Try Doing -아/어 보다 in Korean

In Brief

Attach -아/어 보다 to an action verb to mean “try doing it and see”: 먹어 보다 means “try eating,” and 입어 보다 means “try wearing” or “try on.” Its past form, -아/어 봤어요, often describes experience rather than one specific attempt: 한국에 가 봤어요? means “Have you been to Korea?”

Overview

-아/어 보다 is an A2 pattern for trying an action and discovering what happens. It combines the -아/어 form of an action verb with 보다, normally the verb “to see.” In this construction, 보다 is an auxiliary verb (a helping verb that adds meaning to the main action). The underlying picture is “do it and see,” but natural English translations include “try,” “give it a go,” “try on,” and “see whether you can.”

You will hear this pattern in recommendations, requests, shopping, travel, cooking, and problem-solving. A friend can recommend a dish with 한번 먹어 보세요 (“Try it”), while a customer can ask 입어 봐도 돼요? (“May I try it on?”). Korean often leaves out a subject or object when the context makes it clear, so a short sentence such as 해 봤어요 may mean “I tried it,” “I have done it before,” or “Did you try it?” depending on the conversation and intonation.

The past form has an especially important use. An attempt belongs to the past once it has been made, so -아/어 봤어요 naturally develops the meaning “have had the experience of doing.” English usually distinguishes “I tried it” from “I have done it before” through tense and context; Korean can use the same form for both. Time expressions and the surrounding conversation reveal the intended meaning.

How It Works

The beginner rule

Take the dictionary form of an action verb, remove -다 to get the verb stem (the part carrying the main meaning), add -아 or -어, and then add 보다.

action verb stem + -아/어 보다

The vowel choice is the same one used for the polite -아/어요 ending:

Stem type	Basic choice	Formation	Result
Last stem vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ	-아 보다	앉다 → 앉아 보다	try sitting
Other last vowels	-어 보다	먹다 → 먹어 보다	try eating
하다 verbs	해 보다	요리하다 → 요리해 보다	try cooking

Normal contractions still apply. For example, 가다 does not become 가아 보다: 가 + 아 → 가, giving 가 보다. Likewise, 만나다 → 만나 보다, 배우다 → 배워 보다, and 쓰다 → 써 보다.

Dictionary form	-아/어 form	Construction	Natural English meaning
먹다	먹어	먹어 보다	try eating
가다	가	가 보다	try going; go and see
입다	입어	입어 보다	try wearing; try on
만들다	만들어	만들어 보다	try making
배우다	배워	배워 보다	try learning
쓰다	써	써 보다	try writing; try using
하다	해	해 보다	try doing

This construction normally attaches to an action you can attempt. Descriptive verbs—words often translated by English adjectives, such as 예쁘다 (“to be pretty”)—do not usually fit the basic “try doing” meaning because being pretty is not an action to test.

Conjugate 보다

Once the two verbs are joined, the main action remains in its -아/어 form. Tense, speech level, and sentence ending are placed on 보다.

Purpose	Pattern	Example	Translation
Dictionary form	-아/어 보다	읽어 보다	to try reading
Polite present	-아/어 봐요	읽어 봐요	try reading it / I try reading it
Polite past	-아/어 봤어요	읽어 봤어요	tried reading it / have read it
Polite recommendation	-아/어 보세요	읽어 보세요	please try reading it
Casual request	-아/어 봐	읽어 봐	try reading it
Intention	-아/어 볼게요	읽어 볼게요	I’ll try reading it
Plan	-아/어 볼 거예요	읽어 볼 거예요	I’m going to try reading it
Permission	-아/어 봐도 돼요?	읽어 봐도 돼요?	may I try reading it?

Because 보다 contracts to 봐요 in the polite present, the forms you will meet most often are 해 봐요, 해 봤어요, and 해 보세요, not forms that keep 보아요 in ordinary conversation.

Attempt versus experience

The non-past forms usually focus on an attempt you are making, suggesting, or planning:

• 이 방법을 써 봐요. — “Try this method.”
• 제가 다시 해 볼게요. — “I’ll try it again.”

The past form can describe either a particular attempt or life experience:

• 어제 비밀번호를 바꿔 봤어요. — “I tried changing the password yesterday.”
• 한복을 입어 봤어요. — “I have tried wearing hanbok.”

