안녕하세요, fabulous verb wranglers! 🌟
Dive into your language adventure hats, because today, we’re diving deep into the wibbly-wobbly world of the Korean “ㄹ” irregular verbs! Imagine them as the mischievous little sprites of the Korean language, dancing around and refusing to play by the rules. Naughty, naughty “ㄹ”! 🕺💃
Are they confusing? Sure! Are they a bit sneaky? Absolutely! But will they defeat our spirit? Not on my watch! And besides, who doesn’t enjoy a good ol’ linguistic challenge now and then?
Join me as we embark on this wild rodeo ride and learn how to tame these rebellious verbs. Saddle up, partner, and let’s get wrangling! 🐎🤠
And remember, in the game of Korean verb limbo, it’s all about flexibility. So, how low can you go… in mastering the “ㄹ” irregulars? Let’s find out! 🎶🎉
What are “ㄹ” Irregular verbs
“ㄹ” irregular verbs are those verbs and adjectives whose stems end with the consonant “ㄹ”. While many Korean verbs have a predictable and regular conjugation pattern, our “ㄹ” friends like to shake things up a bit.
The key characteristic of “ㄹ” irregular verbs is, well, they end in “ㄹ”! For instance, consider the verb 놀다 , which means “to play.” The stem here is 놀, ending in the “ㄹ” consonant.
While “ㄹ” irregular verbs may seem daunting initially, there’s a silver lining. Their patterns, once understood, are consistent. So, the irregularities are, ironically, quite regular in their behaviour. Moreover, they’re frequently used in daily conversations, which means the more you practice, the quicker you’ll get the hang of them!
In essence, while the “ㄹ” irregular verbs do dance to their own tune, with a bit of practice and patience, you’ll soon be waltzing right alongside them, speaking and conjugating with flair and confidence! 🎶🕺📚
Conjugation
- Take a verb i.e. 놀다
- Drop “다”
- Follow the below rules
- If the verb stem is followed by an ending starting with ㄴ,ㅂ or ㅅ, drop “ㄹ”.
- If the verb stem is followed by an ending starting with 으, drop “으” and follow the above rules.
- If the verb stem is followed by an ending starting with ㄹ/을, add ㄹ and the rest of the verb ending.
| Verb ending | Conjugation 놀다 | Conjugation 만들다 | Conjugation 알다 |
| -아/어/여요 | 놀아요 | 만들어요 | 알아요 |
| -았/었/였요 | 놀았어요 | 만들었어요 | 알았어요 |
| -ㄹ/을 거예요 | 놀 거예요 | 만들 거예요 | 알 거예요 |
| -ㄹ/을게요 | 놀게요 | 만들게요 | 알게요 |
| -ㄹ/을래요 | 놀래요 | 만들래요 | 알래요 |
| -고 싶어요 | 놀고 싶어요 | 만들고 싶어요 | 알고 싶어요 |
| -고 있어요 | 놀고 있어요 | 만들고 있어요 | 알고 있어요 |
| -아/어/여서 | 놀아서 | 만들어서 | 알아서 |
| -지 않다 | 놀지 않다 | 만들지 않다 | 알지 않다 |
| -ㄹ/을 수 있다 | 놀 수 있다 | 만들 수 있다 | 알 수 있다 |
| -으면 | 놀면 | 만들면 | 알면 |
| -으니까 | 노니까 | 만드니까 | 아니까 |
| -으러 | 놀러 | 만들러 | 알러 |
| -으세요 | 노세요 | 만드세요 | 아세요 |
| -으려고 | 놀려고 | 만들려고 | 알려고 |
| -잖아요 | 놀잖아요 | 만들잖아요 | 알잖아요 |
| -는데 | 노는데 | 만드는데 | 아는데 |
| -네요 | 노네요 | 만드네요 | 아네요 |
| -는지 | 노는지 | 만드는지 | 아는지 |
| -기 전에 | 놀기 전에 | 만들기 전에 | 알기 전에 |
Hopefully you can see the pattern here. While these irregular verbs might be a little bit more confusing than other ones, they are still following certain rules.
TIP: I would just memorise one word that I use often with all the different verb endings and then when I know I need to conjugate another irregular “ㄹ” verb, I just follow the memorised verb’s conjugation.
