먹다 (to eat): Consonant-Stem Verb Paradigm | Korean Grammar

먹다 ("to eat") is the model verb for this whole reference because it is a regular consonant-stem action verb — the most common shape a Korean predicate takes. Learn this one grid and you have a stencil: swap 먹- for any other regular batchim stem (읽-, 받-, 앉-, 웃-) and every cell holds. The defining feature of the class is the buffer vowel 으, which surfaces before consonant-initial endings because the stem ends in a 받침. Nail that reflex and 먹다 conjugates itself.

The stem at a glance

Dictionary form: 먹다 · stem: 먹- · ends in: batchim ㄱ (a consonant)
Harmony vowel: the stem's last vowel is ㅓ, which is not ㅏ/ㅗ, so all -아/어 endings take 어 (먹어요, 먹었-, 먹어서).
Consonant-stem signature: before -(으) endings the buffer 으 is inserted (먹으세요, 먹은, 먹을, 먹으면), and the formal present ending is -습니다 (먹습니다), never -ㅂ니다.

Full paradigm: finite forms by speech level

Columns run most-formal to least. The everyday polite default — the one to reach for first — is 해요체.

Mood / tense	합니다체 (formal)	해요체 (informal-polite)	반말 (intimate)	한다체 (plain/written)
Present	먹습니다 meokseumnida	먹어요 meogeoyo	먹어 meogeo	먹는다 meongneunda
Past	먹었습니다 meogeotseumnida	먹었어요 meogeosseoyo	먹었어 meogeosseo	먹었다 meogeotda
Future — 겠 (will/intend)	먹겠습니다 meokgetseumnida	먹겠어요 meokgesseoyo	먹겠어 meokgesseo	먹겠다 meokgetda
Future — (으)ㄹ 거예요	먹을 겁니다 meogeul geomnida	먹을 거예요 meogeul geoyeyo	먹을 거야 meogeul geoya	먹을 것이다 meogeul geosida
Negative — 안 (don't)	안 먹습니다 an meokseumnida	안 먹어요 an meogeoyo	안 먹어 an meogeo	안 먹는다 an meongneunda
Negative — 못 (can't)	못 먹습니다 mot meokseumnida	못 먹어요 mot meogeoyo	못 먹어 mot meogeo	못 먹는다 mot meongneunda
Negative — long 지 않다	먹지 않습니다 meokji anseumnida	먹지 않아요 meokji anayo	먹지 않아 meokji ana	먹지 않는다 meokji anneunda
Imperative	먹으십시오 meogeusipsio	먹으세요 meogeuseyo	먹어 meogeo	먹어라 meogeora
Propositive (let's)	먹읍시다 meogeupsida	먹어요 meogeoyo	먹자 meokja	먹자 meokja

저는 보통 아침을 안 먹어요.

jeoneun botong achimeul an meogeoyo

I usually don't eat breakfast.

아까 편의점에서 김밥 먹었어요.

akka pyeonuijeomeseo gimbap meogeosseoyo

I had gimbap at the convenience store earlier.

잘 먹겠습니다.

jal meokgetseumnida

Thank you for the food. (set phrase said before eating; 합니다체)

약은 식사 후에 꼭 먹으세요.

yageun siksa hue kkok meogeuseyo

Be sure to take your medicine after meals. (polite imperative)

배고픈데 우리 뭐라도 좀 먹자.

baegopeunde uri mworado jom meokja

I'm hungry — let's grab something to eat. (반말 propositive)

저는 고기를 먹지 않아요.

jeoneun gogireul meokji anayo

I don't eat meat. (long negative)

저는 매운 걸 잘 못 먹어요.

jeoneun maeun geol jal mot meogeoyo

I can't really handle spicy food.

Level-invariant forms: connectives, attributives, nominal

These do not change by speech level — they attach mid-clause or before a noun, where the politeness ending has not yet arrived — so they take a single shape each.

Category	Form	Reading	Function
Connective — and	먹고	meokgo	"eats and…"
Connective — so/then	먹어서	meogeoseo	"eats and so…" (cause/sequence)
Connective — if/when	먹으면	meogeumyeon	"if/when one eats"
Connective — because	먹으니까	meogeunikka	"because one eats"
Attributive — present	먹는	meongneun	"(food) that one eats"
Attributive — past	먹은	meogeun	"(food) one ate"
Attributive — prospective	먹을	meogeul	"(food) one will eat"
Attributive — retrospective	먹던	meokdeon	"(food) one used to eat"
Nominal — gerund	먹기	meokgi	"eating" (the activity)
Nominal — fact/nominal	먹음	meogeum	"the eating (of)" (written)

이건 제가 자주 먹는 음식이에요.

igeon jega jaju meongneun eumsigieyo

This is a dish I eat often. (present attributive 먹는)

아까 먹은 빵이 좀 이상했어요.

akka meogeun ppang-i jom isanghaesseoyo

The bread I ate earlier tasted a bit off. (past attributive 먹은)

