Some stems end in ㅡ, a vowel so weak it simply gets out of the way.
아프다 → 아프 + 아요 → 아파요
The ㅡ vanishes, and the ending attaches to what is left.
Which ending, once ㅡ is gone?
Look at the vowel before the ㅡ.
아프 → the vowel before ㅡ is ㅏ → 아요 → 아파요 예쁘 → the vowel before ㅡ is ㅖ → 어요 → 예뻐요
If there is no vowel before it at all, use 어요: 쓰다 → 써요.
아프다to hurt · 아파요
바쁘다to be busy · 바빠요
배고프다to be hungry · 배고파요
예쁘다to be pretty · 예뻐요
쓰다to write / use · 써요
Every stem ending in ㅡ does this — there are no exceptions. That makes it the friendliest pattern in Korean. Notice how much you can already say: 아파요, 바빠요, 배고파요 are three of the most common sentences in daily life.
머리가 아파요.I have a headache. 아프다 → 아파요
요즘 정말 바빠요.I’m really busy these days.
저 지금 배고파요.I’m hungry right now.
연습 · Practice
이 레슨에는 풀어 보는 문제가 7개 있습니다. 앱에서 하나씩 맞히며 넘어갑니다. 7 exercises come with this lesson — open it to work through them.