-아/어하다 in Korean: “feels, shows (others' feelings)”

-아/어하다 (-a/eohada) turns a feeling adjective into a verb meaning "to feel that way" or "to show that feeling." It is mostly used to describe how other people feel, because Korean feeling adjectives like 슬프다 (sad) normally describe only the speaker.

How to form it

How to use it

저는 슬퍼요 means "I'm sad." For another person, Korean prefers 친구가 슬퍼해요 (my friend is sad, is showing sadness). The -아/어하다 form describes feelings you can see from the outside.

The new verb can take an object with 을/를: 아이가 개를 무서워해요 (the child is scared of dogs). Compare the adjective, which takes 이/가: 저는 개가 무서워요 (dogs are scary to me).

Some of these are so common they are learned as their own words: 좋아하다 (to like), 싫어하다 (to dislike), 귀여워하다 (to adore). It is written attached to the adjective, with no space.

Examples

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Don’t mix it up with

-고 싶어 하다: The same rule applied to wanting: 가고 싶다 (I want to go) becomes 가고 싶어 하다 (she wants to go).

Plain adjective (슬퍼요): Use the adjective for your own feelings and when asking someone directly: 괜찮아요? 피곤해요?

Common mistakes

Using it for your own feelings in the moment. 저는 지금 슬퍼해요 sounds like you are describing yourself from outside; say 저는 지금 슬퍼요.

Keeping the wrong particle. 무섭다 takes 이/가 (개가 무서워요), but 무서워하다 takes 을/를 (개를 무서워해요).

Want the basics first? Read Present tense (아요/어요).