If in Korean: 으면 Grammar + Free Worksheet!

My Korean Lesson
22 hours ago
4 min read

안녕하세요! Today, I will teach you how to say "if" or "when" in Korean. At the end of the lesson, you'll be able to make sentences like "If you are tired, get some rest," or "If you have any questions, please let me know." Let's begin! 시작해볼까요 :)?

Level: Beginner
Type: Connective Ending

<Table of Contents>

1. 으면 Grammar

2. Conjugation Information

3. Sentence Information

4. Examples

5. Wrap-up & Worksheet

1 으면 Grammar

(으)면 is simply "if" or "when" in English. It is a connective ending that shows the condition or assumption. You can attach this to a verb, an adjective, or 이다 or 아니다. Let's see one example to understand the meaning.

배고프다(to be hungry) with (으)면 grammar becomes 배고프면 to mean "If you are hungry." It is not that difficult, right?

이것 means "this." 좀 is originally "a little" or "a few," but in daily life, it is often used to soften a request for a favor or agreement. 드세요 came from 드시다, which is an honorific version of 먹다 (to eat).

2 Conjugation Info

Given that the rule is written as (으)면, we can infer that the presence of a final consonant(받침) is crucial for the conjugation. I will first explain the regular rules and then present the irregular rules.

Regular

받침 O	으면	먹다(to eat) → 먹으면
받침 X	면	가다(to go) → 가면
ㄹ 받침	면	만들다(to make) → 만들면

By now, you're likely familiar with the fact that the ㄹ 받침 is always unique. Even when there is a final consonant, if it is ㄹ, you add 면 instead of 으면! Let's check out some more examples!

읽다 (to read) → 읽으면
좋다 (to be good) → 좋으면
작다 (to be small) → 작으면
찾다 (to find) → 찾으면
짧다 (to be short) → 짧으면

오다 (to come) → 오면
크다 (to be big) → 크면
빠르다 (to be fast) → 빠르면
마시다 (to drink) → 마시면
주다 (to give) → 주면

놀다 (to play) → 놀면
길다 (to be long) → 길면

Irregular

Now, let's check out some irregular rules. When the final consonant is ㅂ, ㄷ, ㅅ, or ㅎ, you have to use the irregular rules. But watch out, not all these words follow the irregular rules. Some words follow the regular rules, even if they end with a special final consonant.

ㄷ 받침	Change ㄷ to ㄹ + 으면	듣다(to listen) → 들으면
ㅅ 받침	Drop ㅅ + 으면	짓다(to build) → 지으면
ㅂ 받침	Drop ㅂ + 우면	돕다 (to help) → 도우면
ㅎ 받침	Drop ㅎ + 면	파랗다 (to be blue) → 파라면

Here are some examples for you! To learn more about the irregular ㄷ and ㅅ, please click here. For information on ㅂ and ㅎ, click here to explore further!

걷다 (to walk) → 걸으면
묻다 (to ask) → 물으면

잇다 (to connect) → 이으면
낫다 (to heal/to be better) → 나으면

줍다 (to pick up) → 주우면
굽다 (to grill/to bake) → 구우면

Ensure you attach "우"면 instead of "으"면, as with other rules! The irregular ㅂ is always a unique case!

하얗다 (to be white) → 하야면
동그랗다 (to be round) → 동그라면

이다/아니다

You attach 면 to 이다 and 아니다 and become 이면 and 아니면. But when a noun ends without a final consonant, usually you directly attach 면 to the noun.

받침O N이다	N이면	학생이다 → 학생이면
받침X N이다	N면	의사이다 → 의사면
받침 O N이 아니다	N이 아니면	학생이 아니다 → 학생이 아니면
받침 X N가 아니다	N가 아니면	의사가 아니다 → 의사가 아니면

3 Sentence Info

Adverbs

Adverbs such as "만약," "만일," "혹시," or "가령" are often used with this grammar. They emphasize that something is uncertain or improbable. They come at the beginning of a sentence.

만약(suppose) and 만일(one out of 10,000) are generally used with similar meanings, but "만일" sounds more formal and cautious than "만약." "혹시(perhaps)" is used to express a situation that is less likely or more concerning than "만약." "가령(suppose, for example)" can be used to give an example of a non-existent situation.

If I am late, just go first.

만약 내가 늦으면 그냥 먼저 가.

만일 내가 늦으면 그냥 먼저 가.

혹시 내가 늦으면 그냥 먼저 가.

Suppose you win the lottery, then what do you want to do?

가령 네가 로또에 당첨되면, 뭘 하고 싶어?

Pattern

It is often used in structures like "-으면 하다", "-으면 싶다", "-으면 좋겠다", "-으면 -을 텐데" to show the speaker's hope or wish.

오늘은 공원에 갔으면 해요. I hope we go to the park today.

오늘은 공원에 가면 좋겠어요. I'd like to go to the park today.

오늘 친구가 오면 공원에 갈텐데. I'd go to the park if my friend came today.

4 Example

추우면 보일러를 트세요.

If you are cold, turn on the boiler(furnace).

In Korea, people use the furnace to heat the floor instead of the air. Traditionally, people use the floor heating system called 온돌(heated stone) during harsh winters.

춥다 is an irregular ㅂ verb, so it is conjugated as 추우면. 트세요 is derived from the verb 틀다, which means "to turn on (TV, water faucet, music, etc) ."

질문 있으면 하세요.

If you have any questions, let me know.

It is actually 질문 있으면, 질문 하세요. If you have a question, ask. But 질문(question) part is repeated, so it is omitted.

피곤하면 좀 쉬세요.

Please rest, if you are tired.

피곤하다 means to be tired. 쉬세요 came from 쉬다 (to rest).

내일 날씨가 좋으면 소풍을 갈까요?

If the weather is good tomorrow, shall we go on a picnic?

내일-tomorrow, 날씨-weather, 날씨가 좋다-weather is good/nice, 소풍-picnic

지금 출발하면 버스를 탈 수 있을 거예요.

If you leave now, you'll be able to catch the bus.

출발하다-to departure/leave/start, 지금-now, 타다-to rice, 수 있다-be able to, (으)ㄹ 거예요-(guess) will

5 Wrap-up & Worksheet

Great work, everyone! Let's review today's lesson. If it was difficult, please review the lesson using the worksheet below. (어려웠으면 학습지로 복습하세요.) I make all the worksheets by myself. So, please do not modify, reproduce, or sell these worksheets! To support my website, please share the lessons with your study mate and consider donating. Thank you so much!! 감사합니다.💖