‘아/어/해 보세요’ is used after the verb stem. It is the combination ‘아/어/해 보다’ with ‘(으)세요.‘ It is used to suggest or recommend someone to try certain actions. 동사-아/어/해 보세요 is used to suggest or recommend a certain action.
아/어/해 보세요 Example
Let’s look at some examples.
“제주도에 한번 가보세요.” Please try to go to Jeju island. The verb ‘가다 (to go) is followed by ‘아 보세요.’ 제주도에 한번 가보세요. (Please go to Jeju island.)
‘이 치마를 입어 보세요.’ (Please try to wear this skirt). The verb ‘입다’ is followed by ‘어 보세요.’ The skirt will look good on you. So the speaker recommends it. ‘이 치마를 입어 보세요.’ Please try to wear this skirt.
운동을 시작해 보세요. Please try to start exercising. 시작하다’ is followed by ‘여 보세요. someone wants to lose weight. So the speaker recommends starting the exercise.
아/어/해 보세요 usages
When do we use ‘아/어/해 보세요?’ Let’s find out.
아 보세요
When the verb stem has the vowel ‘ㅏ’ or ‘ㅗ’ in the stem, ‘아 보세요’ is used.
가다 (to go)
Remove ‘다’ from the root form. There is the vowel ‘ㅏ’ in front of ‘다’ ‘아 보세요’ is used after that. So it becomes ‘가보세요.’
어 보세요
When the verb stem has vowel exceptㅏ or ㅗ, 어 보세요 is used.
입다 (to wear)
Remove ‘다’ from the basic form ‘입다.’ There is the vowel ‘ㅣ’ in front of ‘다.’ So, ‘어 보세요’ is used. It becomes ‘입어 보세요.’
해 보세요
It is a conjugated form of 하다 (to do.) verb. The verb ‘하다’ is conjugated like this. First, remove ‘다’ from the basic form ‘하다.’ 여 보세요’ is used after ‘하다. It becomes ‘하여 보세요.’ 하’ and ‘여’ are combined and become ‘해.’ So, it becomes ‘해 보세요’You don’t need to know this conjugation. It’s easy to remember that ‘하다’ always change into ‘해 보세요.’
시작하다 (to start)
You can use ‘해 보세요’ instead of ‘하다.’ So it becomes ‘시작해 보세요’
V 아/어/해 보세요 Practice
Let’s practice some Korean sentence using today’s grammar
걱정이 되면 전화를 ‘해 보세요‘
‘해 보세요’ is used instead of ‘하다’
‘한국에서 한번’ ‘살아 보세요’
The verb ‘살다 (to live)’ is followed by ‘아 보세요‘
한국어를 배워보세요.
The verb ‘배우다’ is followed by ‘어 보세요.’
“신발이 한번 신어 보세요.” (Please try to wear the shoes.)
‘신다’ is followed by ‘어 보세요‘ and become ‘신어 보세요’.
“추천 좀 해주세요.” Can you recommend something?
추천 하다 means recommend and it is changed into 추천 좀 해주세요. 좀 adds more politeness on sentence. So if you are requesting someone it’s always a good idea to add 좀 before 해주세요.
“비빔밥을 드셔보세요.” Please try to eat Bibimbap.
‘드시다’ is the honorific form of ‘먹다 (to eat).’ The verb ‘드시다 (to eat)’ is followed by 어 보세요 and become 드셔 보세요.
V아/어/해 보세요 Summary
To sum up, When the vowel is ‘ㅏ’ or ‘ㅗ’ in the verb stem, ‘아 보세요’ is used. So ‘가다’ becomes ‘가 보세요.’
When the vowel is other than ‘ㅏ’ or ‘ㅗ’ in the stem, ‘어 보세요’ is used. So ‘입다 becomes ‘입어 보세요.’
‘하다’ becomes ‘해 보세요.’ So, ‘시작하다’ becomes ‘시작해 보세요.’
