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Easy Korean - Level 3, Unit 11: The ㅂ (B) Irregular

In Korean, some verbs and adjectives that end with the consonant ㅂ (bieup) change their form when followed by a suffix starting with a vowel. We call this the "ㅂ Irregular."

The Rule

When a verb or adjective stem ends in ㅂ AND is followed by a vowel (like -아/어/여, -(으)면, -(으)니까): 1. Remove the ㅂ from the stem. 2. Add 우 (u). (Note: For 돕다 (to help) and 곱다 (to be beautiful), you add 오 (o) instead of 우. These are the only two exceptions.)

Examples with -아/어요 (Present Tense)

Most ㅂ irregulars will end up taking -어요 because we added '우' (which is not 아 or 오).

  • 춥다 (to be cold) 춥 -> 추 + 우 -> 추우 + 어요 = 추워요

  • 덥다 (to be hot) 덥 -> 더 + 우 -> 더우 + 어요 = 더워요

  • 어렵다 (to be difficult) 어렵 -> 어려 + 우 -> 어려우 + 어요 = 어려워요

  • 쉽다 (to be easy) 쉽 -> 쉬 + 우 -> 쉬우 + 어요 = 쉬워요

  • 맵다 (to be spicy) 맵 -> 매 + 우 -> 매우 + 어요 = 매워요

The Exceptions

1. 돕다 (to help) & 곱다 (to be beautiful) As mentioned, these take '오'. * 돕다 -> 도 + 오 + 아요 = 도와요

2. Regular ㅂ Words (They do not change!) Not all words ending in ㅂ are irregular. Some words follow regular conjugation rules. You just have to memorize these common ones: * 입다 (to wear) -> 입어요 * 잡다 (to catch) -> 잡아요 * 좁다 (to be narrow) -> 좁아요

Example Sentences

  1. 오늘 날씨가 너무 추워요. (The weather is too cold today.)
  2. 이 한국어 책은 조금 어려워요. (This Korean book is a bit difficult.)
  3. 떡볶이가 매워서 물을 마셨어요. (The tteokbokki was spicy, so I drank water.)
  4. 제가 도와줄게요. (I will help you. 돕다 + 아/어 주다 + ㄹ게요)