9 Korean Words for "Cut": 자르다, 썰다, 깎다, 끊다

Quick answer: The all-purpose Korean word for "cut" is 자르다 (jareuda) — cut paper, cut hair, cut a cake. But Korean splits the idea up: you 썰다 (sseolda) food into slices, 깎다 an apple or your nails, 끊다 a phone call or a smoking habit, and you 베다 your finger by accident.

English gets away with one verb and a preposition: cut up, cut off, cut out. Korean picks a different verb for each motion. The good news is that each one has a clear picture behind it — once you can see the motion, you'll pick the right verb without thinking. Here are the nine you actually need, in the order you'll meet them.

1. 자르다 — to cut (the default)

종이를 반으로 잘랐어요. — I cut the paper in half. 내일 머리 자르러 가요. — I'm going to get my hair cut tomorrow.

This is the word to reach for when you don't know which word to reach for. One clean cut through something: paper, string, cake, hair, a thread. Note that 자르다 is a 르-irregular verb, so it becomes 잘라요 / 잘랐어요, not "자르어요." And when you want someone to do it for you, it's 잘라 주세요 — the same -아/어 주다 pattern you use for every favor in Korean.

2. 썰다 — to slice, to chop (food)

양파를 잘게 썰어 주세요. — Please chop the onion finely. 고기를 먹기 좋게 썰었어요. — I cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.

썰다 is 자르다 done repeatedly, on a cutting board, to food. If a knife is going up and down and pieces are piling up, it's 썰다. Saying 양파를 잘랐어요 isn't wrong exactly, but it sounds like you cut the onion once, in half — a Korean ear hears one chop, not cooking.

3. 깎다 — to pare, peel, shave off

사과 깎아 줄까요? — Shall I peel an apple for you? 손톱 좀 깎아야겠어요. — I should cut my nails.

깎다 is shaving a layer off a surface: apple skin, a pencil, your nails, grass. The blade moves along the thing rather than through it. Korean families peel and slice fruit for guests constantly, so 사과 깎아 줄까요? is a sentence you will hear in real homes.

4. 깎아 주세요 — "Could you take a little off the price?"

조금만 깎아 주세요. — Could you knock a little off the price?

The same verb shaves money off a price. You'll hear it at traditional markets and secondhand sales, never in a department store or a convenience store, where prices are fixed and asking would be awkward. 깎아 주세요 said with a smile is normal market talk; 깎아 주세요 at a chain café would make the staff blink.

5. 다듬다 — to trim, to tidy up

많이 자르지 말고 조금만 다듬어 주세요. — Don't cut much, just trim it a little. 채소를 다듬고 있어요. — I'm trimming the vegetables.

다듬다 means making something neat by cutting away the rough edges — split ends, the tough ends of spring onions, a hedge. In a salon, the difference matters: 잘라 주세요 means you want length gone, 다듬어 주세요 means you want the same length, just tidier. Mixing these up is how people walk out with four inches missing.

6. 오리다 — to cut out with scissors

가위로 사진을 오렸어요. — I cut the photo out with scissors.

오리다 is specifically scissors following a shape — cutting a picture out of a magazine, cutting a paper heart. Nobody uses 오리다 for food or hair. If a shape is being followed, it's 오리다; if something is simply being divided, it's 자르다.

7. 베다 — to cut yourself (usually by accident)

칼에 손을 벴어요. — I cut my hand on the knife. 종이에 손가락을 베었어요. — I got a paper cut on my finger.

베다 is the edge of something going into flesh. It's the verb for accidents, and it's what you say at a pharmacy or to a worried friend. 벴어요 and 베었어요 are both correct and both common in speech. Don't say 손을 잘랐어요 unless you really mean the hand came off — Koreans find that one alarming.

8. 끊다 — to cut off, to quit, to hang up

저 담배 끊었어요. — I quit smoking. 이제 전화 끊을게요. — I'm going to hang up now. 그 사람하고 연락 끊었어요. — I cut off contact with that person.

끊다 cuts a line, not an object: a phone line, a habit, a relationship, a supply. It's the most "figurative" verb on this list and the one learners underuse. On the phone, 전화 끊을게요 is the normal polite way to end a call — announcing it before you go, rather than just saying bye and vanishing.

9. 잘리다 / 끊기다 — to get cut, to get cut off

머리가 너무 짧게 잘렸어요. — My hair got cut way too short. 전화가 갑자기 끊겼어요. — The call suddenly cut off. 여기는 인터넷이 자주 끊겨요. — The internet here drops a lot.

These are the passive partners of 자르다 and 끊다 — the thing got cut, and nobody is saying who did it. 잘리다 also means "to get fired" in casual speech (회사에서 잘렸어요), which is blunt; in polite conversation people say 회사를 그만뒀어요 instead. 끊기다 is the everyday word for dropped calls and dead Wi-Fi, so it earns its place fast.

Quick reference

If this kind of verb family is your weak spot, Korean does the same thing with words for washing and words for putting things down — one English verb, four or five Korean ones, each tied to a specific motion.

FAQ

What's the difference between 자르다 and 썰다 in Korean?

자르다 is one cut through something — paper, string, a cake. 썰다 is repeated knife strokes on a cutting board, almost always with food: 양파를 썰어요 (I chop the onion). If you're cooking, use 썰다; for everything else, 자르다 is the safe default.

How do you say "I cut my finger" in Korean?

Say 손가락을 베었어요 or 손가락을 벴어요. The verb 베다 is used for accidental cuts from a knife, a blade or even paper. Avoid 잘랐어요 here — 자르다 means you deliberately cut the finger off, which is not the impression you want at the pharmacy.

What does 깎다 mean in Korean?

깎다 means shaving a layer off something: peeling an apple (사과를 깎다), cutting your nails (손톱을 깎다), mowing grass. It also means knocking money off a price, so 깎아 주세요 at a market means "could you give me a discount?" The motion is always along a surface, not straight through.

Practice

Fill in the blank with the right verb.

1. 양파를 잘게 ___ 주세요. (Please chop the onion finely.)
2. 칼에 손을 ___. (I cut my hand on the knife.)
3. 저 작년에 담배 ___. (I quit smoking last year.)
4. 많이 자르지 말고 조금만 ___ 주세요. (Just a trim, please.)
5. 전화가 갑자기 ___. (The call suddenly cut off.)