Korean Adverbs of Degree 아주 너무 정말: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Say "very", "really", "a little" and "too" with the right Korean word.
• Place a degree adverb correctly before an adjective, a verb or another adverb.
• Use 별로 and 좀 in the situations where they work.
• Spot and fix the most common mistakes, such as 맛있어요 아주.

Prerequisites: the polite ending -아요/어요 and a few adjectives such as 맛있어요 and 추워요. Time: about 15 minutes.

Key facts

• A degree adverb is a word that says how much or how strongly.
• It stands directly before the adjective, verb or adverb it describes.
• 아주 and 매우 mean "very", 정말 means "really", and 조금 means "a little".
• 너무 means "too" or "so", and it has its own lesson.
• 별로 and 전혀 need a negative word later in the sentence.

Listen to the two model sentences for this lesson.

The next section defines degree adverbs and shows what they mean.

What Do Korean Adverbs of Degree 아주 너무 정말 Mean?

Korean degree adverbs set the strength of a description. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. A degree adverb answers the question "how much?". Without it, 맛있어요 means "It is tasty". With 아주, the sentence says "It is very tasty". With 조금 the degree drops: 조금 피곤해요 means "I am a little tired".

Korean has many degree words, and each has its own feeling. 아주 and 매우 are plain and neutral. 정말 and 진짜 add sincerity, as in "really". 너무 adds excess, as in "too" or "so". 조금 and 좀 reduce the degree. The sections below sort them on a ladder and show how to use them.

A First Example

Here are two sentences, one with a high degree and one with a low degree.

In both sentences the adverb stands directly before the adjective. The subject is not named, because Korean drops it when the situation makes it clear. The next section shows how the pattern works for more words.

How Do Korean Adverbs of Degree 아주 너무 정말 Work?

The rule has one step: put the degree adverb directly before the word it describes. Nothing else in the sentence changes. The adjective or verb keeps its tense and polite ending.

Pattern Table

The words below form a rough ladder from weak to strong. The ladder is a tendency and not a strict scale, because the feeling depends on the speaker.

Each word keeps the same slot. 조금 피곤해요, 아주 피곤해요 and 너무 피곤해요 differ only in the first word, and they say "a little tired", "very tired" and "too tired" or "so tired". The negative pair 별로 and 전혀 is explained in the section on special cases.

Degree Adverbs with Verbs

Degree adverbs mostly go with adjectives, but they can also go with verbs. The choice of word depends on the kind of verb.

For verbs of feeling, such as 좋아하다 ("like"), 싫어하다 ("dislike") and 사랑하다 ("love"), use 아주, 정말 or 너무: 아주 좋아해요 ("I like it very much"). For ordinary action verbs, such as 먹다 ("eat") or 자다 ("sleep"), "a lot" is 많이, not 아주: 많이 먹어요 ("I eat a lot"), 조금 먹어요 ("I eat a little"). A degree adverb can also describe another adverb: 아주 빨리 걸어요 ("I walk very fast") and 너무 늦게 왔어요 ("I came too late").

The position of these words in a full sentence follows the rules in Korean adverb position in a sentence. The next section builds one sentence from scratch.

Worked Example: Building 아주 맛있어요

To say "This food is very tasty", start with the plain sentence and add the degree word in five steps.

1. Write the plain sentence. 이 음식은 맛있어요 means "This food is tasty."
2. Find the adjective. 맛있어요 is the predicate.
3. Decide the degree. The idea is "very", so choose 아주.
4. Insert the adverb directly before the adjective. 이 음식은 아주 맛있어요.
5. Read the whole sentence. The spoken form is [이 음시근 아주 마시써요]. The adverb stands right before the adjective, and the sentence still ends with the predicate.

You'll know it worked when 아주 is next to 맛있어요 with nothing between them. To change the degree, replace only the adverb: 정말 맛있어요 means "It is really tasty". A weak judgement uses 괜찮아요 ("It is okay") instead, because 조금 맛있어요 sounds odd. Not every adjective fits every degree word, and a feeling for this comes with practice.

The next section compares the four words that learners use most.

How Are 아주, 정말, 조금 and 너무 Different?

The four words answer different questions. 아주 states a high degree. 정말 stresses the speaker's honesty. 조금 states a low degree. 너무 signals excess or strong feeling.

The most useful contrast is 아주 versus 너무. 아주 비싸요 only gives the price level. 너무 비싸요 hints at a problem, as in "I cannot buy it". The detailed story of 너무 is in 너무 meaning too or very. Another useful contrast is 아주 versus 매우. Both mean "very". 매우 sounds formal and appears in news, reports and speeches, while 아주 works everywhere. 진짜 is the casual partner of 정말 and is common among friends.

The word 정말 is also a question on its own: 정말요? means "Really?". It shows that the same word can express degree and surprise. For comparisons such as "more" and "most", see korean comparatives and superlatives 더 가장.

The next section covers two words with special behaviour.

Special Cases: 좀 and 별로

Two degree words do not behave like the others. 좀 is a softener, and 별로 needs a negative.

좀 softens. 좀 is the short form of 조금 and means "a bit". In requests and complaints it is also a politeness marker. 좀 도와주세요 means "Please help me", and it sounds gentler than 도와주세요. 좀 비싸요 is a polite way to say that something is expensive, without saying "too". Notice that 좀 can soften without any real "bit" in the meaning.

별로 needs a negative. 별로 means "not very" or "not particularly", and it only works with a negative word. 별로 안 맛있어요 means "It is not very tasty". 별로 맛있어요 is incorrect. 전혀 works the same way and means "not at all": 전혀 안 어려워요 ("It is not difficult at all"). This match between a degree word and a negative verb is taught in 아무도 아무것도 전혀 negative words. In casual speech, people also say 별로예요 for "It is not great", with no visible negative word, but beginners can leave this form for later.

