. This is a useful tense contrast before a noun: the spelling changes because the endings attach differently, as well as because the time changes. The pronunciation [신는] for 싣는 changes the sound again, without changing the written ㄷ.
Write 실을 거예요 with a space before 거예요. Keep 실으세요 for the respectful or polite instruction rather than treating the changed ㄹ as an original ㄹ stem. The vowel-ending change does not remove the 으 from that form.
Words around Loading and Transport
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 짐 | luggage / load | A broad word for belongings to transport. |
| 이삿짐 | belongings for a move | More specific than ordinary travel luggage. |
| 트럭 | truck | A common vehicle for large loads. |
| 내리다 | to lower / unload | Describes taking luggage off at the other end. |
The transportation vocabulary hub links to car, bus, and train lessons for the vehicles involved in these loading situations.
Mini Drill: Choose ㄷ or ㄹ
- Give the polite present of 싣다.
- Give the formal present.
- Give the present modifier before a noun.
- Give the conditional meaning “if / once it is loaded”.
Show drill answers
- 실어요: ㄷ becomes ㄹ before 어요.
- 싣습니다: ㄷ stays before 습니다.
- 싣는.
- 실으면.
Quick Self-Test
- Which particle marks the vehicle receiving the luggage?
- What does 기사를 싣다 mean?
- Does 실었어요 by itself mean the car has departed?
Show answers
- 에, as in 차에.
- To publish or run an article.
- No. It reports that loading happened.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 싣다?
It is 실어요.
Which Verb Do I Use for Riding a Vehicle?
Use 타다 for people; 싣다 is for cargo.
What Is the Difference from 넣다?
넣다 puts something into a container, while 싣다 puts it on a vehicle.
Which Other Verb Follows the Same ㄷ Pattern?
듣다 and 깨닫다 both do.
Which Words Are Related to 싣다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 듣다 and 깨닫다 for the same ㄷ pattern, then 타다 and 넣다.
The ㄷ-irregular lesson explains the pattern behind 실어요, and the conjugator checks any other form. The dictionary lists the rest.