Key Facts
- Hangul: 열리다 (yeollida)
- Meaning: to be opened; to open (intransitive)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 열리
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: intransitive
What Does 열리다 Mean?
열리다 covers two situations. The first is something opening by itself or being opened, such as 문이 열리다 (the door opens) or 가게가 열리다 (a shop opens). The second is an event taking place, as in 회의가 열리다 (a meeting is held). In both, the thing that opens or is held takes 이/가 and there is no object.
News writing often uses it for events being held, and 전시회가 열리다 is a typical example. Because the subject does not control the event, a want-to form is not normally made from this verb.
How Do You Pronounce 열리다?
열리다 has three syllables, yeol-li-da. The ㄹ at the end of 열 and the ㄹ at the start of 리 join into a long l. In 열립니다, the ㅂ turns into ㅁ before ㄴ and is pronounced [열림니다]. Past forms such as 열렸어요 are said [열려써요].
How Do You Use 열리다 in a Sentence?
문이 열려요.
The door opens.
열려요 is the simplest door sentence: the door opens, and no person is named.
가게 문이 아침에 열렸어요.
The shop opened in the morning.
열렸어요 with 아침에 gives a time. The shop's opening is reported as a fact about the shop, not about a worker.
내일 축제가 열리면 같이 가요.
If the festival is held tomorrow, let us go together.
열리면 follows 축제가 as the subject: if the festival is held tomorrow, let us go. Here 열리다 means 'be held', not 'be physically opened'.
How Does Yeollida Conjugation Work?
The stem 열리 ends in 리, and 리 + 어 contracts to 려, so you get 열려요 and 열렸어요. Other endings keep 리: 열립니다, 열리세요, 열리는. The future is 열릴 거예요, the negatives are 안 열려요 and 열리지 않아요.
열리다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 열려요 | ||
| Polite past | 열렸어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 열릴 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 열리겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 열립니다 | ||
| Formal past | 열렸습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 열릴 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 열려 | ||
| Casual past | 열렸어 | ||
| Casual future | 열릴 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 열리세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 열려서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 열리면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 열리는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 열린 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 열릴 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 열려요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 열리지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 열렸어요 | [열려써요] |
| Future plan | 열릴 거예요 | [열릴꺼예요] |
| Future guess | 열리겠어요 | [열리게써요] |
| Formal now | 열립니다 | [열림니다] |
| Formal past | 열렸습니다 | [열렫씀니다] |
| Formal future | 열릴 것입니다 | [열릴꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 열렸어 | [열려써] |
| Casual future | 열릴 거야 | [열릴꺼야] |
| Long negative | 열리지 않아요 | [열리지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 문을 열려요.
Correct: ✓ 문이 열려요.
Why: 열리다 is intransitive and takes 이/가; to open it yourself, use 문을 열어요. Choose the focus: 문이 열려요 describes the door opening; 문을 열어요 with 열다 describes someone opening it.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 열리다 |
|---|---|
| 열다 | 열다 is the transitive verb 'to open something'; 열리다 is the intransitive 'to be opened', which leaves the doer unspecified. |
| 닫히다 | 닫히다 is the opposite: to be closed. |
At a Festival Information Booth
A visitor asks a volunteer about a festival location. Notice how the same event can be described in the present, past and future without naming its organisers.
Visitor
오늘 축제는 어디에서 열려요?
Oneul chukjeneun eodieseo yeollyeoyo?
Where is today’s festival being held?
Volunteer
시청 앞에서 열려요.
Sicheong apeseo yeollyeoyo.
It’s being held in front of City Hall.
Visitor
작년에도 거기에서 열렸어요?
Jangnyeonedo geogieseo yeollyeosseoyo?
Was it held there last year too?
Volunteer
네. 내년에도 여기에서 열릴 거예요.
Ne. Naenyeonedo yeogieseo yeollil geoyeyo.
Yes. It will be held here next year too.
열려요 describes the scheduled event, 열렸어요 looks back, and 열릴 거예요 gives an expectation about next year. The location uses 에서 because it is where the event takes place. 거기 points to the place just mentioned; 여기 presents it as the speakers’ current location.
