Korean Verb Conjugation (The ㅗ Case)

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Let’s learn how to conjugate regular Korean verbs in present tense. They are regular because no significant changes are applied apart from contraction. This section focuses on verb stems that end in the vowel ㅗ.

오다 to come

보다 to see

쏘다 to shoot

속다 to fool

녹다 to melt

좁다 to be small/not spacious

The syllable 다 is a dictionary form and it is not used in an actual sentence. We get rid of it so what remains is the verb stem. 

오다– 오

보다– 보

쏘다– 쏘

속다– 속

녹다– 녹

좁다– 좁

The first group literally ends in ㅗ, while the second group has an extra consonant at the bottom. When a verb stem ends in ㅗ, we attach 아(요). The 요 form is used in polite speech.

오– 오아(요)

보– 보아(요) 

쏘– 쏘아(요)

속– 속아(요)

녹– 녹아(요)

좁– 좁아(요)

We can simplify the first group by fusing ㅗ and ㅏ into ㅘ for easy/smooth pronunciation.

오아(요)– 와(요)

보아(요)– 봐(요) 

쏘아(요)– 쏴(요)

There is no contraction for the second group, but there is a sort of blending. The consonant before 아(요) is pronounced as if it is the initial sound of the second syllable.

속아(요)– 소/가/(요)

녹아(요)– 노/가/(요)

좁아(요)– 조/바/(요)