Adjective Present Tense in Korean: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Choose 아요 or 어요 for an adjective by the last vowel of its stem.
• Form the present for ㅡ-stem, 하다 and irregular adjectives such as 크다, 피곤하다 and 춥다.
• Put an adjective before a noun with -(으)ㄴ, as in 큰 집 and 추운 날.
• Tell adjectives from action verbs and from noun + 이에요.

Before you start: you should know the polite ending -아요/어요 from Korean present tense uses. Time: about 30 minutes.

What Is the Adjective Present Tense in Korean?

The adjective present tense in Korean is the polite present form of a describing word, such as 좋다 ("to be good"), 크다 ("to be big") or 바쁘다 ("to be busy"). Korean adjectives behave like verbs, so linguists call them descriptive verbs (형용사). They conjugate with the same endings as action verbs, and the ending carries the meaning "is".

Compare an action verb with an adjective:

English needs the verb "is" for "is good". Korean puts that meaning inside 좋아요. Learners who add a linking verb, as in 좋아요이에요, make a common error that the mistakes section covers.

A First Example

Listen to each sentence at normal speed, then slowly.

1. 날씨가 좋아요. (nalssiga joayo) "The weather is nice."

Pronunciation: [날씨가 조아요]. The ㅎ of 좋 is silent before a vowel, so 좋아요 sounds like 조아요.

2. 이 방은 넓어요. (i bangeun neolbeoyo) "This room is spacious."

Pronunciation: [이 방은 널버요]. The stem 넓 has a double final ㄼ, which is spoken as ㄹ before a consonant and moves ㅂ onto the next syllable before a vowel: [널버요].

Both sentences state how something is, with no action. The next section shows how the pattern is built from any adjective.

How Does the Adjective Present Tense Work?

Remove 다 from the dictionary form and look at the last vowel of the stem. If it is ㅏ or ㅗ, add 아요. For any other vowel, add 어요. The meaning is "is" plus the quality.

Pattern Table

Romanization of the polite column: joayo, jagayo, manayo, jjalbayo, gwaenchanayo, neolbeoyo, jeogeoyo, gireoyo, masisseoyo and madeopseoyo. Two details make the table easy to apply.

1. Look at the last vowel only. 좋 has ㅗ, so the ending is 아요. 넓 has ㅓ, so the ending is 어요.
2. Spoken forms link the final consonant. Final consonants move onto the vowel that follows: 많아요 is [마나요], with the ㅎ silent.

Vowel-Final and ㅡ Stems

When a stem ends in a vowel, the stem vowel and the ending merge. Stems that end in ㅡ drop it, and the vowel before the ㅡ decides between 아 and 어.

Romanization: ssayo, bissayo, keoyo, yeppeoyo, seulpeoyo, gippeoyo, bappayo, apayo and nappayo.

하다 Adjectives

Adjectives ending in 하다 become 해요. Many of them are a Sino-Korean noun plus 하다, such as 피곤 (fatigue) + 하다.

Romanization of the plain ones: pigonhaeyo, joyonghaeyo and jungyohaeyo. The others are spoken with an aspirated sound where ㅅ or ㄱ meets ㅎ, so listen to the audio and copy what you hear.

Irregular Adjectives

Some adjectives change their stem before the ending. The irregular change comes first, and the vowel rule comes second.

Romanization: chuwoyo, deowoyo, eoryeowoyo, swiwoyo, maewoyo, gakkawoyo, museowoyo, jobayo, geuraeyo, ppalgaeyo, dallayo and ppallayo. The full irregular classes are drilled in korean present tense conjugation. The question 어때요? ("How is it?") comes from the ㅎ-irregular adjective 어떻다 and is one of the most common adjective forms in speech.

Other Speech Levels

The stem rule stays the same at every speech level. Only the ending changes.

Romanization: joayo, joseumnida, joa and jota. In the plain written style, adjectives keep the dictionary form, while action verbs take -는다/-ㄴ다. The contrast is taught in plain present -는다/ㄴ다. The next section builds one sentence.

Building a Sentence with an Adjective, Step by Step

To make a present sentence with an adjective, take the dictionary form, remove 다, check the last vowel, and add 아요 or 어요. Follow these steps with 이 방은 넓어요.

1. Start from the dictionary form. 넓다 ("to be wide").
2. Remove 다. The stem is 넓.
3. Check the last vowel. 넓 ends in ㅓ, so the ending is 어요.
4. Add the ending. 넓 + 어요 becomes 넓어요.
5. Add the subject. 이 방은 gives the topic: 이 방은 넓어요.

You'll know it worked when the sentence ends in 요 and has no separate word for "is". Common mistake at this step: adding 이에요 after the adjective, as in 넓어요이에요. The ending 어요 already means "is".

Repeat the steps with an irregular stem. For 춥다, the ㅂ becomes 우 first, giving 추우, and then 어 follows: 추워요.

The sentence is complete without a noun after it. The next section shows how adjectives describe a noun.

How Do Adjectives Describe a Noun?

An adjective before a noun takes the modifier ending -(으)ㄴ instead of 아요/어요. The rule depends on the last sound of the stem.