Common “ㄹ” Verbs
| Korean | English | 아/어/여요 | ㄹ 거예요 | 고 싶어요 | ㄴ/는데 |
| 걸다 | To hang | 걸어요 | 걸 거예요 | 걸고 싶어요 | 거는데 |
| 끼어들다 | To cut in | 끼어들어요 | 끼어들 거예요 | 끼어들고 싶어요 | 끼어드는데 |
| 날다 | To fly | 날아요 | 날 거예요 | 날고 싶어요 | 나는데 |
| 내밀다 | To hold out | 내밀어요 | 내밀 거예요 | 내밀고 싶어요 | 내미는데 |
| 늘다 | To improve | 늘어요 | 늘 거예요 | 늘고 싶어요 | 느는데 |
| 돌다 | To turn around | 돌아요 | 돌 거예요 | 돌고 싶어요 | 도는데 |
| 들다 | To hold | 들어요 | 들 거예요 | 들고 싶어요 | 드는데 |
| 떠들다 | To chat | 떠들어요 | 떠들 거예요 | 떠들고 싶어요 | 떠드는데 |
| 물다 | To bite | 물어요 | 물 거예요 | 물고 싶어요 | 무는데 |
| 밀다 | To push away | 밀어요 | 밀 거예요 | 밀고 싶어요 | 미는데 |
| 벌다 | To earn | 벌어요 | 벌 거예요 | 벌고 싶어요 | 버는데 |
| 병들다 | To get sick | 병들어요 | 병들 거예요 | 병들고 싶어요 | 병드는데 |
| 불다 | To blow | 불어요 | 불을 거예요 | 불고 싶어요 | 부는데 |
| 빌다 | To make a wish | 빌어요 | 빌 거예요 | 빌고 싶어요 | 비는데 |
| 살다 | To live | 살아요 | 살 거예요 | 살고 싶어요 | 사는데 |
| 설다 | To stand up | 설어요 | 설 거예요 | 설고 싶어요 | 서는데 |
| 열다 | To open | 열어요 | 열 거예요 | 열고 싶어요 | 여는데 |
| 울다 | To cry | 울어요 | 울 거예요 | 울고 싶어요 | 우는데 |
| 잠들다 | To fall asleep | 잠들어요 | 잠들 거예요 | 잠들고 싶어요 | 잠드는데 |
| 팔다 | To sell | 팔아요 | 팔 거예요 | 팔고 싶어요 | 파는데 |
| 풀다 | To solve | 풀어요 | 풀 거예요 | 풀고 싶어요 | 푸는데 |
Negative sentences
VERB STEM + 지 않다
- Take a verb i.e. 놀다
- Drop 다 i.e. 다
- Add -지 않다 i.e. 놀지 않다
- 걸다 –> 걸 + 지 않다 –> 걸지 않다
- 살다 –> 살 + 지 않다 –> 살지 않다
- 팔다 –> 팔 + 지 않다 –> 팔지 않다
안 + CONJUGATED VERB
- Take a verb i.e. 놀다
- Conjugate it i.e. 놀아요
- Add 안 before the verb i.e. 안 놀아요
- 걸다 –> 걸어요 –> 안 걸어요
- 살다 –> 살아요 –> 안 살아요
- 팔다 –> 팔아요 –> 안 팔아요
Examples
- 오늘 가게에서 많은 신발을 팔았어요. – I sold many shoes at the store today.
- 주말에 친구들이랑 놀고 싶어요. – I want to hang out with my friends on the weekend.
- 한국에서 살지 않아요. – I don’t live in Korea.
- 문을 열 거예요. – I will open the door.
- 저녁 만들기 전에 얘기 해요. – Before I make dinner, let’s talk.
Activity 1
Conjugate the below into 아/어/여요
- 알다
- 열다
- 만들다
- 걸다
- 들다
Activity 2
Conjugate the below into the (스)ㅂ니다 form.
- 놀다
- 설다
- 팔다
- 잠들다
- 밀다
Activity 3
Re-write the below into negative sentences using -지 않다 and translate them to English.
- 새들 날아요.
- 제 가방을 들어요.
- 이 곳을 걸어요.
- 여기서 설어요.
- 이거 팔아요.
Activity 1 Answers
- 알다 –> 알아요
- 열다 –> 열어요
- 만들다 –> 만들어요
- 걸다 –> 걸어요
- 들다 –> 들어요
Activity 2 Answers
- 놀다 –> 놉니다
- 설다 –> 섭니다
- 팔다 –> 팝니다
- 잠들다 –> 잠듭니다
- 밀다 –> 밉니다
Activity 3 Answers
- 새들 날아요. –> 새들 날지 않아요. The birds don’t fly.
- 제 가방을 들어요. –> 제 가방을 들지 않아요. – I don’t hold my bag.
- 이 곳을 걸어요. –> 이 곳을 걸지 않아요. – I don’t hang these clothes.
- 여기서 설어요. – 여기서 설지 않아요. – I don’t stand here.
- 이거 팔아요. – 이거 팔지 않아요. – I don’t sell this.
Wrap up
You’ve just tackled the wily world of the “ㄹ” irregular verbs, and let me tell you, even some of the most seasoned K-drama watchers get a little twist in their tongues with these ones. But not you! Well… not after some practice, anyway. 😉
Here’s a thought to make you chuckle: If Korean verbs were a party 🎉, the “ㄹ” irregulars would be the ones dancing like no one’s watching – a little unpredictable but always the life of the party! And now, thanks to this lesson, you’re right there dancing along with them. 💃🕺
So, give yourself a pat on the back (or a kimchi pancake treat 🥞), and remember: every hiccup, every stumble, every “Wait, what was that again?” is just a step towards mastery. Keep going, keep practicing, and soon enough, you’ll be chatting away like a Seoul native on a coffee break!
Catch you in the next lesson, and may your Korean always be as smooth as a perfect bibimbap mix! 🍲🥢
Fighting! 💪🇰🇷🎉