EveryEduEnglishKorean
The Six Irregulars
ㅂ · ㅡ · 르 · ㄷ · ㅅ · ㅎ — the whole list, and then you are done
You learned that 가다 becomes 가요, the rule worked, and then one day you said 덥어요 and the room went quiet. Irregular conjugation is the doorway from beginner to intermediate Korean, and unusually for Korean grammar it has an ending: six patterns, and no seventh waiting for you afterwards. Seven daily lessons, one pattern at a time, each built on a single fact you can check — the stem only changes before an ending that starts with a vowel, so more than half the time these verbs behave normally. Every day also gives you the regular verbs that look identical: 닫다 beside 듣다, 입다 beside 덥다, 좋다 beside 빨갛다. That second list is the half most textbooks leave out, and leaving it out is why learners who finally master the patterns start applying them to verbs that never changed. The last day puts all six in one conversation and shows you what to do when you cannot remember which is which.
- Lessons
- 7
- Days
- 7
- Minutes
- 117
- Quiz items
- 49
- To pass
- 80%
Curriculum
Each lesson opens when the one before it is passed at 80%.
Week 1 · The six patterns
- 1Six main patterns, and they are not exceptionsWhy stems change at all — and the good news about how many you have to learnSplit any verb into stem and ending, and predict where a change will happen.
- ㅂ — the biggest group덥다 → 더워요, and the two verbs that go 와 instead of 워Conjugate any ㅂ-irregular stem, and recognise the ㅂ verbs that are regular.
- ㅡ drops, and 르 splits바쁘다 → 바빠요 and 모르다 → 몰라요 — two patterns that live next doorDrop a ㅡ correctly, and double the ㄹ in a 르 stem.
- Bonus chapter 1Opens after lesson 3
- ㄷ becomes ㄹ듣다 → 들어요 — and 닫다, which looks identical and does not changeConjugate the ㄷ irregulars, and name the regular ㄷ verbs that look the same.
- ㅅ disappears짓다 → 지어요 — the consonant vanishes but the syllable staysDrop a ㅅ without merging the vowels, and recognise the regular ㅅ verbs.
- ㅎ — colours, and words for how things are빨갛다 → 빨개요, and the one ㅎ verb that matters more than the restConjugate the colour adjectives and 그렇다 · 어떻다, and know that 좋다 is regular.
- Bonus chapter 2Opens after lesson 6
- All six, in one sentence at a timeWhere they stack, what to do when you are unsure, and how to finish this for goodApply the right pattern to any stem on sight, and recover when you cannot.
Languages this course is written in
The lessons are explained in one language. Where a translation exists your screen uses it; where it does not, you see the original rather than a blank.
About this course
Questions and notes from people taking it.
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