Korean for Beginners · Part 4
Korean Verb Endings Explained Simply
Korean verbs change their ending depending on how polite or formal you need to be — and once you learn the pattern, it applies to almost every verb in the language. Tap any example below to hear it spoken.
Once you see the pattern repeat across different verbs, it stops feeling like memorisation and starts feeling like a formula.
Every Korean verb has a dictionary form ending in “다” — that’s the form you’ll find in a dictionary, but you’ll almost never say it out loud in conversation. Instead, you drop “다” and add an ending that matches how polite the situation calls for. As a beginner, you really only need two of these endings to get by almost everywhere.
The Two Endings You’ll Use Constantly
Everyday Polite (해요체)
-ayo / -eoyo
The default polite ending — safe with strangers, shopkeepers, most situations
Formal (합니다체)
-mnida / -seumnida
More formal — news broadcasts, presentations, first meetings at work
The Same Verb, Three Ways
Here’s the pattern in action across three common verbs. Notice how the dictionary form always ends in 다, and both polite forms replace it with a different ending:
to go
to eat
to be good
Try conjugating a few verbs you already know by hand — it’s the fastest way to make the pattern stick.
Which One Should You Actually Use?
As a beginner travelling or chatting casually, the everyday polite form (-ì•„ìš” / -ì–´ìš”) will cover almost every situation you run into — it’s warm without being overly formal. Save the formal -ㅂ니다 / -습니다 ending for job interviews, announcements, or speaking to someone significantly senior to you. If in doubt, -ì•„ìš” / -ì–´ìš” is always the safer default.
Verb Endings Are One Piece of a Bigger Pattern
Once endings feel natural, tense, negatives, and questions all follow similar logical patterns. Here’s the step-by-step system we recommend for building on this foundation.
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