훔치다
humchida[ɸʷumt͡ɕʰida̠]
To steal in Korean is 훔치다 (humchida).
The verb is used to describe the act of illegally taking possession of something.
Meaning: to illegally take possession of (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The past tense of 훔치다 is 훔쳤다.
How do you pronounce it?
humchida
Did you know?
- The verb 훔치다 has a second, entirely different meaning: 'to wipe' or 'to brush away'. For example, it is used when you wipe away tears or dust from a surface.
- Korean has a distinct word for 'stealing' a look or a glance, 훔쳐보다, which literally combines 'steal' and 'look'.
- When discussing crimes in Korean news, you will often see 절도 (jeoldo), which is a Sino-Korean word for 'theft', rather than the native 훔치다.
Examples in context
- 그 남자는 동전을 훔쳤어요.That man stole the coin.
- 그들은 백화점에서 도둑질을 했다.They stole from the department store.
- 경찰은 그를 절도죄로 체포했다.The police arrested him for theft.
- 친구가 내 사탕을 훔쳐갔어.My friend stole my candy.
- 언니가 내 일기장을 훔쳐봤어.My sister secretly read my diary.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “steal” translations and entries 훔치다, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
