겉핥아
guh-tahl-ah
geothaa
regular
겉핥다
To say to scratch the surface, to know superficially politely in the present tense, use 겉핥아요 (guh-tahl-ah-yoh) · geothaayo. Below is the full conjugation of 겉핥다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (regular): Regular verbs and adjectives conjugate predictably. Before 어-series suffixes, vowels may contract (가 + 아 → 가, 보 + 아 → 봐), but no consonant in the stem changes. If the final vowel of the stem is ㅏ or ㅗ, use 아; otherwise use 어. Consonant-final stems: 먹 + 어 → 먹어; vowel-final: 가 + 아 → 가.
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 겉핥아요 guh-tahl-ah-yoh geothaayo | 겉핥습니다 guh-tahl-seum-nee-dah geothaseumnida | |
| Past | 겉핥았어 guh-tahl-ah-ssuh geothaasseo | 겉핥았어요 guh-tahl-ah-ssuh-yoh geothaasseoyo | 겉핥았습니다 guh-tahl-ah-sseum-nee-dah geothaasseumnida |
| Future | 겉핥을 거야 guh-tahl-eul guh-yah geothaeul geoya | 겉핥을 거예요 guh-tahl-eul guh-yae-yoh geothaeul geoyeyo | 겉핥을 겁니다 guh-tahl-eul guhm-nee-dah geothaeul geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
겉핥으세요
guh-tahl-eu-sae-yoh
geothaeuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
겉핥아요
guh-tahl-ah-yoh
geothaayo
Question Polite (요)
겉핥아요?
guh-tahl-ah-yoh-?
geothaayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
겉핥고
guh-tahl-goh
geothago
Conditional "if" — (면)
겉핥으면
guh-tahl-eu-myuhn
geothaeumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
겉핥고 있어요
guh-tahl-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
geothago isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
겉핥고 싶어요
guh-tahl-goh shee-puh-yoh
geothago sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
겉핥을 수 있어요
guh-tahl-eul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
geothaeul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
겉핥아서
guh-tahl-ah-suh
geothaaseo
Noun form — (기)
겉핥기
guh-tahl-gee
geothagi
Noun form — (음)
겉핥음
guh-tahl-eum
geothaeum