모르다

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 모ᄅᆞ〮다〮 (Yale: mwòló-tá), very likely originally a contraction equivalent to modern 못 (mot, “cannot”) + 알다 (alda, “to know”), with intervocalic lenition of */t/ to [ɾ] during the transition from Old to Middle Korean. Compare Old Korean 毛冬 (*mwotol, “cannot”).

The original adverb resurfaces in the long negation 알지 못하다 (al-ji mothada, “to not know”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈmo̞(ː)ɾɯda̠]

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [모(ː)르다]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	moreuda
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	moleuda
McCune–Reischauer?	morŭda
Yale Romanization?	mōluta

Verb

모르다 • (moreuda) (infinitive 몰라, sequential 모르니)

1. (transitive) to not know, to be ignorant of

   Antonym: 알다 (alda, “to know”)

   나는 걔 이름을 몰라.

   Na-neun gyae ireum-eul molla.

   I don't know his name.

   우리 어디 가고 있는지 모르겠어.

   Uri eodi gago inneunji moreugesseo.

   I'm not sure where we're going.

2. (after -는지, -던지, -을지, often with -도) to be possibly so

   아직 살아 있을지도 모른다.

   Ajik sara iss-eulji-do moreunda.

   Perhaps he is still alive.

3. (after -는지, -던지, -을지) Used with 얼마나, 어찌, etc., for emphasis.

   얼마나 추운지 몰라.

   Eolmana chuunji molla.

   It's so cold.

   (literally, “I don't know how cold it is.”)

   어찌 슬펐는지 몰라.

   Eojji seulpeonneunji molla.

   I was so sad.

   (literally, “I don't know how sad I was.”)

4. (after -어도, -면) to not care

   죽어도 난 몰라.

   Jug-eodo nan molla.

   I don't care if you die.

   (literally, “I don't know even if you die.”)

Conjugation

Sentence-final forms
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	모른다 moreunda	몰라 molla	몰라요 mollayo	모릅니다 moreumnida
	Past	몰랐다 mollatda	몰랐어 mollasseo	몰랐어요 mollasseoyo	몰랐습니다 mollatseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	모르느냐 moreuneunya	몰라 molla	몰라요 mollayo	모릅니까 moreumnikka
	Past	몰랐느냐 mollanneunya	몰랐어 mollasseo	몰랐어요 mollasseoyo	몰랐습니까 mollatseumnikka
Hortative		모르자 moreuja	몰라 molla	몰라요 mollayo	모르십시다 moreusipsida
Assertive		모르겠다 moreugetda	모르겠어 moreugesseo	모르겠어요 moreugesseoyo	모르겠습니다 moreugetseumnida
Connective forms
Cause/Reason		몰라 molla	몰라서 mollaseo	모르니 moreuni	모르니까 moreunikka
Contrast		모르지만 moreujiman	모르는데 moreuneunde	모르더니 moreudeoni
Conjunction		모르고 moreugo
Condition		모르면 moreumyeon	몰라야 mollaya
Motive		모르려고 moreuryeogo
Noun and determiner forms
Verbal nouns		모름 moreum	모르기 moreugi
Past-tense verbal nouns		몰랐음 mollasseum	몰랐기 mollatgi
Determiners	Past	모른 moreun
	Present	모르는 moreuneun
	Future	모를 moreul

Sentence-final forms with honorific
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	모르신다 moreusinda	모르셔 moreusyeo	모르세요, 모르셔요 moreuseyo, moreusyeoyo	모르십니다 moreusimnida
	Past	모르셨다 moreusyeotda	모르셨어 moreusyeosseo	모르셨어요 moreusyeosseoyo	모르셨습니다 moreusyeotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	모르시느냐 moreusineunya	모르셔 moreusyeo	모르세요, 모르셔요 moreuseyo, moreusyeoyo	모르십니까 moreusimnikka
	Past	모르셨느냐 moreusyeonneunya	모르셨어 moreusyeosseo	모르셨어요 moreusyeosseoyo	모르셨습니까 moreusyeotseumnikka
Assertive		모르시겠다 moreusigetda	모르시겠어 moreusigesseo	모르시겠어요 moreusigesseoyo	모르시겠습니다 moreusigetseumnida
Connective forms with honorific
Cause/Reason		모르셔 moreusyeo	모르셔서 moreusyeoseo	모르시니 moreusini	모르시니까 moreusinikka
Contrast		모르시지만 moreusijiman	모르시는데 moreusineunde	모르시더니 moreusideoni
Conjunction		모르시고 moreusigo
Condition		모르시면 moreusimyeon	모르셔야 moreusyeoya
Motive		모르시려고 moreusiryeogo
Noun and determiner forms with honorific
Verbal nouns		모르심 moreusim	모르시기 moreusigi
Past-tense verbal nouns		모르셨음 moreusyeosseum	모르셨기 moreusyeotgi
Determiners	Past	모르신 moreusin
	Present	모르시는 moreusineun
	Future	모르실 moreusil

    Selected forms of the verb 모르다 (moreuda): vowel-stem, 르(reu)-irregular

Derived terms

• 남모르다 (nammoreuda)
• 낯모르다 (nanmoreuda)
• 멋모르다 (meonmoreuda)
• 몰라보다 (mollaboda)