Grammar10 min read834 views
The 50 Most Used Korean Verbs with Conjugations
Master the 50 most frequent Korean verbs with their present, past and future conjugations.
Published on February 8, 2026
Why These 50 Verbs?
These 50 verbs cover about 70% of daily situations in Korean. Master them and you can express most of your needs.
The 10 Most Important Verbs
| # | Dictionary | Romanization | Meaning | Polite Present | Polite Past |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 하다 | hada | to do | 해요 | 했어요 |
| 2 | 가다 | gada | to go | 가요 | 갔어요 |
| 3 | 오다 | oda | to come | 와요 | 왔어요 |
| 4 | 먹다 | meokda | to eat | 먹어요 | 먹었어요 |
| 5 | 마시다 | masida | to drink | 마셔요 | 마셨어요 |
| 6 | 보다 | boda | to see | 봐요 | 봤어요 |
| 7 | 알다 | alda | to know | 알아요 | 알았어요 |
| 8 | 있다 | itda | to exist/have | 있어요 | 있었어요 |
| 9 | 없다 | eopda | to not exist | 없어요 | 없었어요 |
| 10 | 주다 | juda | to give | 줘요 | 줬어요 |
Action Verbs (11-25)
| # | Dictionary | Meaning | Polite Present |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 사다 | to buy | 사요 |
| 12 | 읽다 | to read | 읽어요 |
| 13 | 쓰다 | to write | 써요 |
| 14 | 듣다 | to listen | 들어요 |
| 15 | 말하다 | to speak | 말해요 |
| 16-25 | ... | ... | ... |
Conjugation Rule
Polite present (-아/어요):
- Remove -다 from dictionary form
- If last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ → add -아요
- Otherwise → add -어요
- 하다 → 해요 (always)
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