Words such as 어제 (“yesterday”) point to a specific attempt. A general question with no finished-time expression often asks about experience. Korean does not require an equivalent of English “ever,” though 전에 (“before”) or 한 번이라도 (“even once”) can make that meaning explicit.

Using 한번

한번 literally relates to “one time,” but with -아/어 보다 it often softens an invitation or makes it sound like “give it a try.” It does not always insist that the action happen exactly once.

• 이 노래를 한번 들어 보세요. — “Give this song a listen.”
• 주말에 한번 가 봐요. — “Let’s try going this weekend.”

Negating the pattern

The position of negation changes the focus:

Form	Typical meaning	Example
안 + action + -아/어 봤어요	have not tried the action	안 먹어 봤어요. — I haven’t tried it.
action + -아/어 보지 않았어요	did not try / have not tried	먹어 보지 않았어요. — I haven’t tried eating it.
못 + action + -아/어 봤어요	could not or had no chance to try	못 가 봤어요. — I haven’t managed to go.

In everyday speech, 안 먹어 봤어요 is common for “I haven’t tried it.” 못 adds inability, circumstances, or lack of opportunity, so it should not automatically replace 안.

Examples in Context

Korean	English	Note
한번 먹어 보세요.	Please try eating it.	A friendly recommendation; 한번 softens it.
이 소스도 조금 넣어 봐요.	Try adding a little of this sauce too.	Suggests testing the result.
한국에 가 봤어요?	Have you been to Korea?	A question about experience.
아직 제주도에는 못 가 봤어요.	I haven’t managed to visit Jeju yet.	못 shows lack of opportunity or ability.
이 옷 입어 봐도 돼요?	May I try on these clothes?	Permission with -아/어 봐도 돼요?
신발을 신어 보고 걸어 보세요.	Try on the shoes and walk around.	Two attempts connected in sequence.
다른 비밀번호를 입력해 보세요.	Please try entering a different password.	Common troubleshooting advice.
해 봤는데 안 됐어요.	I tried, but it didn’t work.	A completed attempt followed by its result.
오늘은 한국어로 주문해 볼게요.	I’ll try ordering in Korean today.	-아/어 볼게요 expresses the speaker’s decision.
주말에 그 식당에 가 볼 거예요.	I’m going to try that restaurant this weekend.	A future plan.
이 책을 읽어 봤는데 정말 재미있었어요.	I read this book, and it was really interesting.	The speaker tried/read it and reports the result.
이런 음식을 만들어 본 적이 있어요?	Have you ever made this kind of food?	-아/어 본 적이 있다 explicitly asks about past experience.
잘 모르겠으면 선생님께 물어봐요.	If you’re not sure, try asking the teacher.	물어보다 commonly means “ask”; context matters.

Common Mistakes

Adding 보다 directly to the dictionary form

• Wrong: 먹다 봐요.
• Right: 먹어 봐요.
• Why: Remove -다 and make the -아/어 form before adding 보다. The link between the verbs is 먹어, not the dictionary form 먹다.

Conjugating both verbs

• Wrong: 먹었어 봤어요.
• Right: 먹어 봤어요.
• Why: Tense goes on the final auxiliary 보다. The first verb stays in its linking -아/어 form.

Translating 보다 literally as “see” every time

• Misleading: 이거 먹어 보세요 = “Eat this and look.”
• Natural: 이거 먹어 보세요. = “Please try this.”
• Why: In this construction, 보다 adds the idea of attempting and finding out. Translate the complete pattern, not each word separately.

Using the non-past form for a completed life experience

• Wrong for “I have been to Busan”: 부산에 가 봐요.
• Right: 부산에 가 봤어요.
• Why: A past experience normally uses -아/어 봤어요. The non-past 가 봐요 sounds more like “try going” or “I’ll go and see,” depending on context.

Confusing 안 and 못

• Different meanings: 안 먹어 봤어요 / 못 먹어 봤어요
• Right interpretation: The first says “I haven’t tried it”; the second suggests “I couldn’t or haven’t had the chance to try it.”
• Why: Use 못 when inability or circumstances matter. Use 안 for a neutral statement that the attempt or experience has not happened.

Attaching it freely to states

• Unnatural for “try being pretty”: 예뻐 봐요.
• Better action: 예쁘게 입어 봐요. — “Try dressing nicely.”
• Why: The core construction normally needs an action that someone can intentionally attempt. Change the sentence to name the action you can test.