Which Combinations with 열리다 Are Useful?
| Combination | Meaning | What the subject tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 문이 열리다 | a door opens | A physical opening, with the door as subject. |
| 회의가 열리다 | a meeting is held | People gather for a scheduled discussion. |
| 전시회가 열리다 | an exhibition is held | An organised event takes place. |
| 길이 열리다 | a road or opportunity opens up | The surrounding story decides whether it is literal. |
길이 열리다 can describe an accessible road, but a discussion of someone's future may use it for a new opportunity. The image is a route becoming available. It does not necessarily mean someone physically opened a gate. Start with the door and event combinations before trying this figurative use.
For a festival, English often says “takes place” rather than “opens”. Translating 축제가 열리다 as “the festival is opened” can wrongly suggest only the opening ceremony. 열리다 can describe the event as a whole. A poster announcing dates and a news report describing yesterday's festival can therefore use different tenses of the same verb.
What Makes 열리다 Tricky?
The ㄹ you see inside 열리 is not a stem-final ㄹ. The stem ends in the vowel ㅣ, so 열리다 does not follow the ㄹ-dropping pattern of 열다. This explains the contrast between 열립니다 and the active verb's formal form 엽니다. Learn each stem before choosing an ending.
An intransitive sentence leaves the opener out of focus; it does not prove that nobody caused the opening. A person, the wind or an automatic mechanism may have opened the door. 문이 열렸어요 reports the change without identifying that cause. To ask a person to open something, use 열다 in a request instead.
The honorific row 열리세요 is a possible grammatical shape, but a door or festival normally does not need an honorific ending. An announcement remains polite with 열립니다. Respect for the listener does not require treating the door as a respected person.
The modifiers also carry useful distinctions: 열리는 문 is a door that opens, while 열린 문 is an open door. With an event noun, 열린 can describe something held already. Use the noun and time expression together to decide whether English needs an adjective such as “open” or a phrase such as “held yesterday”.
Where Will You See 열리다?
Event listings, museum notices and local news use 열리다 with a date and venue. 열립니다 suits a formal notice; 열려요 suits a conversation about weekend plans. At a building entrance, an automatic-door announcement concerns the door's movement. It is a different situation from a sign telling visitors to push or pull.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful next distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 문 | door | The object that opens or closes. |
| 입구 | entrance | The place to enter, rather than the moving door. |
| 축제 | festival | An event that can be held over several days. |
| 전시회 | exhibition | An event you may visit inside a gallery or museum. |
The travel attractions vocabulary lesson teaches words for the places you visit. Pair a destination word with an event word when asking what is happening there.
Mini Drill: Opening or Being Held
- Supply the marker: 문___ 열렸어요.
- Change 열려요 to the polite past.
- Complete “an exhibition being held”: ___ 전시회.
- Give the formal present for a festival notice.
Show drill answers
- 이: 문이 열렸어요.
- 열렸어요.
- 열리는 전시회.
- 열립니다. The festival needs no honorific subject ending.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 열리다 identify the person who opens a door?
- Which marker names the venue of a festival: 에서 or 을?
- Does 길이 열리다 always describe a physical road?
Show answers
- No. It focuses on what opens or is held.
- 에서 marks where the event takes place.
- No. It can mean that an opportunity becomes available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 열리다 'to Open' or 'to Be Opened'?
Both readings are right, because the doer is not identified. English picks 'open' when the door moves by itself and 'be opened' when someone clearly did it.
How Do I Say a Meeting or Festival Is Held?
Use the event with 이/가: 내일 축제가 열리면 같이 가요 means 'if the festival is held tomorrow, let us go together'.
Can I Make a Want-to Form?
Not normally. Wanting needs a subject who controls the action, and the thing that opens does not.
What Is the Opposite of 열리다?
It is 닫히다, the intransitive 'to be closed'.
Which Words Are Related to 열리다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 닫히다 for the closing partner, 열다 for the transitive 'to open something', and 닫다 and 시작하다 nearby.
The polite present recipe explains the pattern behind 열려요, and the conjugator checks any other form. The dictionary lists the rest.