Irregular Verbs and Adjectives where the 러 Rule Applies | Korean Irregular Verbs and Adjectives

Have you seen our videos on irregular verbs and adjectives ending in the vowel ㅡ and 르? If not, we recommend watching those first. In this video, we'll talk about irregular verbs and adjectives ending in 르 to which a rule called the 러 rule applies. So the verbs and adjectives we will talk about now are actually also ending in 르 but a different rule applies.

There are three sets of rules for 르-ending words:
르 words that follow the rules from the ㅡ video:    • Irregular Korean Verbs and Adjectives...  
르 words that follow the rule from the previous 르 video:    • Irregular Korean Verbs and Adjectives...  
르 words where the 러 rule, the one we will learn in this video, applies.

Today, we’ll focus on the third set.

Here is the rule: When 르 meets 어 in these irregular verbs and adjectives, 어 becomes 러. This rule is relatively simple but crucial for advanced learners to master irregular verbs and adjectives in Korean.

Let's take a look at the verb 이르다:
이르다 + 아요/어요 → 이르어요 → 이르러요

The verb 이르다 means to reach, arrive, or attain. Although you might think this word is used often due to its meaning, there's another word with the same meaning that's used more frequently. Just as the word "arrive" is used more often in English than the word "to reach."

Here are two key examples:
이르다 (to reach)
푸르다 (to be blue/green)

For example:
이르다 + 아요/어요 → 이르어요 → 이르러요 (to reach)
푸르다 + 아요/어요 → 푸르어요 → 푸르러요 (to be blue/green)

푸르다 is the only one of the irregular words we practice in this lesson that we use frequently. 푸르다 is an adjective and means "blue" and "green". 푸르다 is a color group. For example, just as in German we don't differentiate exactly between different shades of red and red could range from pink to wine red, in Korean we don't differentiate exactly between blue and green. 푸르다 could be blue or green. It is usually used when the sky, mountains, and sea are blue or green, or for the color of the eyes.

For example:
푸른 눈 (blue or green eyes)
푸른 하늘 (blue sky)
푸른 바다 (blue sea)
푸른 들판 (green meadow)

As mentioned, there are only a few words where the 러 rule applies, and they are rarely used. Most of the time, other words with the same meaning are used more frequently. These exceptions are more for advanced learners, but we learn them to comprehensively cover the topic of irregular verbs and adjectives.

Don't forget to watch our previous video to better understand the differences. We hope this lesson helps you improve your Korean even more. Thanks for watching, and see you next time!

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▶️ Irregular Korean Verbs and Adjectives Playlist:    • Irregular Verbs and Adjectives in Kor...