This reference is a set of look-up tables, not a course to read front to back. Every paradigm page below is laid out the same way, so once you know the conventions on this page you can navigate any of them without re-learning the format. Bookmark the tables for your level; come back to them the way you would a dictionary. This page teaches the grid, the notation, and the three-move lookup — nothing more.
The standard grid: rows are moods, columns are speech levels
Every full paradigm table uses the same axes:
- Rows = tenses and moods: present, past, future (-겠 and -(으)ㄹ 거예요), negative, imperative, propositive, plus the level-invariant connectives, attributives, and nominal forms.
- Columns = the four everyday speech levels, ordered from most formal to least:
| Column | Name | Register | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 합니다체 | hamnida-che | (formal) | news, announcements, the military, service staff, presentations |
| 해요체 | haeyo-che | (informal-polite) | the everyday polite default — shops, coworkers, most conversation |
| 반말 / 해체 | banmal / hae-che | (intimate) | close friends, children, siblings, inner thoughts |
| 한다체 | handa-che | (plain/written) | books, diaries, newspapers, neutral narration |
The dictionary form and its stem are printed at the top of each paradigm, with the batchim flagged. Two axes of politeness are actually in play — how you treat the listener (these four levels) and how you honor the subject (the -(으)시- honorific) — and they are independent; the honorific is treated on its own pages. The four-level comparison lives on the speech-levels master comparison.
주말에 뭐 하세요?
jumare mwo haseyo?
What are you doing this weekend? (해요체 — the everyday-polite default used in these examples)
주말에 뭐 하십니까?
jumare mwo hasimnikka?
What are you doing this weekend? (합니다체 — formal, e.g. to a customer)
주말에 뭐 해?
jumare mwo hae?
What are you up to this weekend? (반말 — to a close friend)
The notation: -(으), 아/어, and the leading dash
Three symbols recur in every cell and heading. Read them as instructions, not spelling.
- -(으) — the 으 in parentheses is a buffer inserted only after a consonant (batchim) stem, and dropped after a vowel stem. So -(으)세요 becomes 먹으세요 (consonant stem 먹-) but 가세요 (vowel stem 가-, no 으). The 으-family also includes -(으)면, -(으)ㄹ, -(으)니까, -(으)ㅂ시다.
- 아/어 — a slash means harmony selects the vowel: 아 after a stem whose last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, 어 otherwise, and 해 for 하-. So -아/어요 is 가요 / 먹어요 / 해요.
- A leading - or ~ — means "attach directly to the stem," with no buffer and no harmony choice: -고 is simply 먹고, 가고, 살고.
시간 있으면 같이 점심 먹어요.
sigan isseumyeon gachi jeomsim meogeoyo
If you have time, let's have lunch together. (있- + 으면; 먹- + 어요)
집에 가면 연락할게요.
jibe gamyeon yeollakalgeyo
I'll get in touch once I'm home. (vowel stem 가- + 면, no 으)
Looking a verb up in three moves
To find any form, do not scan the whole table — triangulate it:
- Find the stem. Strip -다 (마시다 → 마시-, 받다 → 받-).
- Check for a batchim. Does the stem end in a consonant? That decides the 으 buffer and -습니다 vs -ㅂ니다.
- Apply harmony for any -아/어 cell: ㅏ/ㅗ → 아, else → 어.
Then read across the row for the level you need. Example: to say "please receive this" politely, take 받다 → stem 받- → has a batchim → the honorific -(으)세요 keeps the 으 → 받으세요.
여기 잔돈 받으세요.
yeogi jandon badeuseyo
Here's your change. (받- has a batchim → 받으세요)
따뜻할 때 드세요.
ttatteutal ttae deuseyo
Please eat while it's warm. (드시- honorific of 먹다)
When a form looks wrong, suspect an irregular stem
The regular paradigm pages (먹다, 가다, 살다, 하다) assume a stem that does not mutate. Five true irregular classes — the ㅂ, ㄷ, ㅅ, 르, ㅎ stems — change shape before certain endings, and they get their own dedicated tables. If you build a form from a regular table and it does not match what you hear, the stem is probably irregular: 춥다 is not ×춥어요 but 추워요; 듣다 is not ×듣어요 but 들어요.
