힘써
heem-ssuh
himsseo
힘쓰다
To say to exert oneself politely in the present tense, use 힘써요 (heem-ssuh-yoh) · himsseoyo. Below is the full conjugation of 힘쓰다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (으 irregular): 으-irregular verbs end in ㅡ preceded by a consonant (e.g. 쓰다, 예쁘다). Before a vowel suffix, the ㅡ is dropped entirely. 쓰다 (to write) → 써요, 예쁘다 (to be pretty) → 예뻐요. Because ㅡ itself has no inherent "brighter" or "darker" quality, the vowel harmony is determined by the preceding syllable. See all 으-irregular verbs →
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
Highlighted = where the stem changes
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 힘써요 heem-ssuh-yoh himsseoyo | 힘씁니다 heem-sseum-nee-dah himsseumnida | |
| Past | 힘썼어 heem-ssuh-ssuh himsseosseo | 힘썼어요 heem-ssuh-ssuh-yoh himsseosseoyo | 힘썼습니다 heem-ssuh-sseum-nee-dah himsseosseumnida |
| Future | 힘쓸 거야 heem-sseul guh-yah himsseul geoya | 힘쓸 거예요 heem-sseul guh-yae-yoh himsseul geoyeyo | 힘쓸 겁니다 heem-sseul guhm-nee-dah himsseul geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
힘쓰세요
heem-sseu-sae-yoh
himsseuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
힘써요
heem-ssuh-yoh
himsseoyo
Question Polite (요)
힘써요?
heem-ssuh-yoh-?
himsseoyo?
Connective "and" — (고)
힘쓰고
heem-sseu-goh
himsseugo
Conditional "if" — (면)
힘쓰면
heem-sseu-myuhn
himsseumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
힘쓰고 있어요
heem-sseu-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
himsseugo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
힘쓰고 싶어요
heem-sseu-goh shee-puh-yoh
himsseugo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
힘쓸 수 있어요
heem-sseul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
himsseul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
힘써서
heem-ssuh-suh
himsseoseo
Noun form — (기)
힘쓰기
heem-sseu-gee
himsseugi
Noun form — (음)
힘씀
heem-sseum
himsseum