LEARN KOREAN (한국어) [GRAMMAR] #1

ㅂ IRREGULAR

If the last letter of a word stem ends in ㅂ (쉽다 - easy), the ㅂ changes to 우 when adding a vowel. 우 then gets added to the next syllable in the conjugated word.

This is mostly done with adjectives. Many verbs end with ㅂ but this rule is rarely applied to verbs (some of the few verbs where this rule applies are: 줍다 (to pick up), 눕다 (to lie down)). For example:

쉽다 - to be easy
쉽 + 어 = 쉬 + 우 + 어 = 쉬워
그것은 쉬워 - That is easy

어렵다 - to be difficult
어렵 + 어요 = 어려 + 우 + 어요 = 어려워요
그것은 어려워요 - That is difficult

귀엽다 - cute
귀엽 + 어요 = 귀여 + 우 + 어요 = 귀여워요
그 여자는 귀여워요 - That girl is cute

In the words "돕다" (to help) and "곱다" (an uncommon way to say "beautiful") ㅂ changes to 오 instead of 우. For example:

돕다 - to help
돕 + 았어요 = 도 + 오 + 았어요 = 도왔어요
저는 저의 어머니를 도왔어요 - I helped my mother

Note: The ㅂ in 돕다 and 곱다 changes to 오 only when ~아/어 (or any derivative like ~았/었다 or ~아/어요) is added. When adding any other vowel, ㅂ changes to 우. As of now, you haven't learned when you would need to add a different vowel. For example, you will learn about adding ~ㄹ/을 to verbs. When this gets added to 돕다, it changes to 도울. This isn't immediately pressing to you now, but you should make a mental note of it.

Because the ㅂ irregular is found in adjectives, you will be conjugating it not only at the end of a sentence, but also in the middle of a sentence (before a noun). Remember the difference between these two sentences.

사과는 크다 - Apples are big
나는 큰 사과를 좋아한다 - I like big apples

In the first sentence, 'big' is an adjective that describes the noun (apple) at the end of the sentence.

In the second, 'big' describes the apple (as 'a big apple') and then "like" acts on the noun. You learned how to describe a noun by placing an adjective with ~ㄴ/은 before it. Adding ~ㄴ/은 to adjectives where the stem ends in "ㅂ" causes this irregular to come into play.

When placing an adjective (who's stem ends in "ㅂ") before a noun to describe it, you add ~ㄴ to the newly formed 우/오 syllable:

귀엽 + ㄴ = 귀여 + 우 + ㄴ = 귀여운
저는 귀여운 여자를 좋아해요 - I like cute girls

More examples:
쉽다 - easy
쉽 + ㄴ = 쉬 + 우 + ㄴ = 쉬운
저는 쉬운 일을 했어요 - I did easy work

부드럽다 - soft
부드럽 + ㄴ = 부드러 + 우 + ㄴ = 부드러운
나는 부드러운 손이 있어 - I have soft hands

춥다 - cold
춥 + ㄴ = 추 + 우 + ㄴ = 추운
저는 추운 날씨를 좋아해요 - I like cold weather

Note that in most irregulars, the word changes differently if the last vowel in the stem is ㅗ OR ㅏ. However, in the ㅂ irregular, except for 돕다 and 곱다, all applicable words are changed by adding 우. Therefore, even in words where the last vowel in the stem is ㅏ (ex: 아름답다) or ㅗ (ex: 새롭다), 우 is added. For example:

아름답다 - beautiful:
아름답 + 어요 = 아름다 + 우 + 어요 = 아름다워요
그 여자는 아름다워요 - That girl is beautiful

새롭다 - new
새롭 + 어요 = 새로 + 우 + 어요 = 새로워요
그 학교는 새로워요 - That school is new
그것은 새로운 학교예요 - That (thing) is a new school

Probably the most confusing of all irregulars, mainly because it seems strange that ㅂ can change to 우/오. The reason this happens is similar to the ㅅ irregular. As you know already, when pronouncing a syllable with the last letter ㅂ, you don't really pronounce the 'B' sound. But, if you add a vowel after ㅂ the sound of 'B' would be pronounced. The purpose of the irregular is to eliminate the 'B' sound which isn't actually in the word. Confusing? Yes, I know, but again, you don't really need to care about why it is done.

This is done to some words ending in ㅂ. Some common words in which this does not apply:

좁다 (narrow):
이 방은 좁아요 - This room is narrow

넓다 (wide):
이 방은 넓어요 - This room is wide (Korean people often describe a room/place being "big" by saying it is "wide"

잡다 (to catch/grab):
저는 공을 잡았어요 - I caught the ball