-아/어 주다 in Korean: “do something for someone”

-아/어 주다 (-a/eo juda) means "to do something for someone." You add it to an action verb to show that the action is a favor or a help to another person. Its polite request form, -아/어 주세요, is one of the most useful phrases in Korean: "please do this for me."

How to form it

How to use it

주다 on its own means "to give." When it follows another verb in the -아/어 form, it means you are giving the action itself: doing it for someone's benefit. 읽어요 is "I read," but 읽어 줘요 is "I read (it) to you / for you."

The most common use is asking for something politely: -아/어 주세요 (please do it for me). It sounds softer than a plain command with -(으)세요, because you are framing it as a favor. Casual versions with friends are -아/어 줘 (do it for me) and -아/어 줄래? (will you do it for me?).

To offer help, use -아/어 줄게(요) (I'll do it for you) or -아/어 줄까(요)? (shall I do it for you?). When you do something for an older person or a customer, Koreans switch 주다 to its humble form 드리다.

Examples

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Don’t mix it up with

-아/어 드리다: The humble version. Use 드리다 when you do something for someone older or higher in status, like a teacher, a boss, or a customer.

-(으)세요: A plain polite request or instruction (앉으세요, please sit). -아/어 주세요 adds the feeling of asking a favor for yourself, so it sounds a little softer.

Common mistakes

Using 주다 for something you do for an elder. 할머니를 도와줬어요 sounds off; say 도와드렸어요.

Mixing up noun + 주세요 and verb + 아/어 주세요. 물 주세요 means "give me water," while 물을 사 주세요 means "please buy water for me."

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