Do you know the meaning of this verb? I guess many of you might only know one side of it. In the dictionary, 묻다 actually has three main meanings: to ask, to bury, and to get stained.
Here is the key difference you need to remember. When it means ‘to ask,’ it is an irregular verb: 묻다, 물어요, 묻습니다. But when it means ‘to bury’ or ‘to get stained,’ it is a regular verb: 묻다, 묻어요, 묻습니다.
Let’s practice the conjugations for asking questions first. When the stem 묻- comes before a vowel starting ending, the 받침 ㄷ (디귿) changes into ㄹ (리을). In other words, “묻-” becomes “물-.”
- 물어 볼 게 있어요. (I have something to ask you.)
- 물어 보세요. (Please go ahead and ask.)
Side note. 물다-물어요-뭅니다 means “to bite.” Because of how conjugation works, saying 물어 보세요 in a completely different context could theoretically sound like “try biting it” or “bite it”
Now, when the stem “묻-” meets a consonant starting ending, it stays as “묻-.”
- 묻고 싶은 게 있어요. (There’s something I want to ask.)
- 묻지 마세요. (Please don’t ask.)
While we rarely use 묻다 in the sense of physically “burying” things in daily conversation, we use 묻다 in the sense of getting stained or smudged. Remember, for stains, it doesn’t change to ㄹ (리을).
- 아씨, 흰 옷인데 케첩 묻었다! (Ah, seriously?! It’s white clothes, and ketchup got on it!)
- 이거 아끼는 옷인데… 초콜릿 묻었어. (This is one of my favorite outfits… and chocolate got smeared on it.)