Usage Notes

Requests and recommendations

-아/어 보세요 is widely used for polite advice: 앱을 다시 설치해 보세요 (“Try reinstalling the app”). It generally sounds less forceful than a bare command because it presents the action as something worth testing. It is still advice, however, so in a sensitive or formal situation you may need softer context rather than relying on this ending alone.

The casual form -아/어 봐 suits close friends and people to whom casual speech is appropriate. Do not use it merely because English “try it” sounds neutral; Korean endings encode the relationship between speakers. -아/어 봐요 is polite but can function as either a statement or a suggestion, while -아/어 보세요 clearly addresses the listener respectfully.

Spacing

When 보다 is an auxiliary meaning “try,” spacing it from the preceding verb is the safest clear form: 먹어 보다, 해 보다. Korean orthographic rules also permit attached spelling in this construction, so you will frequently see 먹어보다 and 해보다. Be consistent in your own writing and learn to recognize both.

Some combinations with 보다 are established verbs with their own dictionary meanings. For instance, 물어보다 means “to ask,” 알아보다 can mean “to find out” or “recognize,” and 찾아보다 can mean “to look up.” Do not assume every written -아/어보다 simply means “try doing”; check the meaning of the whole verb and the context.

Subjects and objects are often omitted

English normally says who tried what. Korean frequently leaves both pieces unstated if they are already known:

• 먹어 봤어요? — “Have you tried it?”
• 네, 먹어 봤어요. — “Yes, I have.”

The Korean sentences do not mark “you,” “I,” or “it.” Conversation context supplies them. Avoid inserting pronouns into every Korean sentence just because the English translation needs them.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these extensions at A2, but they are common and build directly on the same pattern.

Explicitly saying “have the experience of”

-아/어 본 적이 있다/없다 combines this construction with 적, a noun meaning an occasion or experience. It makes the experiential reading explicit:

• 김치를 만들어 본 적이 있어요. — “I have made kimchi before.”
• 밤에 혼자 운전해 본 적이 없어요. — “I have never driven alone at night.”

The shorter 만들어 봤어요 may describe either a specific trial or general experience. 만들어 본 적이 있어요 clearly answers whether such an experience exists in the person’s past.

Reporting the result with -는데

After trying something, speakers often continue with -는데, a connective ending (an ending that links one clause to what follows), to provide a result, contrast, or background:

• 전화해 봤는데 아무도 안 받았어요. — “I tried calling, but nobody answered.”
• 그 카페에 가 봤는데 분위기가 좋았어요. — “I went to that café, and the atmosphere was nice.”

English may use “but,” “and,” or a new sentence. The exact relationship comes from context; -는데 itself does not always signal a negative result.

-아/어 볼까(요)? and -아/어 볼래(요)?

These endings turn the attempt into a suggestion or question about willingness:

• 다른 길로 가 볼까요? — “Shall we try another route?”
• 네가 먼저 해 볼래? — “Do you want to try first?”

-아/어 볼까요? often proposes an action for consideration, frequently including the speaker. -아/어 볼래요? asks about the listener’s willingness or choice. Their social nuance depends on speech level and context.

“Try to do” is not always the same idea in English

English “try to open the door” may focus on making an effort even if the action fails. Korean 문을 열어 봤어요 commonly presents opening the door as a method attempted to see the result. When effort, struggle, or an unrealized intention is the central point, Korean may choose a different construction. Do not mechanically replace every English use of “try” with -아/어 보다; use this pattern when “do it and see” or past experience is the intended idea.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-form sets. Choose five everyday action verbs and say a recommendation, a past experience, and an intention: 먹어 보세요 → 먹어 봤어요 → 먹어 볼게요. This trains you to keep the first verb unchanged while conjugating 보다.
2. Ask experience questions. Make questions about food, travel, and activities, such as 한국 음식을 만들어 봤어요? Answer once positively and once negatively. Add 전에 or 아직 and notice how the time word guides the meaning.
3. Listen for the result. When you hear 해 봤는데, predict what comes next: success, failure, or a simple observation. This prevents you from treating -아/어 보다 as an isolated translation of English “try.”

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Polite Ending -아/어요 — supplies the same -아/어 linking form and core polite conjugation needed to build -아/어 보다.