웃어
oo-suh
useo
regular
웃다
To say to laugh, to smile politely in the present tense, use 웃어요 (oo-suh-yoh) · useoyo. Below is the full conjugation of 웃다 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 | 웃어요 oo-suh-yoh useoyo | 웃습니다 oot-seum-nee-dah utseumnida | |
| Past | 웃었어 oo-suh-ssuh useosseo | 웃었어요 oo-suh-ssuh-yoh useosseoyo | 웃었습니다 oo-suh-sseum-nee-dah useosseumnida |
| Future | 웃을 거야 oo-seul guh-yah useul geoya | 웃을 거예요 oo-seul guh-yae-yoh useul geoyeyo | 웃을 겁니다 oo-seul guhm-nee-dah useul geomnida |
Example sentences
- casual present왜 웃어?Why are you laughing?
- polite present우리 아기는 하루 종일 웃어요.Our baby smiles all day long.
- formal present그 코미디언이 나오면 관객들이 크게 웃습니다.The audience laughs out loud whenever that comedian comes on.
- casual past너 지금 웃었어?Did you just laugh?
- polite past친구 농담에 크게 웃었어요.I laughed hard at my friend’s joke.
- formal past사진을 찍을 때 모두 환하게 웃었습니다.Everyone smiled brightly for the photo.
- casual future이 영상 보면 너도 웃을 거야.You’ll laugh when you see this video.
- polite future힘들어도 계속 웃을 거예요.Even when things are hard, I’m going to keep smiling.
- formal future이 이야기를 들으면 모두 웃을 겁니다.Everyone will laugh when they hear this story.
- honorific -(으)세요자, 웃으세요! 하나, 둘, 셋!Okay, smile! One, two, three!
How it’s used
웃다 covers both laughing and smiling; for a quiet smile you can also say 미소를 짓다. 비웃다 means to laugh at someone, to mock. The related verb 웃기다 (literally “to make laugh”) is how you say something is funny: 그 영화 진짜 웃겨요.
Common mistake
Using 웃다 to mean “funny”: ✗ 그 영상 웃어요 → ✓ 그 영상 웃겨요. 웃다 is what you do; 웃기다 is what makes you do it.
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
웃으세요
oo-seu-sae-yoh
useuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
웃어요
oo-suh-yoh
useoyo
Question Polite (요)
웃어요?
oo-suh-yoh-?
useoyo?
Connective "and" — (고)
웃고
oot-goh
utgo
Conditional "if" — (면)
웃으면
oo-seu-myuhn
useumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
웃고 있어요
oot-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
utgo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
웃고 싶어요
oot-goh shee-puh-yoh
utgo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
웃을 수 있어요
oo-seul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
useul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
웃어서
oo-suh-suh
useoseo
Noun form — (기)
웃기
oot-gee
utgi
Noun form — (음)
웃음
oo-seum
useum