오늘 날씨가 너무 추워요.
oneul nalssiga neomu chuwoyo
The weather is so cold today. (ㅂ-irregular 춥다 → 추워요, not ×춥어요)
이 노래 자주 들어요.
i norae jaju deureoyo
I listen to this song often. (ㄷ-irregular 듣다 → 들어요)
The irregular vs regular master table is the place to confirm class membership before you trust a regular paradigm.
A note on the romanization line
Every example in this reference carries a Revised Romanization line under the Hangul. It shows the pronounced form — with liaison (먹어요 → meogeoyo) and sound changes like nasalization (먹는 → meongneun) — so it doubles as a pronunciation guide. It is a reading aid only; always trust the Hangul as the form to write.
Common Mistakes
1. Reading -(으) as a literal 으 to always type. It appears only after a consonant stem.
❌ 안녕히 가으세요.
Wrong — 가- is a vowel stem, so no 으: 가세요.
✅ 안녕히 가세요.
annyeonghi gaseyo
Goodbye (to someone leaving).
2. Mixing speech levels within one utterance. Pick a column and stay in it; do not pair a 합니다체 verb with a 반말 one.
❌ 저는 학생입니다. 반가워.
Wrong — 입니다 is formal but 반가워 is intimate; keep one level.
✅ 저는 학생입니다. 반갑습니다.
jeoneun haksaeng-imnida. bangapseumnida
I'm a student. Pleased to meet you. (both 합니다체)
3. Applying a regular table to an irregular stem. Confirm the class first.
❌ 도와줘서 고마워요. 정말 어렵어요.
Wrong — 어렵다 is ㅂ-irregular: 어려워요, not ×어렵어요.
✅ 도와줘서 고마워요. 정말 어려워요.
dowajwoseo gomawoyo. jeongmal eoryeowoyo
Thanks for helping. It's really hard.
Key Takeaways
- Rows = moods/tenses, columns = the four speech levels (합니다체 formal → 해요체 informal-polite → 반말 intimate → 한다체 plain/written).
- Notation: -(으) = buffer only after a consonant stem; 아/어 = harmony selects the vowel; a leading dash = attach directly to the stem.
- Look a verb up in three moves: stem → batchim? → harmony, then read across for your level.
- If a form clashes with what you hear, the stem is likely one of the ㅂ/ㄷ/ㅅ/르/ㅎ irregulars, which have their own tables.
- The romanization line shows the pronounced surface form; the Hangul is what you write.
Now practice Korean
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- How Korean Conjugation Works: Stem + EndingTOPIK 1 — The single mechanism behind every table in this reference: strip -다 to get the stem, then attach an ending — with three factors (batchim, ㅏ/ㅗ harmony, irregular class) deciding the ending's exact shape.
- One Verb, Four Speech Levels: Master Comparison TableTOPIK 2 — A single verb declined across all four everyday speech levels at once (합니다체 / 해요체 / 반말 / 한다체) — read across a row for the same meaning at four politeness settings, read down a column for the moods available inside one level. Includes the adjective grid that shows why 좋다 has no imperative.
- 먹다 (to eat): Consonant-Stem Verb ParadigmTOPIK 1 — The complete look-up paradigm of 먹다 across all four speech levels — the stencil for every regular consonant-stem action verb, with the obligatory 으 buffer that batchim stems insert before consonant-initial endings.
- Irregular vs Regular: The Look-Alike Master TableTOPIK 3 — The cheat-card for the question learners actually ask — 'this verb ends in ㄷ/ㅅ/ㅂ/ㅎ/르, does it inflect irregularly?' A single minimal-pair table sets each irregular next to a regular verb with the same final consonant, so you can see that irregularity is lexical, not spelling-based, and that the safe default for an unknown verb is REGULAR.
- The 아/어 Vowel-Harmony Selection TableTOPIK 1 — The master lookup sheet for choosing 아 vs 어 in every harmony-sensitive ending: if the stem's last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, use 아; for everything else use 어; 하 alone takes 여 → 해.