[Korean Sentence Pattern #04] V/A -아요/어요 (Everyday Polite Korean)

Learn to use V/A -아요/어요 to talk about what you do and how things are. Practice with everyday words, then make sentences that are true for you.

You tell a friend what you eat for breakfast. You say the coffee is good. Someone asks what you do on weekends.

In Korean, one everyday ending helps you with all three:

V/A -아요/어요.
Talk about actions and describe how things are in polite Korean.

V means a verb, such as 먹다 (to eat). A means an adjective, such as 좋다 (to be good).

Let’s start with something you might say at a café.

1. What does -아요/어요 do?

You take a sip of coffee and say:

커피가 좋아요.
The coffee is good.

Then you talk about your morning routine:

저는 커피를 마셔요.
I drink coffee.

좋아요 describes something. 마셔요 tells us about an action. Both use the same kind of polite ending.

This is a common way to speak in everyday conversations. It sounds polite without being as formal as -ㅂ니다/습니다.

In this lesson, we’ll use it for everyday actions, habits, and present states.

You’ve already seen this ending in 있어요 and 없어요. Now you can use it with more words.

2. Start with the stem

When you look up a Korean verb or adjective, its dictionary form ends in 다.

Remove 다 to find the stem. This is the part you attach the ending to.

For example:

먹다 → 먹- + 어요 → 먹어요.
eat / eats

Attach the ending directly to the stem, with no space:

먹어요. ✓
먹 어요. ✗

The next step is choosing 아요 or 어요.

3. Choose 아요 or 어요

Look at the last vowel in the stem.

If it is ㅏ or ㅗ, use -아요.

For most other vowels, use -어요.

Think about the vowel, even when the stem ends in a consonant.

In 읽다, the stem is 읽-. Its vowel is ㅣ, so you get 읽어요.

Some words have extra spelling changes. We’ll start with a few common forms you can use right away.

4. With 하다, use 해요

하다 becomes 해요.

하다 → 해요
to do → do / does

Many useful words end in 하다. Change that part to 해요.

After work, you might say:

저는 한국어를 공부해요.
I study Korean.

Or after a long day:

오늘은 피곤해요.
I’m tired today.

The same change works with 하다 verbs and 하다 adjectives.

5. Get to know common shortened forms

When a stem ends in a vowel, it often combines with the vowel in the ending.

You’ll hear these forms often:

Try them in a sentence:

학교에 가요.
I go to school.

영화를 봐요.
I watch a movie.

물을 마셔요.
I drink water.

You don’t need to memorize every spelling change today. Start with two or three words you use often, and learn their everyday forms together.

Some words follow additional rules, such as 듣다 → 들어요 (to listen) and 춥다 → 추워요 (to be cold). Learn those as a separate step.

6. Describe how things are

In English, you say “is good” or “is small.” Korean adjectives can finish the sentence themselves.

날씨가 좋아요.
The weather is good.

방이 작아요.
The room is small.

음식이 맛있어요.
The food is delicious.

You don’t need to add 이에요 or 예요 after these adjective forms.

방이 작아요. ✓
방이 작아요예요. ✗

Use 이에요/예요 with a noun when you want to say what someone or something is:

저는 학생이에요.
I’m a student.

Use an adjective with -아요/어요 to describe a quality or state:

저는 피곤해요.
I’m tired.

7. Pick a sentence from your day

What do you do regularly? How are you feeling today?

Try one of these sentences:

You can begin with 저는 when you want to identify yourself as the topic. If it’s already clear who you’re talking about, you can leave it out.

저는 한국어를 배워요.
I learn Korean.

한국어를 배워요.
I learn Korean.

The ending stays the same whether you’re talking about yourself or someone else. Korean doesn’t change it for “I,” “you,” or “we.”

Choose one sentence that is true for you, and say it aloud.

8. Turn your sentence into a question

For a simple yes-or-no question, keep the same form and raise your voice at the end.

커피를 마셔요.
I drink coffee.

커피를 마셔요?
Do you drink coffee?

The words stay the same. Your intonation and the situation help show that you’re asking a question.

Talking about a routine

A: 운동해요?
Do you exercise?

B: 네, 운동해요.
Yes, I do.

Checking how someone feels

A: 피곤해요?
Are you tired?

B: 네, 조금 피곤해요.
Yes, I’m a little tired.

Talking about food

A: 음식이 맛있어요?
Is the food delicious?

B: 네, 맛있어요.
Yes, it is.

Once the topic is clear, a short answer works well.

9. Make three sentences about your life

Complete these prompts with your own words. Use the vocabulary from this lesson to help you.

1. Something you eat or drink:
   저는 __________을/를 __________.
2. Something you do regularly:
   저는 __________.
3. How you feel today:
   오늘은 __________.

Use 을 after a noun ending in a consonant and 를 after a noun ending in a vowel when marking what you eat or drink.

Here’s one possible set:

저는 빵을 먹어요.
I eat bread.

저는 운동해요.
I exercise.

오늘은 피곤해요.
I’m tired today.

Read your sentences aloud. Then look away and try saying them again.

Can you change one into a question you could ask a friend?

10. Put a small part of your day into Korean

You can now combine actions and descriptions to say a little more about your life.

아침에 커피를 마셔요. 빵을 먹어요.
I drink coffee in the morning. I eat bread.

한국어를 배워요. 재미있어요.
I learn Korean. It’s fun.

오늘은 일해요. 조금 피곤해요.
I’m working today. I’m a little tired.

Depending on the situation, an action with -아요/어요 can describe a habit or something happening now. You don’t need a different ending just because the English translation uses “-ing.”

What would your two sentences be?

Choose something you do and add one detail about your day. Say both in Korean, and you’ve used this pattern to tell someone a little about your life.