밥을 너무 빨리 먹어서 체했어요.

babeul neomu ppalli meogeoseo chehaesseoyo

I ate too fast and got an upset stomach. (먹어서, cause)

이 약을 먹으면 졸릴 수 있어요.

i yageul meogeumyeon jollil su isseoyo

This medicine can make you drowsy. (먹으면, condition)

The consonant-stem signature: the 으 buffer

Everything that makes 먹다 look different from a vowel stem comes down to one thing — the 받침. Because 먹- ends in a consonant, any ending in the -(으) family cannot attach directly without an ugly consonant collision, so the buffer 으 slides in: 먹 + 세요 → 먹으세요, 먹 + ㄴ → 먹은, 먹 + ㄹ → 먹을, 먹 + 면 → 먹으면. This is not optional and not a matter of style — after a batchim the 으 is obligatory.

💡

The single most common error on consonant stems is dropping this buffer: ×먹세요, ×먹은지 (for 먹은 지), ×먹을게 said as if there were no 으. If the stem has a batchim and the ending starts with -(으), the 으 must appear. The 으-insertion table lists every ending that triggers it.

One more thing the spelling hides: the plain-present 먹는다 and the present attributive 먹는 are written with 는 but pronounced with the ㄱ nasalized — [멍는다], [멍는] — because a stop before ㄴ becomes a nasal. You write 먹는, you say [멍는]; the romanization meongneun records the sound.

The stencil: swap the stem

The reason 먹다 earns a whole page is that it generalizes. Take any regular consonant-stem action verb, drop it into the same cells, and only the harmony vowel (Factor 2) shifts if the stem vowel is ㅏ/ㅗ:

Cell	먹다 (eat)	읽다 (read)	받다 (receive)	앉다 (sit)
해요체 present	먹어요 meogeoyo	읽어요 ilgeoyo	받아요 badayo	앉아요 anjayo
합니다체 present	먹습니다 meokseumnida	읽습니다 ikseumnida	받습니다 batseumnida	앉습니다 anseumnida
Imperative	먹으세요 meogeuseyo	읽으세요 ilgeuseyo	받으세요 badeuseyo	앉으세요 anjeuseyo
Past attributive	먹은 meogeun	읽은 ilgeun	받은 badeun	앉은 anjeun

받- and 앉- have the stem vowel ㅏ, so their -아/어 forms take 아 (받아요, 앉아요) where 먹- and 읽- take 어. Everything else — the 으 buffer, -습니다, the attributive endings — is identical. That is the whole point of a stencil.

여기 잠깐 앉으세요.

yeogi jamkkan anjeuseyo

Please have a seat here for a moment. (앉- + 으세요)

선물을 받아서 정말 기뻤어요.

seonmureul badaseo jeongmal gippeosseoyo

I was so happy to receive the gift. (받- + 아서)

Common Mistakes

1. Dropping the 으 buffer before a consonant-initial ending. After a batchim it is obligatory.

❌ 이 약 식사 후에 먹세요.

Wrong — 먹- has a batchim; the honorific needs the buffer: 먹으세요.

✅ 이 약 식사 후에 먹으세요.

i yak siksa hue meogeuseyo

Take this medicine after meals.

2. Using -ㅂ니다 instead of -습니다. Consonant stems take -습니다.

❌ 저는 아침을 안 먹읍니다.

Wrong — a batchim stem takes -습니다: 먹습니다.

✅ 저는 아침을 안 먹습니다.

jeoneun achimeul an meokseumnida

I don't eat breakfast. (formal)

3. Choosing 아 by the wrong vowel. 먹- has ㅓ, so it takes 어, not 아.

❌ 지금 점심 먹아요.

Wrong — 먹- has ㅓ (not ㅏ/ㅗ), so it takes 어: 먹어요.

✅ 지금 점심 먹어요.

jigeum jeomsim meogeoyo

I'm having lunch now.

4. Using the dictionary form 먹다 as a plain-present. An action verb's plain present is 먹는다, not 먹다.

❌ 아이가 밥을 먹다.

Wrong — the plain/written present of an action verb is 먹는다.

✅ 아이가 밥을 먹는다.

aiga babeul meongneunda

The child is eating. (plain/written narration)

Key Takeaways

먹다 is the stencil for regular consonant-stem action verbs: stem 먹-, batchim ㄱ, harmony 어.
Its signature is the obligatory 으 buffer before -(으) endings (먹으세요, 먹은, 먹을, 먹으면) and -습니다 for the formal present.
Present forms by level: 먹습니다 / 먹어요 / 먹어 / 먹는다; plain present is 먹는다, not the dictionary form.
Connectives, attributives, and nominal forms are level-invariant: 먹고, 먹어서, 먹는, 먹은, 먹을, 먹기.
Swap 먹- for any regular batchim stem (읽-, 받-, 앉-) and the grid holds — only the ㅏ/ㅗ harmony vowel can shift.

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