7 ways of saying “to wear” & 3 ways of saying “to take off” in Korean
In the last article, we talked about clothing-related Korean vocabulary. This time, let’s learn some verbs that are related to clothing — “to wear/ put on” and “to take off/ remove”.
To wear/ put on:
1) 입다 — to wear/ put on clothes (tops, pants, skirts…)
옷을 입어요. = To wear clothes
바지를 입어요. = To wear pants
2) 신다 — to wear/ put on (footwear)
신발을 신어요. = To put on shoes
구두를 신어요. = To put on dress shoes/ high heels
Should we use 입다 or 신다 for “to wear socks”?
We should use 신다! (양말을 신어요.)
→ The corresponding verb of “to take off” for 입다 and 신다: 벗다
옷을 벗어요. = To take clothes off
신발을 벗어요. = To take shoes off
To wear/ put on (accessories):
1) 차다 — watches, belts, necklaces (something that goes around a part of the body)
(손목)시계를 차요. = To wear a watch
벨트를 차요. = To wear a belt
→ The corresponding verb of“to take off” for 차다: 풀다
(손목)시계를 풀어요. = To take off a watch
벨트를 풀어요. = To take off a belt
2) 하다 — earrings, bracelets, necklaces, scarves, ties, headbands
귀걸이를 해요. = To wear earrings
목도리를 해요. = To wear a scarf
3) 매다 — scarves, necklaces, ties (You can use 하다 or 매다 for them. *You can even use 차다, 하다 or 매다 for necklaces.)
스카프를 해요 / 매요. = To wear a scarf
넥타이를 해요 / 매요. = To wear a tie
→ The corresponding verb of “to take off” for 하다 and 매다:
Use 빼다 for earrings, bracelets and headbands
머리띠를 빼요. = To take off a headband
Use 풀다 for necklaces, scarves and ties
목도리를 풀어요. = To take off a scarf
4) 쓰다 — hats, glasses, face masks
모자를 써요. = To wear a hat
안경을 써요. = To wear glasses
→ The corresponding verb of “to take off” for 쓰다:
모자를 벗어요. = To take off a hat
안경을 벗어요. = To take off the glasses
5) 끼다 — rings, gloves, contact lenses
반지를 껴요. = To wear a ring
렌즈를 껴요. = To wear contact lenses
→ The corresponding verb of “to remove” for 끼다:
Use 빼다 for rings and contact lenses
렌즈를 빼요. = To take out contacts
Use 벗다 for gloves
장갑을 벗어요. = To remove gloves
