불러
bool-ruh
bulreo
부르다
To say to call, to sing politely in the present tense, use 불러요 (bool-ruh-yoh) · bulreoyo. Below is the full conjugation of 부르다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (르 irregular): 르-irregular verbs and adjectives end in 르다. Before the -어/-아 suffix the 르 splits: the ㅡ vowel drops and a ㄹ is added as the final consonant of the preceding syllable. 모르다 (not to know) → 몰라요 (not *모르어요), 부르다 (to call) → 불러요. Before consonant suffixes 르 stays intact: 모르고, 부르지. See all 르-irregular verbs →
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
Highlighted = where the stem changes
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 불러요 bool-ruh-yoh bulreoyo | 부릅니다 boo-reum-nee-dah bureumnida | |
| Past | 불렀어 bool-ruh-ssuh bulreosseo | 불렀어요 bool-ruh-ssuh-yoh bulreosseoyo | 불렀습니다 bool-ruh-sseum-nee-dah bulreosseumnida |
| Future | 부를 거야 boo-reul guh-yah bureul geoya | 부를 거예요 boo-reul guh-yae-yoh bureul geoyeyo | 부를 겁니다 boo-reul guhm-nee-dah bureul geomnida |
Example sentences
- casual present누가 나 불러?Is someone calling me?
- polite present저는 샤워할 때 노래를 불러요.I sing in the shower.
- formal present한국에서는 선생님을 이름 대신 ‘선생님’이라고 부릅니다.In Korea, people call teachers “선생님” instead of using their name.
- casual past택시 불렀어?Did you call a taxi?
- polite past노래방에서 친구들하고 노래를 불렀어요.I sang karaoke with friends.
- formal past응급 상황이라 바로 구급차를 불렀습니다.It was an emergency, so we called an ambulance right away.
- casual future결혼식에서 내가 축가 부를 거야.I’m going to sing at the wedding.
- polite future이사할 때 친구들을 부를 거예요.I’ll call some friends over when I move.
- formal future지금부터 이름을 부를 겁니다.I will now call out your names.
- honorific -(으)세요필요하면 언제든지 저를 부르세요.Call me any time you need me.
How it’s used
부르다 means to call someone over or call for something (택시를 부르다), to call something by a name (A를 B라고 부르다), and to sing (노래를 부르다). A separate adjective 부르다 means “full”: 배가 불러요 (“I’m full”). It is 르-irregular: 불러요, 불렀어요, but 부르고, 부릅니다.
Common mistake
Using 부르다 for phone calls. 친구를 불렀어요 means “I called my friend over”; to say you phoned them, use 전화하다: 친구에게 전화했어요.
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
부르세요
boo-reu-sae-yoh
bureuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
불러요
bool-ruh-yoh
bulreoyo
Question Polite (요)
불러요?
bool-ruh-yoh-?
bulreoyo?
Connective "and" — (고)
부르고
boo-reu-goh
bureugo
Conditional "if" — (면)
부르면
boo-reu-myuhn
bureumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
부르고 있어요
boo-reu-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
bureugo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
부르고 싶어요
boo-reu-goh shee-puh-yoh
bureugo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
부를 수 있어요
boo-reul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
bureul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
불러서
bool-ruh-suh
bulreoseo
Noun form — (기)
부르기
boo-reu-gee
bureugi
Noun form — (음)
부름
boo-reum
bureum