To make the polite present tense (the 해요 form): (1) drop 다 from the dictionary form to get the stem; (2) look at the stem’s last vowel - add 아요 if it’s ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise add 어요; (3) if the verb ends in 하다, it becomes 해요; (4) merge doubled vowels (가 + 아요 → 가요). That’s the whole engine of everyday Korean.
Korean verb conjugation looks terrifying at first - endless endings, vowel harmony, contractions, irregulars. But the polite present tense, the 해요 form you’ll use in almost every sentence, runs on one three-step rule. Learn it properly once and you can conjugate thousands of verbs on sight. Let’s build it step by step.
Step 1: Find the stem
Every Korean verb in the dictionary ends in 다. Chop it off and you have the stem - the part you conjugate.
| Dictionary form | Meaning | Stem |
|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | to eat | 먹 |
| 가다 | to go | 가 |
| 읽다 | to read | 읽 |
| 좋다 | to be good | 좋 |
Step 2: Choose 아요 or 어요 by the last vowel
This is vowel harmony, and it’s simpler than it sounds. Look at the last vowel in the stem:
The vowel rule
- Last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ → add 아요 (the “bright” vowels).
- Any other vowel → add 어요.
- Verb ends in 하다 → it becomes 해요 (special).
| Stem | Last vowel | Ending | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 먹 | ㅓ | 어요 | 먹어요 (eat) |
| 읽 | ㅣ | 어요 | 읽어요 (read) |
| 좋 | ㅗ | 아요 | 좋아요 (good) |
| 살 | ㅏ | 아요 | 살아요 (live) |
Step 3: The 하다 shortcut
Any verb ending in 하다 (to do) conjugates to 해요. Because Korean builds a huge number of verbs by attaching 하다 to a noun, this one rule unlocks thousands of words:
| Dictionary | 해요 form | English |
|---|---|---|
| 공부하다 | 공부해요 | study |
| 사랑하다 | 사랑해요 | love |
| 운동하다 | 운동해요 | exercise |
| 일하다 | 일해요 | work |
Step 4: Vowel contractions (when the stem ends in a vowel)
When the stem already ends in a vowel, adding 아요/어요 would create two vowels in a row - so they merge. The rule underneath is unchanged; the sounds just fuse.
| Verb | Build | Contracts to |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 (go) | 가 + 아요 | 가요 |
| 오다 (come) | 오 + 아요 | 와요 |
| 마시다 (drink) | 마시 + 어요 | 마셔요 |
| 배우다 (learn) | 배우 + 어요 | 배워요 |
| 주다 (give) | 주 + 어요 | 줘요 |
| 되다 (become) | 되 + 어요 | 돼요 |
These feel fiddly at first, but there are only a handful of contraction shapes, and they become automatic fast because the most common verbs use them.
A few irregular verbs to expect
Some stems change before the ending. You don’t need them all now, but recognise the big ones:
| Type | Verb | 해요 form |
|---|---|---|
| ㅂ irregular | 덥다 (hot) | 더워요 |
| ㄷ irregular | 듣다 (listen) | 들어요 |
| 르 irregular | 모르다 (not know) | 몰라요 |
| ㅡ drop | 바쁘다 (busy) | 바빠요 |
Treat irregulars as vocabulary - learn each with its conjugated form from audio, rather than memorising rule tables you’ll forget.
The best part: this form does four jobs
The 해요 form isn’t only “present tense.” The same shape covers present, near future, and - with intonation - questions and gentle suggestions:
| Korean | Depending on context |
|---|---|
| 가요 | I go / I’m going / Shall we go? / Go, please |
| 먹어요? | Are you eating? / Will you eat? |
One form, enormous mileage - which is exactly why it’s the first conjugation every learner should nail.
Conjugate on instinct, not on paper
Conjugation sticks when you say hundreds of verbs, not when you memorise a table. Hanguljo drills the 해요 form across TOPIK 1–6 lessons with native audio, so 아요/어요/해요 and the contractions become automatic. A 7-stage SRS resurfaces each verb before you forget it, and conversation shadowing turns the endings into fluent speech.
Learn Korean with Hanguljo - FreeFrequently asked questions
How do you conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense?
Drop 다 to get the stem, then add 아요 if the stem’s last vowel is ㅏ/ㅗ (좋다 → 좋아요) or 어요 otherwise (먹다 → 먹어요). 하다 verbs become 해요. Then merge doubled vowels (가 + 아요 → 가요).
What is the difference between 아요 and 어요?
Same ending, chosen by vowel harmony: 아요 after stems whose last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, 어요 after all others. 하다 verbs use 해요.
How does 하다 conjugate?
하다 becomes 해요. Since thousands of verbs are built on 하다 (공부하다 → 공부해요), this single rule unlocks a huge amount of Korean.
Why does 가다 become 가요 and not 가아요?
A vowel contraction: the stem-final ㅏ and the 아 of 아요 merge into one. The rule is still “add 아요/어요”; the vowels just fuse (also 오다 → 와요, 마시다 → 마셔요).