Korean Past Habits with -gon haesseoyo: Saying 'I used to'
Learn to describe past habits and repeated states in Korean with the -gon haesseoyo pattern, including negation and common time words.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
English uses 'used to' for habits and states that were true in the past but are not true now: 'I used to live in Rome.' Korean has no single word for 'used to.' Instead, it attaches the ending -gon haesseoyo (곤 했어요) to a verb stem. This lesson teaches that pattern step by step: how to form it, when it sounds natural, how to make it negative, and how it differs from simply putting a verb in the past tense. You will practice with everyday verbs such as sara-yo (살아요, 'live') and gayo (가요, 'go'), and you will learn why -gon haesseoyo often appears with time words like eoril ttae ('when I was young').
By the end, you can…
- form the -gon haesseoyo pattern from a Korean verb stem.
- describe a past habit or repeated state, such as 'I used to live in Rome.'
- make a negative 'used to' sentence with an + -gon haesseoyo.
- choose between simple past tense and -gon haesseoyo.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
로마에 살곤 했어요.
I used to live in Rome.
Ro-ma-e sal-gon hae-sseo-yo.
A past state that is no longer true; salda ('live') becomes sal-gon haesseoyo.
어릴 때 자주 수영하곤 했어요.
I used to swim often when I was young.
Eo-ril ttae ja-ju su-yeong-ha-gon hae-sseo-yo.
A repeated past habit; eoril ttae means 'when I was young.'
예전에는 커피를 안 마시곤 했어요.
I used to not drink coffee.
Ye-jeo-ne-neun keo-pi-reul an ma-si-gon hae-sseo-yo.
Negative habit; an comes before the verb, and the ending stays the same.
주말마다 할머니 댁에 가곤 했어요.
I used to go to my grandmother's house every weekend.
Ju-mal-ma-da hal-meo-ni dae-ge ga-gon hae-sseo-yo.
A regular past routine; jumalmada means 'every weekend.'
그때는 여기서 일하곤 했어요.
I used to work here back then.
Geu-ttae-neun yeo-gi-seo il-ha-gon hae-sseo-yo.
A past situation contrasted with now; geuttae means 'back then.'
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Take a verb stem and add -gon haesseoyo: salda ('to live') → sal- + -gon haesseoyo → 살곤 했어요 (sal-gon haesseoyo). The ending is the same for all subjects, so I, you, she, and they all use it without change. With action verbs it describes repeated past actions: 주말마다 영화를 보곤 했어요 (jumalmada yeonghwa-reul bo-gon haesseoyo, 'I used to watch movies every weekend'). With state verbs like salda or itda ('to have'), it describes a past state that has ended: 로마에 살곤 했어요 (Roma-e sal-gon haesseoyo, 'I used to live in Rome').
When to use it
Use -gon haesseoyo when the habit or state was regular in the past but is not true now. It often appears with time words such as eoril ttae ('when I was young'), yejeon-e ('in the past'), and geuttae ('back then'). Compare: 어제 커피를 마셨어요 (eoje keopi-reul masyeosseoyo) means 'I drank coffee yesterday' — one event. 예전에는 커피를 마시곤 했어요 (yejeon-eneun keopi-reul masi-gon haesseoyo) means 'I used to drink coffee' — a repeated past habit. For a single finished event, use the plain past tense, not -gon haesseoyo.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
어릴 때 어디에 살았어요?
Where did you live when you were young?Eo-ril ttae eo-di-e sa-ra-sseo-yo?로마에 살곤 했어요. 지금은 서울에 살아요.
I used to live in Rome. Now I live in Seoul.Ro-ma-e sal-gon hae-sseo-yo. Ji-geu-meun Seo-u-re sa-ra-yo.주말에는 뭐 하곤 했어요?
What did you used to do on weekends?Ju-mal-e-neun mwo ha-gon hae-sseo-yo?친구를 만나곤 했어요. 지금은 바빠서 못 만나요.
I used to meet friends. Now I'm busy, so I can't meet them.Chin-gu-reul man-na-gon hae-sseo-yo. Ji-geu-meun ba-ppa-seo mot man-na-yo.A little context goes a long way
Korean often pairs -gon haesseoyo with a present-tense contrast, as in 'I used to..., but now...'. This makes the change explicit and sounds natural in conversation. In formal writing or narration, the same ending can appear without the polite -yo, but in everyday polite speech keep haesseoyo.
One thing to watch for
Using -gon haesseoyo for a single completed past event: 어제 로마에 살곤 했어요.
Try this instead: Use the plain past tense for one event: 어제 로마에 살았어요 (eoje Roma-e sarasseoyo, 'I lived in Rome yesterday'). Reserve 살곤 했어요 for a repeated or ongoing past state, as in 로마에 살곤 했어요 ('I used to live in Rome').
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1Change 가요 (gayo, 'go') into 'I used to go.'
Show a sample answer
가곤 했어요 (ga-gon haesseoyo).
Remove the polite ending -yo from the stem and add -gon haesseoyo. The same form works for all subjects.
2Which sentence means 'I used to drink coffee'? (a) 어제 커피를 마셨어요 (b) 예전에는 커피를 마시곤 했어요
Show a sample answer
(b) 예전에는 커피를 마시곤 했어요.
Sentence (b) uses -gon haesseoyo with yejeon-eneun, showing a repeated past habit. Sentence (a) is a single past event.
3Make this negative: 수영하곤 했어요 (su-yeong-ha-gon haesseoyo, 'I used to swim').
Show a sample answer
수영을 안 하곤 했어요 (su-yeong-eul an ha-gon haesseoyo).
Place an before the verb hada. The ending -gon haesseoyo does not change. In formal speech, -ji anta is also possible.
Attach -gon haesseoyo to a verb stem to describe a past habit or state that is no longer true. Use plain past tense for single events, and add an before the verb for 'used to not.'
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