Korean -아/어 보다: "Try Doing" and "Have You Ever"
Learn -아/어 보다 to say "try doing" in Korean: 먹어 보세요 (try it), 먹어 봤어요 (I have tried it) and 가 본 적 있어요? (have you ever been?), plus when to write it with a space.
IntermediateWant, can, must8 min readTap any Korean word to see it explained
The short answer
To say “try doing”, take the polite verb form, drop 요, and add 보다: 먹어요 → 먹어 보다. Then 먹어 보세요 = “try it”, 먹어 봤어요 = “I’ve tried it”, and 먹어 본 적 있어요? = “have you ever had it?”
보다 on its own means “to see” or “to look”. After another verb, it becomes a helper meaning “do it and see how it goes”. It is one of the friendliest patterns in Korean: you will hear it at every market stall, restaurant and fitting room. Tap the chips below to see each part.
1. Making 아/어 보다
If you know the polite present tense, you already know the first half. Take that form, remove 요, and add 보다. Only 보다 changes after that.
| Dictionary form | Try doing | Try it! (polite) | Have tried |
|---|---|---|---|
| 가다 (go) | 가 보다 | 가 보세요 | 가 봤어요 |
| 먹다 (eat) | 먹어 보다 | 먹어 보세요 | 먹어 봤어요 |
| 입다 (wear) | 입어 보다 | 입어 보세요 | 입어 봤어요 |
| 마시다 (drink) | 마셔 보다 | 마셔 보세요 | 마셔 봤어요 |
| 하다 (do) | 해 보다 | 해 보세요 | 해 봤어요 |
| 듣다 (listen) | 들어 보다 | 들어 보세요 | 들어 봤어요 |
Remember that 보 + 아요 shortens to 봐요, and the past is 봤어요. This pattern works with action verbs, not adjectives.
2. “Give it a try”: 한번 해 보세요
아/어 보세요 is a warm, polite way to suggest something. Koreans often add 한번 (“once”), which works like “go on, give it a go”.
The fitting-room question. 아/어도 돼요 asks for permission.
3. “I’ve tried it”: 아/어 봤어요
Put 보다 in the past tense and you talk about experience. Compare:
- 막걸리를 마셨어요: I drank makgeolli (a simple event).
- 막걸리를 마셔 봤어요: I’ve tried makgeolli (I know what it is like).
Same sentence for question and answer. Your voice goes up for the question.
4. “Have you ever...?”: 아/어 본 적 있어요?
For “have you ever”, add 본 적 있어요?. Here 본 is 보다 as a past describing word (“that tried”), and 적 means “a time, an occasion”. So it literally asks: “Is there a time you tried going?”
To answer “yes”, you can say 네, 있어요 or 네, 가 봤어요. You will also hear 간 적 있어요 without 보다. It means nearly the same thing. The 보다 version just puts a little more weight on trying it out.
You can even combine the pattern with 고 싶다:
5. A note on spacing: 먹어 보다 or 먹어보다?
Official Korean spelling says to write helper verbs like 보다 with a space: 먹어 보다, 가 봤어요. Writing them together, as 먹어보다, is also officially allowed, and you will see it all the time in texts and lyrics. Both are correct, so don’t worry if you see either one.
Keep going
Songs love this pattern: “try to forget”, “look at me”, “have you ever loved”. Open a song in Hanbok Lyrics and tap a line to spot 보다 after another verb. Next, learn how to say what you plan to do with (으)려고 (in order to), or practice wishes with 고 싶다 (want to).
Check yourself
Quick check · 1 of 4입다 (to wear) + 아/어 보세요 = ?
Please try it on.
Questions learners ask
What does 아/어 보다 mean in Korean?
It means "try doing" or "give it a go". Take the polite verb form without 요 and add 보다: 먹어 보다 (try eating), 가 보다 (try going). The 보다 part then changes like any verb: 먹어 보세요, 먹어 봤어요.
How do you say "have you ever" in Korean?
Use 아/어 본 적 있어요?: 한국에 가 본 적 있어요? (Have you ever been to Korea?). Answer 네, 있어요 or 네, 가 봤어요. For "never", say 가 본 적 없어요.
Is it 먹어 보다 or 먹어보다?
Both are accepted. The standard rule is to write a space (먹어 보다), but writing it together (먹어보다) is officially allowed and very common online.
What is the difference between 먹었어요 and 먹어 봤어요?
먹었어요 just reports that you ate something. 먹어 봤어요 talks about experience: "I have tried it" or "I have had it before".