아/어야 하다 (a/eoya hada) means "have to, must".
Expressing obligation or necessity.
Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language
- Stems with ㅏ or ㅗ take 아야 aya, others take 어야 eoya, and 하다 hada becomes 해야 haeya.
Build it
The forms you need
Have to
해야 해요haeya haeyohave to do itHad to
해야 했어요haeya haesseoyohad to do itSpoken
해야 돼요haeya dwaeyohave to do itCasual
해야 돼haeya dwaehave to (to friends)When to use it
Duties
Something you need to do.
Rules
What everyone has to do somewhere.
What it takes
With 려면 ryeomyeon: "to do X, you need Y".
Watch out
"Don't have to" is 안 가도 돼요 an gado dwaeyo.
Only ㅏ and ㅗ stems take 아야 aya.
하다 hada verbs become 해야 haeya.
In context
8 examples- 1
약 먹어야 해요.
Yak meogeoya haeyo.
I have to take medicine.
- 2
공부해야 합니다.
Gongbuhaeya hamnida.
I must study.
- 3
지금 가야 돼?
Jigeum gaya dwae?
Do you have to go now?
- 4
내일 일찍 일어나야 해서 먼저 잘게요.
Naeil iljjik ireonaya haeseo meonjeo jalgeyo.
I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'm going to bed.
- 5
어제는 늦게까지 일해야 했어요.
Eojeneun neutgekkaji ilhaeya haesseoyo.
I had to work late yesterday.
- 6
여기서는 신발을 벗어야 해요.
Yeogiseoneun sinbareul beoseoya haeyo.
You have to take your shoes off here.
- 7
한국에서 운전하려면 국제 운전면허증이 있어야 해요.
Hangugeseo unjeonharyeomyeon gukje unjeonmyeonheojeungi isseoya haeyo.
To drive in Korea, you need an international driving permit.
- 8
시험에 붙으려면 더 열심히 해야 돼.
Siheome buteuryeomyeon deo yeolsimhi haeya dwae.
If you want to pass the exam, you've got to work harder.
Practice
8 questions오다 + 아/어야 하다
해야 해요 or 해야 돼요?
Both mean "have to", and you'll hear both all the time. 돼요 dwaeyo is more common in speech. 해요 haeyo sounds a touch more neutral and shows up more in writing. In formal speech, it's 해야 합니다 haeya hamnida.
Must not, don't have to, have to
These three get mixed up a lot:
- 가야 해요. gaya haeyo "I have to go."
- 안 가도 돼요. an gado dwaeyo "I don't have to go."
- 가면 안 돼요. gamyeon an dwaeyo "You must not go."
The middle one comes from the 아/어도 되다 lesson.
On its own: "only if"
Without 하다 hada, 아/어야 means "only if" or "not until". It's very common in set phrases:
- 먹어 봐야 알아요. meogeo bwaya arayo "You won't know until you try it."
- 비가 와야 시원해질 거예요. biga waya siwonhaejil geoyeyo "It won't cool down until it rains."
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.
