Korean -아/어 버리다: "Went and Did It" in Your Diary

The alarm rang and you slept right through it. The cake in the fridge was meant for two days, and it is gone. You finally finished the report you had been putting off all week. Three very different moods, and Korean can mark all of them with the same helper: -아/어 버리다. It tells the reader "that action is completely done, and there is no taking it back." Whether the feeling is regret or relief depends on the sentence around it.

How to form it

Attach -아/어 to the verb stem, then add 버리다. The choice between 아 and 어 follows the usual vowel rule.

Verb	Form	Example
자다	자 버리다	알람을 못 듣고 늦잠을 자 버렸다. — I didn't hear the alarm and overslept.
먹다	먹어 버리다	냉장고에 있던 케이크를 혼자 다 먹어 버렸다. — I ate the whole cake in the fridge by myself.
하다	해 버리다	미루던 숙제를 오늘 다 해 버렸다. — I got the homework I'd been putting off done today.
사다	사 버리다	고민하다가 그냥 사 버렸다. — After going back and forth, I just bought it.
마시다	마셔 버리다	아껴 두던 커피를 마셔 버렸다. — I drank up the coffee I'd been saving.

The vowel contracts as it normally does: 하 + 여 becomes 해, 마시 + 어 becomes 마셔, and 가 + 아 becomes 가. 잊어버리다 ("to forget") and 잃어버리다 ("to lose something") are always written as one word, because they are single dictionary entries. For other verbs, spacing is always safe, and you must space it when the main verb is a compound verb or a particle comes in between (Korean spelling rule §47).

What it means: finished, and there is no going back

Compare the plain past with the 버리다 version:

• 케이크를 먹었다. — I ate the cake.
• 케이크를 다 먹어 버렸다. — I ate the cake. All of it. It's gone.

The second one adds a sense of completion and a feeling. The feeling is not built into the grammar. It comes from the situation, and it usually falls into one of three groups.

1. Regret or dismay. Something happened that you can't undo.
   • 지갑을 어디에 뒀는지 잊어버렸다. — I forgot where I put my wallet.
   • 친구가 말도 없이 먼저 가 버렸다. — My friend left without a word.
   • 버스가 내 앞에서 가 버렸다. — The bus pulled away right in front of me.
2. Relief. You finished something heavy.
   • 오늘 방 청소를 끝내 버렸다. 속이 시원하다. — I got the room cleaning over with today. What a relief.
3. Letting go of a decision. You stopped hesitating.
   • 고민하다가 그냥 비행기 표를 사 버렸다. — After thinking about it forever, I just bought the plane ticket.

You can use the same pattern for intentions and suggestions, not only for the past: 이번 주말에는 방 청소를 끝내 버리자 ("Let's get the cleaning done this weekend"), or 오늘은 그냥 자 버릴까? ("Shall I just go to bed?").

-아/어 버리다 vs -고 말다

Learners often meet both and wonder which to use.

Pattern	Feeling	Example
-아/어 버리다	Completion, with regret or relief, depending on context	숙제를 다 해 버렸다.
-고 말다	"Ended up doing it," leaning toward regret or something that could not be avoided	결국 울고 말았다.
-고 말다 (achievement)	Finally managing to do something	드디어 합격하고 말았다.
-고 말겠다 (strong will)	A firm resolve	꼭 이기고 말겠다.

For relief, -아/어 버리다 is the more natural choice. -고 말다 is more often a sigh, though it also has the achievement and strong-will uses above.

It needs a verb that can finish

-아/어 버리다 goes with verbs that describe an action or a change that reaches an end: 먹다, 쓰다, 잊다, 가다, 떠나다. It does not normally go with plain state adjectives. You say 날씨가 추워졌다, not 날씨가 추워 버렸다, to say "it turned cold". 크다 used as a verb ("to grow") works: 동생이 많이 커 버렸다 ("my little sibling has grown so much").

Common mistakes

Mistake	Fix	Why
우산을 잊었어 버렸다 ✗	우산을 잊어버렸다 ✓	Do not put a past marker before 어 버리다. The tense goes on the end: 버렸다.
케이크를 먹아 버렸다 ✗	케이크를 먹어 버렸다 ✓	먹다 has the vowel ㅓ, so it takes 어.
케이크를 먹고 버렸다 △	케이크를 먹어 버렸다 ✓	-고 버렸다 is grammatical but means "ate it, then threw (something) away."
날씨가 추워 버렸다 △	날씨가 추워졌다 / 추워져 버렸다 ✓	A state adjective usually takes -아/어지다 for "became."
Ending every sentence with 버렸다 △	Save it for the key moment	It adds drama. Too much makes a diary sound like a soap opera.

Try it in tonight's entry

Find the moment of the day that felt final, good or bad, and put 버렸다 on it:

• 마지막 남은 과자를 혼자 다 먹어 버렸다.
• 회의 중에 휴대폰 배터리가 다 닳아 버렸다.
• 버릴까 말까 고민하던 옷을 그냥 팔아 버렸다.
• 오늘 할 일을 전부 끝내 버렸다.

Then add one more short sentence on how you feel: 후련하다 ("I feel relieved"), or 아쉽다 ("it's a pity"). The ending sets the scene, and your feeling word finishes the picture. Want to check that your -아/어 버리다 sentences sound natural? Write your diary at kdiaryai.com and get instant corrections.