먹다

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Worin cheon'gangjigok (月印千江之曲 / 월인천강지곡), 1449, as Middle Korean 먹다 (Yale: mekta).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [mʌ̹k̚t͈a̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [먹따]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	meokda
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	meogda
McCune–Reischauer?	mŏkta
Yale Romanization?	mekta

Verb

먹다 • (meokda) (infinitive 먹어, sequential 먹으니)

1. to eat, to have
   • 밥을 먹다

     babeul meokda

     to eat food

   • 아침은 먹었니?

     achimeun meogeonni?

     Have you had your breakfast?

   • 사양하지 않고 먹겠습니다.

     sayanghaji anko meokgetseumnida.

     I will help myself. Thank you.

   • 그 여자는 그 음식을 좀 먹었다. 그런데 모두 먹기에는 그렇게 배고프지 않았다. 그래서 나중에 다 먹으려고 냉장고에 그것을 넣어두었다.

     geu yeojaneun geu eumsigeul jom meogeotda. geureonde modu meokgieneun geureoke baegopeuji anatda. geuraeseo najung'e da meogeuryeogo naengjanggo'e geugeoseul neo'eodueotda.

     She ate some of the food, but was not hungry enough to eat it all, so she put the rest in the refrigerator to finish later.

2. to drink, to take, to have
   • 술을 먹다

     sureul meokda

     to drink wine

3. to pocket, to embezzle, to seize upon
4. to receive, to get
5. to make up (one's mind), to be determined
6. to grow older
   • 나이 먹은 사람

     nai meogeun saram

     a man of years

   • 보기보다는 나이를 먹지 않다

     bogibodaneun naireul meokji anta

     to be not so old as one looks

Conjugation

    Selected forms of the verb 먹다 (meokda): consonant-stem, regular

Sentence-final forms
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	먹는다 meongneunda	먹어 meogeo	먹어요 meogeoyo	먹습니다 meokseumnida
	Past	먹었다 meogeotda	먹었어 meogeosseo	먹었어요 meogeosseoyo	먹었습니다 meogeotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	먹느냐 meongneunya	먹어 meogeo	먹어요 meogeoyo	먹습니까 meokseumnikka
	Past	먹었느냐 meogeonneunya	먹었어 meogeosseo	먹었어요 meogeosseoyo	먹었습니까 meogeotseumnikka
Hortative		먹자 meokja	먹어 meogeo	먹어요 meogeoyo	먹으십시다 meogeusipsida
Imperative		먹어라 meogeora	먹어 meogeo	먹어요 meogeoyo	먹읍시오 meogeupsio
Assertive		먹겠다 meokgetda	먹겠어 meokgesseo	먹겠어요 meokgesseoyo	먹겠습니다 meokgetseumnida
Connective forms
Cause/Reason		먹어 meogeo	먹어서 meogeoseo	먹으니 meogeuni	먹으니까 meogeunikka
Contrast		먹지만 meokjiman	먹는데 meongneunde	먹더니 meokdeoni
Conjunction		먹고 meokgo
Condition		먹으면 meogeumyeon	먹어야 meogeoya
Motive		먹으려고 meogeuryeogo
Noun and determiner forms
Verbal nouns		먹음 meogeum	먹기 meokgi
Past-tense verbal nouns		먹었음 meogeosseum	먹었기 meogeotgi
Determiners	Past	먹은 meogeun
	Present	먹는 meongneun
	Future	먹을 meogeul

Honorific: 드시다 (deusida), 잡수시다 (japsusida)

Derived terms

• (causative) 먹이다 (meogida, “to feed”)
• (passive) 먹히다 (meokhida, “to be eaten”)
• (noun) 먹거리 (meokgeori, “food”)
• (noun) 먹이 (meogi, “food, feed”)
• (noun) 먹새 (meoksae, “way of eating, appetite”)
• (noun) 먹성 (-性, meokseong, “appetite”)
• (noun, offensive, derogatory) 먹보 (meokbo, “glutton”)
• 머금다 (meogeumda, “to keep in one's mouth”)
• 젖먹이 (jeonmeogi, “nursing baby”)

See also

• 마시다 (masida, “to drink”)