ㅂ-Irregular Predicates (ㅂ 불규칙): Full Table | Korean Grammar

The ㅂ-irregular (ㅂ 불규칙) is the class you reach for whenever you describe the world: it swallows almost every adjective for weather (춥다, 덥다), taste (맵다), weight (무겁다), distance (가깝다), and difficulty (쉽다, 어렵다). Because those are exactly the words you need to complain about the heat or warn someone the soup is spicy, this is the highest-payoff irregular table in the whole reference. This page is the paradigm grid — four ending-environments across the high-frequency members — plus the two verbs that break the pattern (돕다, 곱다) and a "stays regular" row so you don't over-apply it.

The one-line rule behind the grid

Stem-final ㅂ turns into 우 before any ending that begins with a vowel (the 아/어 family) or with 으, and that 우 then fuses with the ending vowel. The critical detail — the one your English instincts will fight — is that the fused vowel is always 어, giving 워, no matter how bright the stem is (더워, 매워, and even 가까워, never ×가까와). Before a consonant-initial ending (-고, -지, -습니다) the ㅂ is untouched. The conceptual companion page, the ㅂ irregular explained, walks through why the fusion happens; this page just lays out every cell.

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The ㅂ does not "drop" and it does not liaise like a normal batchim (×덥어요, ×더버요). It becomes a vowel — 우 — that then merges with the ending. Build the 해요체 by swapping 다 for 워요: 춥다 → 추워요, 어렵다 → 어려워요, 무겁다 → 무거워요. If "…워요" sounds right, it's a ㅂ-irregular.

Full table: the high-frequency members

Columns run: dictionary form, the everyday polite 해요체 (-아/어요), the present modifier -(으)ㄴ (the form before a noun), the causal -(으)니까 ("because"), and the past -았/었어요. Notice that every -(으) cell shows the softened 우 (더우니까, 더운), because those endings begin with 으.

Dictionary (meaning)	해요체 -아/어요	Modifier -(으)ㄴ	Causal -(으)니까	Past -았/었어요
덥다 (be hot)	더워요 deowoyo	더운 deo-un	더우니까 deo-unikka	더웠어요 deowosseoyo
춥다 (be cold)	추워요 chuwoyo	추운 chu-un	추우니까 chu-unikka	추웠어요 chuwosseoyo
쉽다 (be easy)	쉬워요 swiwoyo	쉬운 swi-un	쉬우니까 swi-unikka	쉬웠어요 swiwosseoyo
어렵다 (be difficult)	어려워요 eoryeowoyo	어려운 eoryeo-un	어려우니까 eoryeo-unikka	어려웠어요 eoryeowosseoyo
맵다 (be spicy)	매워요 maewoyo	매운 mae-un	매우니까 mae-unikka	매웠어요 maewosseoyo
가깝다 (be near)	가까워요 gakkawoyo	가까운 gakka-un	가까우니까 gakka-unikka	가까웠어요 gakkawosseoyo
무겁다 (be heavy)	무거워요 mugeowoyo	무거운 mugeo-un	무거우니까 mugeo-unikka	무거웠어요 mugeowosseoyo

장마철이라 요즘 너무 덥고 습해요.

jangmacheorira yojeum neomu deopgo seuphaeyo

It's the rainy season, so lately it's really hot and humid. (덥고: consonant ending -고, ㅂ untouched)

이 문제는 생각보다 안 어려웠어요.

i munjeneun saenggakboda an eoryeowosseoyo

This problem was less difficult than I expected. (past 어려웠어요)

매운 음식을 잘 못 먹어서 물을 계속 마셔요.

maeun eumsigeul jal mot meogeoseo mureul gyesok masyeoyo

I can't handle spicy food well, so I keep drinking water. (modifier 매운)

집이 회사에서 가까우니까 걸어서 다녀요.

jibi hoesaeseo gakka-unikka georeoseo danyeoyo

Since my place is close to the office, I commute on foot. (causal 가까우니까)

가방이 너무 무거워서 어깨가 아파요.

gabang-i neomu mugeowoseo eokkaega apayo

The bag is so heavy that my shoulder hurts. (무거워서, cause)

The two exceptions: 돕다 and 곱다 fuse to 와, not 워

Exactly two common ㅂ-irregulars break the "always 워" rule. In 돕다 ("help") and 곱다 ("be fine / lovely," as in 고운 마음, a kind heart), the ㅂ softens to 오 rather than 우 — but only in the 아/어 environment — and 오 + 아 fuses to 와. Crucially, in the 으-environment (the modifier, the causal, the conditional) these two behave like every other ㅂ-irregular and use 우 (도우니까, 도운). So they are irregular in one column and ordinary in the rest:

Dictionary (meaning)	해요체 -아/어요	Modifier -(으)ㄴ	Causal -(으)니까	Past -았/었어요
돕다 (help)	도와요 dowayo	도운 do-un	도우니까 do-unikka	도왔어요 dowasseoyo
곱다 (be fine/lovely)	고와요 gowayo	고운 go-un	고우니까 go-unikka	고왔어요 gowasseoyo

이삿날 친구들이 많이 도와줬어요.

isannal chingudeuri mani dowajwosseoyo

My friends helped me out a lot on moving day. (돕다 → 도와)

할머니는 마음이 참 고우세요.

halmeonineun ma-eumi cham gouseyo

My grandmother has such a lovely, gentle heart. (곱다 → 고우세요, honorific)

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The mnemonic pair is 돕다 / 곱다 → 와 — think of them together as the only two "와" verbs. Everything else in the class is "워." So 도와요 and 고와요 are right, but ×도워요 and ×고워요 are wrong; and 무겁다, 가깝다, 아름답다 are all still 워 (무거워요, 가까워요, 아름다워요).

