알아
ah-rah
ara
알다
To say to know politely in the present tense, use 알아요 (ah-rah-yoh) · arayo. Below is the full conjugation of 알다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (ㄹ stem): ㄹ-stem verbs end in ㄹ as the final consonant. They are conjugated regularly with vowel suffixes (살다 → 살아요), but the ㄹ drops before certain consonant suffixes — specifically before ㄴ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and before the formal ending 습니다: 살다 → 사는, 삽니다, 살지 (ㄹ kept before ㅈ). This is sometimes called a "ㄹ drop" or "ㄹ irregular." See all ㄹ-stem verbs →
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
Highlighted = where the stem changes
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 알아요 ah-rah-yoh arayo | 압니다 ahm-nee-dah amnida | |
| Past | 알았어 ah-rah-ssuh arasseo | 알았어요 ah-rah-ssuh-yoh arasseoyo | 알았습니다 ah-rah-sseum-nee-dah arasseumnida |
| Future | 알 거야 ahl guh-yah al geoya | 알 거예요 ahl guh-yae-yoh al geoyeyo | 알 겁니다 ahl guhm-nee-dah al geomnida |
Example sentences
- casual present나도 알아.I know.
- polite present저 그 사람 알아요.I know that person.
- formal present그 문제는 저도 잘 압니다.I’m well aware of that problem.
- casual past알았어, 지금 갈게.Okay, I’m on my way.
- polite past네, 알았어요.Okay, got it.
- formal past네, 잘 알았습니다.Yes, understood.
- casual future민수도 그 얘기 알 거야.Minsu probably knows about that too.
- polite future그 식당은 유명해서 다들 알 거예요.That restaurant is famous, so everyone probably knows it.
- formal future결과는 다음 주에 알 겁니다.We will know the results next week.
- honorific -(으)세요혹시 이 근처에 약국이 어디 있는지 아세요?Do you happen to know where there’s a pharmacy around here?
How it’s used
알다 means to know a fact or a person. The past 알았어(요) is used to mean “okay, got it,” and the formal 알겠습니다 means “understood.” To say you know how to do something, use -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다: 운전할 줄 알아요 (“I can drive”). As an ㄹ-stem verb it drops ㄹ before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ: 압니다, 아세요, 아는 사람.
Common mistake
Negating 알다 with 안: ✗ 안 알아요 → ✓ 몰라요. Korean has a separate verb for “not know,” 모르다.
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
아세요
ah-sae-yoh
aseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
알아요
ah-rah-yoh
arayo
Question Polite (요)
알아요?
ah-rah-yoh-?
arayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
알고
ahl-goh
algo
Conditional "if" — (면)
알면
ahl-myuhn
almyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
알고 있어요
ahl-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
algo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
알고 싶어요
ahl-goh shee-puh-yoh
algo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
알 수 있어요
ahl soo ee-ssuh-yoh
al su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
알아서
ah-rah-suh
araseo
Noun form — (기)
알기
ahl-gee
algi
Noun form — (음)
앎
ahm
am