몰라
mohl-rah
molra
모르다
To say to not know politely in the present tense, use 몰라요 (mohl-rah-yoh) · molrayo. Below is the full conjugation of 모르다 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 | 몰라요 mohl-rah-yoh molrayo | 모릅니다 moh-reum-nee-dah moreumnida | |
| Past | 몰랐어 mohl-rah-ssuh molrasseo | 몰랐어요 mohl-rah-ssuh-yoh molrasseoyo | 몰랐습니다 mohl-rah-sseum-nee-dah molrasseumnida |
| Future | 모를 거야 moh-reul guh-yah moreul geoya | 모를 거예요 moh-reul guh-yae-yoh moreul geoyeyo | 모를 겁니다 moh-reul guhm-nee-dah moreul geomnida |
Example sentences
- casual present나도 몰라.I don’t know either.
- polite present죄송해요, 잘 몰라요.Sorry, I’m not sure.
- formal present저는 그 일에 대해 아무것도 모릅니다.I know nothing about that.
- casual past오늘이 네 생일인 줄 몰랐어.I didn’t know today was your birthday.
- polite past여기가 이렇게 유명한 줄 몰랐어요.I didn’t know this place was so famous.
- formal past그때는 그 사실을 몰랐습니다.At the time, I didn’t know that.
- casual future걔는 아마 아직 모를 거야.They probably don’t know yet.
- polite future이 길은 동네 사람들도 잘 모를 거예요.Even locals probably don’t know this road well.
- formal future결과는 끝까지 아무도 모를 겁니다.No one will know the outcome until the very end.
- honorific -(으)세요혹시 이 사람 모르세요?Do you happen to know this person?
How it’s used
모르다 means “not to know” and is the normal negative of 알다. With -(으)ㄴ/는 줄 it means “had no idea that”: 비가 오는 줄 몰랐어요 (“I had no idea it was raining”). It is 르-irregular: 몰라요, 몰랐어요, but 모르고, 모릅니다.
Common mistake
Conjugating it regularly: ✗ 모르어요 or 모라요 → ✓ 몰라요. In 르-irregular verbs, 르 becomes 라 or 러 and adds an extra ㄹ to the syllable before.
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
모르세요
moh-reu-sae-yoh
moreuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
몰라요
mohl-rah-yoh
molrayo
Question Polite (요)
몰라요?
mohl-rah-yoh-?
molrayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
모르고
moh-reu-goh
moreugo
Conditional "if" — (면)
모르면
moh-reu-myuhn
moreumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
모르고 있어요
moh-reu-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
moreugo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
모르고 싶어요
moh-reu-goh shee-puh-yoh
moreugo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
모를 수 있어요
moh-reul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
moreul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
몰라서
mohl-rah-suh
molraseo
Noun form — (기)
모르기
moh-reu-gee
moreugi
Noun form — (음)
모름
moh-reum
moreum