걷다
geotda[ˈkɘ(ː)t̚t͈a̠]
To walk in Korean is 걷다 (geotda).
걷다 is used to describe the physical act of moving on foot by taking steps.
Which one should you use?
While 걷다 means to walk, it is a homonym with another word spelled the same way that means to roll up something, such as sleeves. However, these are pronounced differently in specific contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
걷다 is an irregular verb. When combined with certain endings, the 'ㄷ' at the end of the stem changes to 'ㄹ'. For example, the polite present tense becomes 걸어요 and the polite past tense becomes 걸었다.
How do you pronounce it?
geotda
Did you know?
- Korean has specific terms for different styles of walking, such as 터덜터덜, which describes walking listlessly or wearily with heavy steps.
- The verb for walking was recorded as early as 1447 in the Seokbo sangjeol, one of the earliest texts written using the Korean alphabet.
- The version of 걷다 that means 'to roll up' is a regular verb, meaning it does not undergo the consonant change that the verb 'to walk' does.
Examples in context
- 나는 학교에 걸어가요.I walk to school.
- 소풍은 걸어서 가요.We go on a picnic by walking.
- 저녁에 공원에서 산책해요.I take a walk in the park in the evening.
Example conversation
Subin and Dohyun are deciding how to get to the cafe.
- 수빈 Su-bin여기서 가까운데 같이 걷다 갈까요?yeo-gi-seo ga-kka-un-de ga-chi geot-da gal-kka-yo?It's close from here, shall we walk together?
- 도현 Do-hyeon좋아요. 날씨가 아주 좋네요.jo-a-yo. nal-ssi-ga a-ju jo-ne-yo.Sounds good. The weather is very nice.
- 수빈 Su-bin천천히 걷다 가요.cheon-cheon-hi geot-da ga-yo.Let's walk slowly.
- 도현 Do-hyeon네, 수빈 씨. 같이 가요.ne, Su-bin ssi. ga-chi ga-yo.Yes, Subin. Let's go together.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 걷다, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 걷다, CC BY-SA 4.0.