Stays-regular warning row: 입다, 잡다, 좁다

Not every ㅂ-final stem is irregular. Membership is lexical — you cannot read it off the spelling — so a handful of extremely common verbs and adjectives keep their ㅂ and simply liaise it forward like an ordinary batchim. The three you must not mangle:

Dictionary (meaning)	해요체 -아/어요	Modifier -(으)ㄴ	Causal -(으)니까	Past -았/었어요
입다 (wear)	입어요 ibeoyo	입은 ibeun	입으니까 ibeunikka	입었어요 ibeosseoyo
잡다 (grab/catch)	잡아요 jabayo	잡은 jabeun	잡으니까 jabeunikka	잡았어요 jabasseoyo
좁다 (be narrow)	좁아요 jobayo	좁은 jobeun	좁으니까 jobeunikka	좁았어요 jobasseoyo

The tell is that 입다, 잡다, 좁다 keep a normal 으 buffer (입은, not ×입운) and pick 아/어 by ordinary harmony — 잡다 is bright (ㅏ) so it takes 아 (잡아요), while 입다 and 좁다 take 어 and 아 respectively by their own stem vowels. Contrast that with the irregular 굽다 ("grill"), which fuses to 구워요. The full list of these regular look-alikes lives on the ㅂ-irregular vs regular page and the master irregular-vs-regular chart.

날씨가 추워서 두꺼운 코트를 입었어요.

nalssiga chuwoseo dukkeoun koteureul ibeosseoyo

It was cold, so I put on a thick coat. (입다 stays regular → 입었어요; 춥다 fuses → 추워서)

길이 너무 좁아서 차가 못 지나가요.

giri neomu jobaseo chaga mot jinagayo

The road is so narrow that cars can't get through. (좁다 stays regular → 좁아서)

Why English speakers overshoot here

English adjectives never change shape to agree with a following ending — hot is hot whether you say a hot day or it is hot. Korean descriptive verbs conjugate exactly like action verbs, so the same word has two visible faces: 더운 날 ("a hot day," before a noun) but 너무 더워요 ("it's so hot," as a predicate). The instinct English speakers must unlearn is treating the batchim ㅂ as a stable letter that just carries over — that produces ×덥어요. In this class the ㅂ is unstable in exactly the vowel/으 environment, and stable everywhere else, so a single verb like 무겁다 shows up as 무겁고 (ㅂ kept) and 무거워요 (ㅂ fused) in the same paragraph. Reading the ending's first sound tells you which face you'll see.

이 상자는 안 무겁고 크기도 적당해요.

i sangjaneun an mugeopgo keugido jeokdanghaeyo

This box isn't heavy, and the size is just right too. (무겁고, consonant ending)

Common Mistakes

1. Keeping the ㅂ before an 아/어 ending. The ㅂ must fuse to 우 → 워.

❌ 오늘은 진짜 덥어요.

Wrong — stem-final ㅂ fuses to 우 and gives 워: 더워요, not ×덥어요.

✅ 오늘은 진짜 더워요.

oneureun jinjja deowoyo

It's really hot today.

2. Harmonizing a bright stem to 와. The inserted 우 forces 어 → 워, even after a bright vowel.

❌ 집이 학교에서 가까와요.

Wrong — ordinary ㅂ-irregulars are always 워, never 와, regardless of the stem vowel: 가까워요.

✅ 집이 학교에서 가까워요.

jibi hakgyo-eseo gakkawoyo

My place is close to school.

3. Treating 돕다 like the 우-class. 돕다 and 곱다 go to 와 in the 아/어 form.

❌ 제가 좀 도워 드릴게요.

Wrong — 돕다 fuses to 오 → 와 in the 아/어 form: 도와 드릴게요.

✅ 제가 좀 도와 드릴게요.

jega jom dowa deurilgeyo

Let me give you a hand. (honorific benefactive)

4. Over-applying the rule to a regular ㅂ verb. 입다 keeps its ㅂ.

❌ 오늘은 원피스를 이워요.

Wrong — 입다 is a regular ㅂ verb; it liaises normally: 입어요.

✅ 오늘은 원피스를 입어요.

oneureun wonpiseureul ibeoyo

I'm wearing a dress today.

5. Forgetting the softening before 으-endings. 더우면 / 더운, not ×덥으면 / ×덥은.

❌ 내일 날씨가 덥으면 안 갈래요.

Wrong — the ㅂ softens before -(으)면 too: 더우면.

✅ 내일 날씨가 더우면 안 갈래요.

naeil nalssiga deo-umyeon an gallaeyo

If it's hot tomorrow, I'd rather not go.

Key Takeaways

ㅂ → 우 before vowel/으-endings, then fuses; the result is always 어 → 워 (더워요, 가까워요), never 와 — regardless of the stem vowel.
Before consonant endings the ㅂ stays (덥고, 무겁지); the class fires only in environments that begin with a vowel or 으.
Every -(으) cell shows the softened 우: 더운, 더우니까 — never a plain 으 buffer.
돕다 and 곱다 are the only exceptions, fusing to 와 in the 아/어 form (도와요, 고와요) while still using 우 elsewhere (도우니까, 도운).
Membership is lexical: 입다, 잡다, 좁다 keep their ㅂ and conjugate regularly — check the master chart before assuming.

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