아/어 보다 (a/eo boda) means "try doing".
Indicates trying an action out, or having experienced it before.
Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language
- Stems with ㅏ or ㅗ take 아 a, others take 어 eo, and 하다 hada becomes 해 hae.
Build it
The forms you need
Try it
해 보세요hae boseyogive it a tryI'll try
해 볼게요hae bolgeyoI'll give it a goHave done
해 봤어요hae bwasseoyoI've done itNever
해 본 적 없어요hae bon jeok eopseoyoI've never done itWhen to use it
Trying out
Give something a go and see.
Experience
In the past tense: "have done".
Soft advice
보세요 boseyo makes advice gentle.
Watch out
Only ㅏ and ㅗ stems take 아 a.
In context
9 examples- 1
김치를 먹어 봤어요?
Gimchireul meogeo bwasseoyo?
Have you ever tried kimchi?
- 2
이 신발을 신어 볼게요.
I sinbareul sineo bolgeyo.
I'll try these shoes on.
- 3
한국 노래를 불러 보세요.
Hanguk noraereul bulleo boseyo.
Try singing a Korean song.
- 4
이 책 읽어 봤어?
I chaek ilgeo bwasseo?
Have you read this book?
- 5
다시 한번 생각해 봐.
Dasi hanbeon saenggakae bwa.
Think it over one more time.
- 6
스키 타 본 적 있어요?
Seuki ta bon jeok isseoyo?
Have you ever been skiing?
- 7
저도 한번 만들어 볼게요.
Jeodo hanbeon mandeureo bolgeyo.
I'll have a go at making it too.
- 8
그 식당 가 봤는데 정말 맛있었어요.
Geu sikdang ga bwanneunde jeongmal masisseosseoyo.
I've been to that restaurant, and it was really good.
- 9
번지점프는 아직 안 해 봤어요.
Beonjijeompeuneun ajik an hae bwasseoyo.
I haven't tried bungee jumping yet.
Practice
8 questions가다 + 아/어 보다 (past)
아/어 봤어요 vs (으)ㄴ 적이 있다
Both talk about experience. 봤어요 bwasseoyo is the everyday way. 본 적이 있어요 bon jeogi isseoyo stresses "at least once, at some point in my life". You'll often hear the two together:
- 제주도에 가 봤어요. jejudoe ga bwasseoyo "I've been to Jeju."
- 제주도에 가 본 적이 있어요. jejudoe ga bon jeogi isseoyo "I've been to Jeju before, at some point."
For "never", the second one is the natural choice: 가 본 적이 없어요 ga bon jeogi eopseoyo, "I've never been".
Finding out: 아/어 보니까
Add 니까 nikka and it means "having tried it, I found that…". It's how you report what you discovered:
- 먹어 보니까 생각보다 맛있었어요. meogeo bonikka saenggakboda masisseosseoyo "Once I tried it, it was better than I expected."
- 직접 해 보니까 쉽지 않네요. jikjeop hae bonikka swipji anneyo "Now that I've done it myself, it isn't easy."
Hanja in this lesson
Words from the examples that are written with Chinese characters. Tap a character to see its page.
Use it with
Look it up in the dictionary
The entry for 아 in two trusted Korean dictionaries.
