Difference between 아/어/해도 되다 & (으)면 되다 [Korean Grammar] 

 December 30, 2023

By  Uruba Kashish

Let's understand the difference between V+아/어/해도 되다 & (으)면 되다 [Korean Grammar] with some example sentences.

Difference between V+아/어/해도 되다 & (으)면 되다 [Korean Grammar]

USE:

1. V/A -아/어/해도 되다 Korean grammar pattern is used to ask for or give permission.

It's equal to "May I/ Can I?" or "you can/ you may" in English.


2. V/A +(으)면 되다 Korean grammar pattern is used to shows the minimum requirement that is required to achieve a result.

It's same as "It’s enough to or you just have to" in English.


CONJUGATION RULE:

1. V/A-아/어/해도 되다 grammar is used with verbs and adjectives. The first step of '아/어/해도 되다’ conjugation is to remove ‘다’ from the base form of the verb or adjectives.


  • If the verb stem ends with the vowel ‘ㅏ’ or ‘ㅗ’, ‘아도 되다’ is used. 
  • If the verb stem ends with any other vowel, then ‘어도 되다’ is used. 
  • When the verb ends with 하, the form changes to '해도 되다'. 

So let's take a verb 먹다(to eat). if you remove 다 from 먹다, 먹 (stem) is left. And then, look at the last vowel.

So in the 먹, the last vowel is 어.

According to the conjugation rule, if the last vowel of stem is 어, we add 어도 되다.

So it becomes 먹어도 되다 or  먹어도 돼요.


2. (으)면 되다 grammar is used with verbs and adjectives. The first step of ‘(으)면 되다’ conjugation is to remove ‘다’ from the base form of the verb or adjectives.


  • If the verb/adj stem is ending with a final consonant (받침), we use v+ (으)면 되다.
  • If the verb/adj stem is ending with any vowel( without patchim) then ‘v+ 면 되다’ is used.

So let's take a verb 먹다(to eat). if you remove 다 from 먹다, 먹 (stem) is left. And then, look at the stem. So in the 먹, is ending with final consonant i.e. Patchim.

According to the conjugation rule, if the stem is end with Patchim, we add (으)면 되다.

so it becomes ‘먹으면 되다’.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES:


1. V/A -아/어/해도 되다

  •  Q- 여기 앉아도 돼요? (May I sit here?)
     A- 네, 앉으세요. (Yes, please have a seat.)
  • 화장실에 가도 돼요? (Can I go to restroom?)
  • 사진을 찍어도 돼요? (Can I take a picture?)
  • 오늘 일찍 집에 가도 돼? (Can I go home early today?)
  •  문을 열어도 돼요? (May I open the door?)
  • 문제를 이해하지 못하면 물어봐도 돼요. (You may ask if you don’t understand the question)

  • 2. V/A +(으)면 되다

  • 지금 가면 돼요. ( You can go now.)
  • 7시까지 오면 돼요.(  you can come by 7.)
  • 숙제를 끝냈으니까 친구를 만나면 돼요. (You finished the homework, so you can meet your friend.)
  • 시험을 통과하려면 30점만 넘으면 돼요. (You only need to get over 30 points to pass the exam.)
  • 질문이 있으면 손을 들고 이야기하면 돼요. (If you have any questions, it's ok to raise your hand and talk.)

  • Uruba Kashish


    Uruba Kashish completed her schooling in Commerce, bachelor's in English literature& Education. Currently doing her Masters in Translation studies (MATS). She is working as a Educational content writer with reputed websites like LKI, Annyeong India & TOPIK Guide. She is a Korean language and culture enthusiast and has been working across multiple disciplines which broadly addresses narratives of similarities between Korean and Indian culture. Apart from being a content writer at LKI, she is a Korean language Instructor at LKI. She manages Annyeong India website as Creative Head and has had her pieces published in TOPIK GUIDE website as well. In her other life, she is a rising entrepreneur, life enthusiast and a learner and is involved with multiple Korean-Indian projects. We are a team of passionate researchers from Seoul National University specializing in Korean language and linguistics. We are committed to helping international students prepare for the TOPIK test. You can connect with us.

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