jabi-고 있다
-고 있다: The Progressive, and When Korean Skips It
Be doing — marks an action in progress.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any action verb | stem + -고 있다 | 먹다 → 먹고 있어요 |
| Past — was doing | -고 있었다 | 먹고 있었어요 |
| Honorific | -고 계시다 | 먹고 계세요 (or 드시고 계세요) |
| Resulting state, not action | -어 있다 | 앉아 있어요 (is seated) |
| Adjectives | not possible | 예쁘고 있어요 ✗ |
-고 있다 is the Korean progressive: be doing.
It is easy to form and easy to overuse, because English speakers reach for it every time they would say -ing.
Building it
Attach -고 to the stem, then 있다 conjugates as the main verb.
먹다 → 먹고 있어요 I'm eating
기다리다 → 기다리고 있어요 I'm waiting
공부하다 → 공부하고 있어요Past: -고 있었어요 — I was doing. Honorific: -고 계세요 — from 계시다.
Same -고 as the connector, but this is a fixed construction and worth learning as one unit.
Korean uses it less than you think
This is the part that matters.
뭐 해요? — What are you doing?
뭐 하고 있어요? — also correct, but heavier
The plain present already covers most of what English needs the progressive for. Defaulting to 고 있다 is not wrong, it just sounds laboured — a bit like saying “what is it that you are currently doing” every time.
Use it when you want to stress that something is in progress:
지금 먹고 있어요. — I’m eating right now. (so I’ll call you back)
요즘 한국어를 배우고 있어요. — I’m learning Korean these days. (ongoing over time)
Both of those earn it. 저는 학교에 가고 있어요 for a routine commute does not — 학교에 가요 is what you want.
The pair it gets confused with
-고 있다 is the action. -어 있다 is the state that resulted.
앉고 있어요. lowering yourself onto the chair
앉아 있어요. seated ← usually what you meanMore examples:
| 서 있어요 | is standing |
| 문이 열려 있어요 | the door is open |
| 불이 켜져 있어요 | the light is on |
English collapses both into -ing — “he is sitting” covers both the act and the state. Korean keeps them apart, and for most everyday situations the -어 있다 form is the one you want.
Not for adjectives
예쁘고 있어요. ✗
예뻐요. ✅-고 있다 needs an action to be in progress. Adjectives describe states, and you cannot be in the middle of a state.
A few worth memorising
| 뭐 하고 있어요? | What are you up to? |
| 기다리고 있어요 | I’m waiting |
| 찾고 있어요 | I’m looking for it |
| 한국어를 배우고 있어요 | I’m learning Korean |
| 지금 가고 있어요 | I’m on my way |
지금 가고 있어요 is the one you will use most. It is what you text when you are late.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
In the Sejong course this appears in 케이 팝(K-pop) 댄스를 출 수 있어요? — Sejong Korean 1, Unit 13, on the theme of 취미. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. Someone calls and asks 뭐 해요? What are they asking?
2. What is the difference between 앉고 있어요 and 앉아 있어요?
3. Can you say 예쁘고 있어요?
Common questions
When do I actually need it?
When you want to stress that something is happening right now, or that it is ongoing over a period. Otherwise the plain present is normal and 고 있다 can sound heavy.
What is -어 있다?
The resulting state rather than the action. 앉아 있다 (be seated), 서 있다 (be standing), 열려 있다 (be open). English collapses both into -ing, Korean does not.
How do I make it honorific?
-고 계시다: 선생님이 기다리고 계세요. Some verbs also swap the main verb — 드시고 계세요 rather than 먹고 계세요.
Does it work for the future?
Not directly. For something ongoing in the future you would use -고 있을 거예요, but it is uncommon. The plain future usually does the job.
Seen in the wild
Lessons where this pattern showed up in real Korean — news, slang, drama lines.