“Can I?” can ask two different things

You can operate a camera, but may you take a photograph in this room? English uses “can” for both ability and permission. In Korean, 사진을 찍어도 돼요? makes the permission question clear: “May I take a photo?”

This lesson is for readers who can form short -아요/-어요 sentences and want to handle a complete exchange: ask, understand the reply, then adjust what they do. Review polite verb forms first if you are still working out the stem. We will use familiar actions such as sitting, eating, leaving and taking a photo.

Build the question from an action

Attach -아도 or -어도 to the verb stem, then add 돼요. A final stem vowel ㅏ or ㅗ generally takes -아도; other vowels generally take -어도. 하다 becomes 해도. Familiar vowel combinations contract: 가 + 아도 becomes 가도, and 마시 + 어도 becomes 마셔도. Irregular verbs need their own changes, so start by adapting the checked forms in this chart.

Write 돼요, not 되요: 돼요 is the shortened form of 되어요. Keep a space before it in 앉아도 돼요. You can use the same form as a statement, 앉아도 돼요, to say that sitting is allowed. The question mark and questioning intonation make it a request for permission in our example.

Make clear what you want to do

You can add 제가 when you need to make “I” explicit. In a simple situation, the action and the person asking often make that clear already. A short question can be polite without repeating a pronoun in every sentence.

Ask the person who can answer for the space or object. Another visitor’s “yes” may not tell you the venue’s rule. When you are asking someone a favour rather than permission for your own action, the sentence may need a different pattern: “May I use this pen?” and “Could you lend me a pen?” do not assign the action to the same person.

Listen for the rest of the answer

These are practice situations, not the rules of a particular museum or study room. In a real reply, listen for words identifying a place, time, object or condition. A yes about one action may come with a restriction on another. After an unclear answer, 다시 말씀해 주세요. means “Please say that again.”

“Must not” and “do not have to” point in different directions

Compare these two sentences about a meeting:

In 가면 안 돼요, the condition “if you go” is followed by “that is not okay.” In 안 가도 돼요, “not going” is the action described as okay. Keep the whole pattern in view. Translating both as “You cannot go” loses the distinction.

For -(으)면, use -으면 after a consonant such as 먹다 → 먹으면. After a vowel, use -면: 가다 → 가면. A ㄹ stem also takes -면, as in 살다 → 살면. Our permission-refusal pattern adds 안 돼요 after this form. With 하다 compounds, put the short negative before 하다: 참석 안 해도 돼요. means “You do not have to attend.” You can also say 참석하지 않아도 돼요.

A short 안 돼요 is broader than a posted prohibition: it may mean that something cannot be done or will not work in that situation. The longer example 가면 안 돼요 makes the prohibited action explicit.

Ask considerately, then accept the answer

-요 makes these examples polite conversational Korean. In a more tentative question, you may hear 여기 앉아도 될까요? — “Would it be okay if I sat here?” That is useful when you want to check rather than sound as if you expect agreement.

Permission and ability still overlap in everyday usage, so do not treat English “can” as a one-pattern translation exercise. 수영할 수 있어요. commonly expresses the ability to swim. 수영해도 돼요 would instead say that swimming is okay in the relevant situation. Choose the question that matches what you need to know.

Practise with a partner: ask to use an object, take a photograph, or leave early. Your partner chooses an answer and adds one condition. Repeat the condition in English before continuing. This checks understanding of the reply, not just memorisation of your opening line.

Keep permission, prohibition and choice separate

A small listening check

Grammar and spelling references

• How to Study Korean: permission and not needing to act — Further examples of -아/어도 되다 and the negative placement.
• NIKL: 되다 in permission constructions — The auxiliary meaning in -어도 되다, in Korean.

Reviewed September 3, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.