Korean Clothes Shopping: 입어 보세요 + Past Adnominal
Shop for clothes in Korean: 한번 입어 보세요 (try it on), 어제 산 옷 (the clothes I bought). Learn the past adnominal -(으)ㄴ, -어 보다 (try doing), and the 으-irregular.
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)
Shopping for clothes in Korean leans on three tools: the past adnominal — 어제 산 옷 (the clothes I bought yesterday) — and -어 보다 to “try doing,” as in 한번 입어 보세요 (please try it on), plus 이나 for “or” (셔츠나 바지). Add the 으-irregular (예쁘다 → 예뻐요, 크다 → 커요) and you can browse, try on, and pick out an outfit in a Korean store.
In the last lesson you described people in the present: 웃는 사람, 큰 사람. Now you’ll describe things by what happened to them — the clothes you bought, the movie you watched — with the past adnominal.
Ten words for clothes shopping
A shopping trip runs on clothing words and a few verbs. Meet them; we’ll try things on in a moment.
The past adnominal: -(으)ㄴ on an action verb
Last lesson, action verbs took -는 for the present (사는 옷 = clothes I’m buying). To describe a noun by a completed action — the clothes I bought — an action verb takes -(으)ㄴ instead. Consonant stem adds 은, vowel stem adds ㄴ.
Vowel stem + ㄴ: 사다 → 산, 보다 → 본, 가다 → 간 → 어제 산 옷 = the clothes I bought yesterday Consonant stem + 은: 먹다 → 먹은, 읽다 → 읽은 → 어제 읽은 책 = the book I read yesterday 제가 본 영화 = the movie I watched · 친구가 간 식당 = the restaurant my friend went to
⚠️ Here’s the trap worth a careful minute: the shape -(으)ㄴ is the same one you just learned in Lesson L2-03 for adjectives (큰, 작은). But on an action verb, -(으)ㄴ means PAST, not present. So action verbs have two adnominals — and the contrast is the whole point:
사는 옷 = clothes I buy / am buying (present, -는) 산 옷 = clothes I bought (past, -(으)ㄴ) 먹는 음식 = food I eat · 먹은 음식 = food I ate 보는 영화 = a movie I’m watching · 본 영화 = a movie I watched
How do you avoid confusing 큰 (adjective: “big”) with 산 (verb: “bought”)? Ask the word-type question from last lesson. If the base word is an adjective (크다, 작다), -ㄴ is present. If it’s an action verb (사다, 가다), -ㄴ is past. Context fills in the rest — and in a shop, 어제 산 옷 can only mean “the clothes (I) bought yesterday."
"Try it on” — -어 보다
To say try doing something, take the 해요-form stem and add 보다 (“to see/try”). In a clothing store this is the line you’ll hear constantly: 한번 입어 보세요 (please try it on).
입다 → 입어 보다 = try wearing → 한번 입어 보세요 = please try it on 신다 → 신어 보다 = try putting on (shoes) → 신어 보세요 먹다 → 먹어 보다 = try eating → 한번 먹어 보세요 = give it a taste 하다 → 해 보다 = give it a try · 가다 → 가 보다 = try going
That little 한번 (“once / just try”) in front turns it into a warm invitation rather than a command — the friendly nudge of a Korean shopkeeper. -어 보다 literally means “do it and see,” so it carries no pressure: just give it a go.
이나 — “or” (and “as many as”)
이나 / 나 joins two nouns as “or”: consonant ending takes 이나, vowel ending takes 나.
Vowel + 나: 커피나 차 = coffee or tea · 치마나 바지 = a skirt or pants Consonant + 이나: 빵이나 밥 = bread or rice · 셔츠나 티셔츠 = a shirt or a t-shirt Bonus meaning — surprise at a big amount: 세 개나 샀어요! = I bought (a whopping) three!
이나 has a second life: stuck after a number, it expresses surprise at a large quantity — 세 개나 샀어요 isn’t just “I bought three,” it’s “I bought three (can you believe it)!” Same word, two jobs: offering a choice, and reacting to “that many?”
Why does 크다 become 커요? The 으-irregular
Time to clean up a pattern you’ve been copying by rote. Verbs and adjectives whose stem ends in 으 drop that 으 before an 아/어 ending. Many describing words — including 예쁘다 and 크다 from last lesson — follow it.
Bright vowel (ㅏ/ㅗ) before 으 → 아: 바쁘다 → 바빠요, 아프다 → 아파요, 고프다 → 고파요 Otherwise → 어: 쓰다 → 써요, 크다 → 커요, 예쁘다 → 예뻐요, 기쁘다 → 기뻐요, 슬프다 → 슬퍼요 배가 고파요 = I’m hungry · 이 옷이 너무 커요 = these clothes are too big
The rule: delete 으, then look at the vowel before it. Bright (ㅏ, ㅗ) → add 아 (바빠요, 아파요); anything else → add 어 (커요, 예뻐요). Now 크다 → 커요 finally makes sense — and in a fitting room, 이 옷이 너무 커요 (too big) and 사이즈가 좀 커요 are exactly the lines you’ll need.
Trying clothes on in KakaoTalk
Watch all four tools work across one shopping trip — past adnominal, -어 보다, 이나, and the 으-irregular:
Spot every tool: 입어 보세요 / 신어 보세요 (try it on), 커요 and 예뻐요 (으-irregular), 색깔이나 (or), 어제 들어온 새 옷 and 어제 산 바지 (past adnominal), and 두 개나 (as many as two!). That’s a whole shopping conversation built from this one lesson — exactly how you’ll sound browsing a real Korean store.
FAQ
If -(으)ㄴ already means an adjective in front of a noun, how can it also mark the past? Word type decides. On a descriptive verb (adjective) -(으)ㄴ is present: 큰 사람 = a tall person (Lesson on describing people). On an ACTION verb the very same shape means past: 산 옷 = the clothes I bought, 간 사람 = the person who went, 본 영화 = the movie I watched. Context — and knowing whether the word is an adjective or an action verb — tells you which meaning is intended. Action verbs thus have two adnominals: 사는 옷 (clothes I’m buying / buy) vs 산 옷 (clothes I bought).
How does -어 보다 work? Take the 해요-form stem (the 아/어 part) and add 보다 “to see / try”: 입다 → 입어 보다 (try wearing), 신다 → 신어 보다 (try putting on), 먹다 → 먹어 보다 (try eating). It means “do X and see how it is.” In a shop you’ll hear it as a polite invitation: 한번 입어 보세요 = please try it on. The 한번 (“once / give it a try”) softens it into a friendly nudge.
What is the 으-irregular? Verbs and adjectives whose stem ends in the vowel 으 drop that 으 before an 아/어 ending. The vowel before it decides 아 vs 어: 바쁘다 → 바빠요, 아프다 → 아파요, 고프다 → 고파요 (bright vowel ㅏ/ㅗ → 아); 쓰다 → 써요, 크다 → 커요, 예쁘다 → 예뻐요, 기쁘다 → 기뻐요, 슬프다 → 슬퍼요 (everything else → 어). 크다 → 커요 is the one to burn in: lots of describing words follow it.
Next: asking for directions — 어떻게 가요? and -(으)로. Previous: describing people with the adnominal. Full path: curriculum hub.