못쓰다 Korean verb conjugation
to be unusable
Every form of 못쓰다 across the four speech levels. It is 으 irregular — The stem 으 drops before a vowel ending: 쓰다 → 써요.
기본형Principal parts
The four forms the dictionary prints. Every other form on this page is derived from them.
- 관형사형Modifier
- 못쓰는
- 아/어Infinitive
- 못써
- -으니Since
- 못쓰니
- 합니다Formal
- 못씁니다
현재Present
The tense that does the most work. 해요체 is the one to learn first — it is polite without being formal, and it is what most conversation is in.
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 못써요 | 못씁니다 | 못써 | 못쓴다 |
과거Past
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 못썼어요 | 못썼습니다 | 못썼어 | 못썼다 |
미래·추측Future & presumptive
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -겠-Will / must be | 못쓰겠어요 | 못쓰겠습니다 | 못쓰겠어 | 못쓰겠다 |
| -을 것이다Going to | 못쓸 거예요 | 못쓸 것입니다 | 못쓸 거야 | 못쓸 것이다 |
의문Questions
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 못써요? | 못씁니까? | 못써? | 못쓰니? |
| 과거Past | 못썼어요? | 못썼습니까? | 못썼어? | 못썼니? |
명령Commands
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 명령Do it | 못쓰세요 | 못쓰십시오 | 못써 | 못써라 |
| 청유Let's | 못써요 | 못씁시다 | 못써 | 못쓰자 |
부정Negation
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 안Not (short) | 안 못써요 | 안 못씁니다 | 안 못써 | 안 못쓴다 |
| -지 않다Not (long) | 못쓰지 않아요 | 못쓰지 않습니다 | 못쓰지 않아 | 못쓰지 않는다 |
| 못Cannot | 못 못써요 | 못 못씁니다 | 못 못써 | 못 못쓴다 |
높임Honorific
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 못쓰세요 | 못쓰십니다 | 못쓰셔 | 못쓰신다 |
| 과거Past | 못쓰셨어요 | 못쓰셨습니다 | 못쓰셨어 | 못쓰셨다 |
관형사형Modifying a noun
- 현재Present
- 못쓰는
- 과거Past
- 못쓴
- 미래Future
- 못쓸
- 회상Used to
- 못쓰던
연결Joining clauses
- -고and
- 못쓰고
- -게-ly / so that
- 못쓰게
- -어서so / and then
- 못써서
- -으니까since
- 못쓰니까
- -으면if / when
- 못쓰면
- -지만but
- 못쓰지만
- -는데and / but (setting up)
- 못쓰는데
- -어도even if
- 못써도
진행In progress
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Is doing | 못쓰고 있어요 | 못쓰고 있습니다 | 못쓰고 있어 | 못쓰고 있다 |
| 과거Was doing | 못쓰고 있었어요 | 못쓰고 있었습니다 | 못쓰고 있었어 | 못쓰고 있었다 |
문형Sentence patterns
How the dictionary says this verb is used. The numbers are slots: 1 is the subject, 2 the object.
- 1이 못쓰다
예문In real sentences
From the dictionary, each with its translation.
그렇게 쓸데없이 성을 내면 못써.
It's no good getting angry for no apparent reason like that.
안돼! 안돼! 그러면 못써!
Voice: No. No. You're not to do that. No.
거짓말하면 못 써.
People don't need to be lied to.
자꾸 이러면은 못 쓰네
Come on, don't be that way.
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
How do you conjugate 못쓰다 in Korean?
못쓰다 (to be unusable) is 못써요 in the polite 해요체, 못씁니다 in formal 합니다체, 못써 in casual 반말 and 못쓴다 in the plain written style. The past is 못썼어요.
What is the past tense of 못쓰다?
못썼어요 in everyday polite speech, 못썼습니다 formally. It is built from the 아/어 form 못써 plus ㅆ, which is why an irregular stem shows its irregularity here.
Is 못쓰다 irregular?
Yes — it is 으 irregular (으 불규칙). The stem 으 drops before a vowel ending: 쓰다 → 써요. That is why the stem looks different in 못써 and 못쓰니 but unchanged in 못씁니다.
What TOPIK level is 못쓰다?
It carries no TOPIK grade. That is a fact about the published word lists rather than about the word — it conjugates by exactly the same rules as everything else.
Dictionary form, meaning, sentence patterns, examples and audio from the 국립국어원 한국어기초사전, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.
Conjugations are generated by this site's own engine and checked against the 9,380 forms the dictionary publishes on every build.