How to Make Past Tense in Korean: ~았/었어요 Explained
Jun 05, 2026You've learned how to talk about the present in Korean. Now it's time to talk about the past.
"I ate Korean food." "I went to Seoul." "It was delicious."
In Korean, there's one core pattern that handles all of this: ~았/었어요. It's the polite past tense ending - and once you've got it, you can immediately start telling stories, sharing experiences, and having real conversations about things that already happened.
Let's break it down.
How to Form the Past Tense
The past tense in Korean follows the same logic as the present tense ~아요/어요 - with one key change: you add ㅆ (a double-siot consonant) before 어요.
Here's the process:
Step 1: Remove 다 from the dictionary form → get the verb stem Step 2: Check the last vowel of the stem (same rule as ~아요/어요) Step 3: Add 았어요 (if last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ) or 었어요 (all other vowels)
| Last vowel | Present tense | Past tense |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ or ㅗ | 아요 | 았어요 |
| Any other | 어요 | 었어요 |
| 하다 verbs | 해요 | 했어요 |
Verbs with 았어요 (last vowel: ㅏ or ㅗ)
| Dictionary form | Stem | Present | Past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 가다 | 가 | 가요 | 갔어요 | went |
| 오다 | 오 | 와요 | 왔어요 | came |
| 살다 | 살 | 살아요 | 살았어요 | lived |
| 앉다 | 앉 | 앉아요 | 앉았어요 | sat |
| 받다 | 받 | 받아요 | 받았어요 | received |
| 많다 | 많 | 많아요 | 많았어요 | was a lot |
| 작다 | 작 | 작아요 | 작았어요 | was small |
💡 Notice 가다 → 갔어요 (not 가았어요). When the stem already ends in ㅏ, the vowels contract: ㅏ + 았 → ㅏ + ㅆ = 갔. Same with 오다 → 왔어요.
Verbs with 었어요 (all other vowels)
| Dictionary form | Stem | Present | Past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹어요 | 먹었어요 | ate |
| 마시다 | 마시 | 마셔요 | 마셨어요 | drank |
| 읽다 | 읽 | 읽어요 | 읽었어요 | read |
| 배우다 | 배우 | 배워요 | 배웠어요 | learned |
| 자다 | 자 | 자요 | 잤어요 | slept |
| 쓰다 | 쓰 | 써요 | 썼어요 | wrote / used |
| 있다 | 있 | 있어요 | 있었어요 | was / there was |
| 없다 | 없 | 없어요 | 없었어요 | wasn't / there wasn't |
| 좋다 | 좋 | 좋아요 | 좋았어요 | was good |
| 크다 | 크 | 커요 | 컸어요 | was big |
| 보다 | 보 | 봐요 | 봤어요 | saw / watched |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 들어요 | 들었어요 | listened / heard |
하다 Verbs → 했어요
하다 verbs always follow the same pattern - no need to check vowels.
| Dictionary form | Present | Past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 공부하다 | 공부해요 | 공부했어요 | studied |
| 운동하다 | 운동해요 | 운동했어요 | exercised |
| 일하다 | 일해요 | 일했어요 | worked |
| 요리하다 | 요리해요 | 요리했어요 | cooked |
| 전화하다 | 전화해요 | 전화했어요 | called |
| 청소하다 | 청소해요 | 청소했어요 | cleaned |
| 사랑하다 | 사랑해요 | 사랑했어요 | loved |
| 여행하다 | 여행해요 | 여행했어요 | traveled |
이에요/예요 → 이었어요/였어요
The "to be" verb also has a past form - used to describe what something was.
| Noun ending | Present | Past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consonant | 이에요 | 이었어요 | was |
| Vowel | 예요 | 였어요 | was |
| Korean | Natural Translation |
|---|---|
| 저는 학생이었어요. | I was a student. |
| 그것은 꿈이었어요. | It was a dream. |
| 날씨가 맑았어요. | The weather was clear. |
| 정말 좋은 하루였어요. | It was a really good day. |
| 어렸을 때 선생님이었어요. | I was a teacher when I was young. |
Past Tense in Real Sentences
Now let's see ~았/었어요 doing real work. Pay attention to the Literal vs Natural translations.
🍽️ Food & Daily Life
어제 비빔밥을 먹었어요.
- Literal: Yesterday bibimbap [object] ate
- Natural: I ate bibimbap yesterday.
아침에 커피를 마셨어요.
- Literal: Morning [at] coffee [object] drank
- Natural: I drank coffee in the morning.
어젯밤에 늦게 잤어요.
- Literal: Last night late slept
- Natural: I slept late last night.
오늘 아침을 안 먹었어요.
- Literal: Today breakfast [object] didn't eat
- Natural: I didn't eat breakfast today.
✈️ Travel & Experience
작년에 서울에 갔어요.
- Literal: Last year Seoul [to] went
- Natural: I went to Seoul last year.
한국에서 3년 동안 살았어요.
- Literal: Korea [in] 3 years during lived
- Natural: I lived in Korea for 3 years.
부산의 바다를 봤어요.
- Literal: Busan's ocean [object] saw
- Natural: I saw the ocean in Busan.
지하철을 처음 탔어요.
- Literal: Subway [object] for the first time rode
- Natural: I rode the subway for the first time.
📚 Study & Work
어제 한국어를 두 시간 공부했어요.
