되어요 → 돼요

The verb 되다 is one of the most common words in Korean.

It has several meanings depending on the context, such as "to become," "to work," or "to be okay/allowed."

Let's look at how it conjugates when we add the polite ending -어요 .

First, we find the stem by removing 다 from 되다 . The stem is 되 .

Since the last vowel of the stem is ㅚ (which is not ㅏ or ㅗ ), we must add the default ending -어요 .

되 + 어요 becomes 되어요 .

You can use 되어요 in conversation, and it is perfectly correct.

When 되- combines with -어요 , the full form is 되어요 . The sequence 되어 commonly contracts to 돼 in pronunciation and spelling.

Therefore, 되어요 contracts to 돼요 .

되어요 and 돼요 express the same grammatical form, but the contracted form 돼요 is much more common in ordinary speech and writing.

We often use 안 되다 to mean that something does not work or is not allowed.

Remove -다 from 되다 to identify the stem 되- . Then 안 되- + -어요 forms 안 되어요 .

안 되어요 commonly contracts to 안 돼요 . If someone asks for permission, 안 돼요 can mean "No, you can't" or "It's not allowed."

A very common spelling mistake is writing 되요 . This happens because people forget the 어 part of the ending.

Remember that the polite ending is -어요 , not just -요 .

You must either write the full form 되어요 or the contracted form 돼요 .