What this lesson does not cover. It does not cover 더 and 가장 for comparisons, the adverbs made with -게 and -히/-이, or 너무 in depth. The adverbs made from adjectives are taught in adverb -히 -이 in korean.

An honest limit. The ladder of strength is a guide and not a measurement. Speakers use 정말 and 너무 in many ways, and a word that sounds neutral from one person can sound strong from another.

The next section lists the errors that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Degree Adverbs?

Learners make five predictable mistakes. Each has a reason and a fix.

Learners often add the adverb after the adjective, as an afterthought. Actually the adverb stands before it. Wrong: 맛있어요 아주. Right: 아주 맛있어요. Fix: put the adverb directly before the predicate.

Learners often assume 아주 works with every verb. Actually ordinary action verbs take 많이. Wrong: 아주 먹어요. Right: 많이 먹어요. Fix: use 아주 with adjectives and verbs of feeling.

Learners often assume 별로 can be positive. Actually it needs a negative. Wrong: 별로 맛있어요. Right: 별로 안 맛있어요 or 별로 맛없어요. Fix: add 안 or choose a negative adjective.

Learners often assume 아주 and 너무 are the same. Actually 너무 suggests excess. Wrong when you only state a fact: 너무 비싸요 for "It is very expensive", which hints that you cannot afford it. Right: 아주 비싸요. Fix: choose 아주 for a plain degree.

Learners often stack two degree words. Actually one degree word is the norm (casual speech allows 정말 너무 좋아요, but not every pair works). Wrong: 아주 너무 좋아요. Right: 아주 좋아요 or 너무 좋아요. Casual speech doubles one word instead, as in 너무너무 좋아요. Fix: use one degree word at a time.

Practice puts these rules into your own sentences, as the next section shows.

Practice and Answers

Complete the four tasks, then compare your answers with the key.

Task 1: add the degree word. Write the sentence in Korean.

1. very pretty (예뻐요)
2. a little tired (피곤해요)
3. really delicious (맛있어요)
4. not very expensive (비싸요)

Task 2: fix the error. Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. 맛있어요 아주.
2. 아주 먹어요. (The meaning is "I eat a lot".)
3. 별로 맛있어요. (The meaning is "It is not very tasty".)

Task 3: translate. Write in Korean: "It is very cold today." and "I like Korean food very much."

Task 4: write your own. Write one sentence with 조금 and one sentence with 정말 about your day.

Answer key

1. (1) 아주 예뻐요. (2) 조금 피곤해요. (3) 정말 맛있어요. (4) 별로 안 비싸요.
2. (1) 아주 맛있어요. (2) 많이 먹어요. (3) 별로 안 맛있어요.
3. 오늘은 아주 추워요. 저는 한국 음식을 아주 좋아해요.
4. Sample answers: 오늘은 조금 피곤해요. ("I am a little tired today.") 이 영화는 정말 재미있어요. ("This film is really fun.") Any degree word is correct if it stands directly before the predicate.

If task 1 was correct, you have the rule. If task 2 was hard, return to the section on verbs and check the verb type. The next section points you to what comes after this lesson.

What Should You Learn after Korean Adverbs of Degree 아주 너무 정말?

After Korean adverbs of degree 아주 너무 정말, learn the word that causes the most confusion in 너무 meaning too or very. Then read Korean adverbs of frequency 항상 자주 가끔, which use the same slot before the verb to say how often.

For a wider view, the parent page Korean adverbs lists every lesson in learning order. To place several adverbs correctly in a longer sentence, read Korean adverb position in a sentence.

This lesson covers the common degree words in the polite present. It does not cover comparison with 더 and 가장, or degree words in written Korean in depth. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The Korean text and spoken forms on this page were machine-generated and reviewed and signed off by Min-ji Park on 15 October 2026. Romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are degree adverbs in Korean? Degree adverbs are words that say how much an adjective or verb applies, such as 아주 ("very"), 정말 ("really"), 조금 ("a little") and 너무 ("too" or "so"). They stand directly before the word they describe. 아주 맛있어요 means "It is very tasty", and 조금 피곤해요 means "I am a little tired".

How do I use degree adverbs in a sentence? Put the degree adverb directly before the adjective or verb, and keep the rest of the sentence unchanged. 맛있어요 becomes 아주 맛있어요. Use 별로 only with a negative, as in 별로 안 맛있어요. For ordinary action verbs, use 많이 for "a lot", as in 많이 먹어요, and not 아주.

What is the most common mistake with degree adverbs? The most common mistake is putting the adverb after the adjective, as in 맛있어요 아주. The correct order is 아주 맛있어요. A second mistake is using 아주 with an ordinary action verb, as in 아주 먹어요, instead of 많이 먹어요. A third is using 별로 in a positive sentence.

How are 아주, 정말, 조금 and 너무 different? 아주 means "very" and states the degree plainly. 정말 means "really" and stresses that the speaker means it. 조금 means "a little" and lowers the degree. 너무 means "too" or "so" and suggests excess or strong feeling. 너무 비싸요 hints at a problem, while 아주 비싸요 only states the price level.

Do I use degree adverbs in speech, writing or both? Both, but the choice of word changes. 매우 suits writing, news and formal speech. 아주 and 정말 suit both speech and writing. 진짜 is casual and common among friends. 좀 is very common in speech, especially in requests. A learner can use 아주 and 정말 safely in most situations.