말아
mah-rah
mara
말다
To say to not do something, to stop doing politely in the present tense, use 말아요 (mah-rah-yoh) · marayo. Below is the full conjugation of 말다 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 | 말아요 mah-rah-yoh marayo | 맙니다 mahm-nee-dah mamnida | |
| Past | 말았어 mah-rah-ssuh marasseo | 말았어요 mah-rah-ssuh-yoh marasseoyo | 말았습니다 mah-rah-sseum-nee-dah marasseumnida |
| Future | 말 거야 mahl guh-yah mal geoya | 말 거예요 mahl guh-yae-yoh mal geoyeyo | 말 겁니다 mahl guhm-nee-dah mal geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
마세요
mah-sae-yoh
maseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
말아요
mah-rah-yoh
marayo
Question Polite (요)
말아요?
mah-rah-yoh-?
marayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
말고
mahl-goh
malgo
Conditional "if" — (면)
말면
mahl-myuhn
malmyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
말고 있어요
mahl-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
malgo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
말고 싶어요
mahl-goh shee-puh-yoh
malgo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
말 수 있어요
mahl soo ee-ssuh-yoh
mal su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
말아서
mah-rah-suh
maraseo
Noun form — (기)
말기
mahl-gee
malgi
Noun form — (음)
맒
mahm
mam