- Literal: Yesterday Korean [object] two hours studied
- Natural: I studied Korean for two hours yesterday.
새 단어를 많이 배웠어요.
- Literal: New words [object] a lot learned
- Natural: I learned a lot of new words.
어제 일을 너무 많이 했어요.
- Literal: Yesterday work [object] too much did
- Natural: I did too much work yesterday.
🎬 Entertainment & Feelings
어제 한국 영화를 봤어요.
- Natural: I watched a Korean movie yesterday.
그 노래를 들었어요. 정말 좋았어요.
- Natural: I listened to that song. It was really good.
드라마가 너무 재미있었어요.
- Natural: The drama was so interesting.
생각보다 어렵지 않았어요.
- Natural: It wasn't as hard as I thought.
Negative Past Tense: Didn't / Wasn't
To say you didn't do something, use 안 before the verb, or add 지 않았어요 after the stem.
Method 1: 안 + past tense verb
| Korean | Natural Translation |
|---|---|
| 안 먹었어요. | I didn't eat. |
| 안 갔어요. | I didn't go. |
| 안 잤어요. | I didn't sleep. |
| 안 했어요. | I didn't do it. |
Method 2: verb stem + 지 않았어요
| Korean | Natural Translation |
|---|---|
| 먹지 않았어요. | I didn't eat. |
| 가지 않았어요. | I didn't go. |
| 공부하지 않았어요. | I didn't study. |
Both methods are correct. 안 + verb is more casual and common in speech. ~지 않았어요 is slightly more formal.
Asking Questions in the Past Tense
To turn a past tense sentence into a question, just raise your intonation - no other changes needed.
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| 먹었어요. (I ate.) | 먹었어요? (Did you eat?) |
| 갔어요. (I went.) | 갔어요? (Did you go?) |
| 재미있었어요. (It was fun.) | 재미있었어요? (Was it fun?) |
| 잘 잤어요. (I slept well.) | 잘 잤어요? (Did you sleep well?) |
💡 밥 먹었어요? (Did you eat?) is one of the most common greetings in Korean culture - Koreans ask this the way English speakers ask "How are you?" Knowing the past tense lets you answer naturally!
Real Conversations in the Past Tense
📍 Conversation 1: Monday morning small talk
A: 주말에 뭐 했어요? (What did you do over the weekend?)
B: 친구를 만났어요. 같이 한국 식당에 갔어요. (I met a friend. We went to a Korean restaurant together.)
A: 뭐 먹었어요? (What did you eat?)
B: 삼겹살을 먹었어요. 너무 맛있었어요! (We ate samgyeopsal. It was so delicious!)
A: 저도 먹고 싶어요. (I want to eat that too.)
📍 Conversation 2: Talking about a trip
A: 한국에 가봤어요? (Have you been to Korea?)
B: 네, 작년에 갔어요. 서울이랑 부산에 갔어요. (Yes, I went last year. I went to Seoul and Busan.)
A: 어땠어요? (How was it?)
B: 정말 좋았어요. 음식도 맛있었고 사람들도 친절했어요. (It was really great. The food was delicious and the people were kind.)
A: 또 가고 싶어요? (Do you want to go again?)
B: 네, 꼭 다시 가고 싶어요! (Yes, I definitely want to go again!)
Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense
Some verbs follow special patterns (불규칙) in Korean. Here are the most common ones you'll encounter at the A1 level:
ㅂ 불규칙 (ㅂ irregular)
Verbs ending in ㅂ → ㅂ drops and 워 is added
| Dictionary form | Present | Past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 덥다 | 더워요 | 더웠어요 | was hot |
| 춥다 | 추워요 | 추웠어요 | was cold |
| 맵다 | 매워요 | 매웠어요 | was spicy |
| 어렵다 | 어려워요 | 어려웠어요 | was difficult |
| 쉽다 | 쉬워요 | 쉬웠어요 | was easy |
어제 날씨가 더웠어요. The weather was hot yesterday. 한국어가 어렵지 않았어요. Korean wasn't difficult.
르 불규칙 (르 irregular)
Verbs ending in 르 → 르 becomes 랐/렀
| Dictionary form | Present | Past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 모르다 | 몰라요 | 몰랐어요 | didn't know |
| 부르다 | 불러요 | 불렀어요 | called / sang |
| 다르다 | 달라요 | 달랐어요 | was different |
| 빠르다 | 빨라요 | 빨랐어요 | was fast |
그때는 몰랐어요. I didn't know at that time.
Quick Practice
Conjugate these verbs into the polite past tense:
- 보다 (to watch/see)
- 마시다 (to drink)
- 여행하다 (to travel)
- 춥다 (to be cold — ㅂ irregular)
- 모르다 (to not know — 르 irregular)
Answers:
- 봤어요
- 마셨어요
- 여행했어요
- 추웠어요
- 몰랐어요
Summary
| Pattern | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stem + 았어요 | Last vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ | 가다 → 갔어요 |
| Stem + 었어요 | All other vowels | 먹다 → 먹었어요 |
| 했어요 | 하다 verbs | 공부하다 → 공부했어요 |
| 이었어요/였어요 | "was" (to be) | 학생이었어요 |
| 안 + past | Negative | 안 갔어요 |
With the past tense, your Korean jumps forward dramatically. You can now tell stories, describe experiences, talk about your week, share how something felt - the whole range of real conversation suddenly opens up.
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