Romanization: joeun nalssi, jageun bang, keun jip, yeppeun kkot, gin meori, chuun nal, eoryeoun munje, pigonhan haru, masinneun eumsik and jaemieomneun yeonghwa. The polite 요 never appears before a noun. The full rules are in -(으)ㄴ adjective and past modifier. The next section compares adjectives with the forms they are confused with.

How Is It Different from Action Verbs and Noun + 이에요?

An adjective describes how something is, an action verb names what someone does, and noun + 이에요 says what something is. The three patterns look alike, but each one needs different grammar.

Romanization: nalssiga joayo, jeoneun babeul meogeoyo, jeoneun haksaengieyo and jeoneun uisayeyo. Three signs separate the patterns. First, adjectives take the subject marker 이 or 가 and have no object. Second, action verbs often take the object marker 을 or 를. Third, nouns need 이에요 after a consonant and 예요 after a vowel, but adjectives never need either. The behaviour of the word class is explained in Korean adjectives are verbs. The next section covers change and feelings.

How Do You Show Change and Feelings?

Adjectives can show a change with -아/어지다, and they describe feelings in different ways for the speaker and for other people. Both points matter in daily speech.

Change of state. Add 아 or 어 and 지다 to the adjective stem. The result is a verb that means "to become" the quality.

Romanization: joajyeoyo, keojyeoyo, yeppeojyeoyo. A full sentence is 날씨가 점점 따뜻해져요 [날씨가 점점 따뜨태져요], "The weather is getting warmer".

Feelings. For your own feeling, use the adjective: 저는 슬퍼요 [저는 슬퍼요] ("I feel sad"). For another person, Korean usually adds 보이다 or changes the adjective into a verb with -아/어하다: 동생이 슬퍼 보여요 [동생이 슬퍼 보여요] ("My younger sibling looks sad") and 동생이 슬퍼해요 [동생이 슬퍼해요] ("My younger sibling is sad"). Romanization: jeoneun seulpeoyo, dongsaengi seulpeo boyeoyo and dongsaengi seulpeohaeyo.

Negatives. Put 안 before the adjective or use -지 않다: 안 좋아요 and 좋지 않아요 [조치 아나요]. See 안 negation in Korean for the full pattern.

Limitation: this lesson covers the polite present of adjectives. It does not cover the past tense of adjectives, which sits in Korean past tense, or the plain written present beyond a short note. The next section lists the errors to avoid.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make?

Six mistakes cover most wrong adjective sentences.

1. Adding 이에요 to an adjective. 좋아요이에요 is wrong. The ending 아요 already means "is".
2. Adding -고 있다 to an adjective. 예쁘고 있어요 is wrong. Say 예뻐요, or 예뻐지고 있어요 for a change in progress.
3. Keeping the ㅡ. 크어요 is wrong. The ㅡ drops: 커요.
4. Skipping the ㅂ change. 춥어요 and 덥어요 are wrong. Say 추워요 and 더워요.
5. Using the verb modifier 는 with an ordinary adjective. 좋는 날씨 is wrong. Say 좋은 날씨. Only 있다 and 없다 words take 는.
6. Adding 은 after a vowel stem. 예쁘은 꽃 is wrong. Say 예쁜 꽃.

The same ending rules apply to action verbs, and the sentence pattern behind every example is in the Korean SOV sentence pattern. Now test yourself.

Practice and Answers

Try all four items before you read the answers. Each answer has audio, normal and slow.

1. Choose the form. 춥다 ("to be cold"): 춥어요 or 추워요?
2. Fix the error. 이 방은 크어요. (The speaker wants to say "This room is big.")
3. Translate. "This room is spacious."
4. Write your own. Write one sentence about today's weather, using 따뜻하다 (to be warm) or 춥다 (to be cold).

Answer Key

1. 추워요 (chuwoyo) Pronounced [추워요]. 춥다 is a ㅂ-irregular adjective, so the ㅂ becomes 우 before the ending.

2. 이 방은 커요. (i bangeun keoyo) Pronounced [이 방은 커요]. The ㅡ of 크 drops, and no vowel stands before it, so the ending is 어요.

3. 이 방은 넓어요. (i bangeun neolbeoyo) Pronounced [이 방은 널버요]. The last vowel of 넓 is ㅓ, so the ending is 어요.

4. Sample answer: 오늘은 날씨가 따뜻해요. (oneureun nalssiga ttatteutaeyo) "The weather is warm today." Pronounced [오느른 날씨가 따뜨태요]. Any weather adjective in the polite present is right.

If you chose the wrong form, check the stem: is it irregular, does it end in ㅡ, or is it a 하다 word? Then continue with the next lessons.

Next Lessons and Where to Go from Here

After the adjective present tense in Korean, the natural next lesson is plain present -는다/ㄴ다, which shows how adjectives and verbs differ in the written style. For the basic present, read Korean present tense uses. The set overview, Korean present tense, lists every lesson in order.

This page uses Revised Romanization only as a learning aid; the Hangul is the reference. To remember the idea in one line: the adjective present tense in Korean adds 아요 or 어요 to the stem, and the ending already means "is".

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Korean Adjectives Need a Word for "Is"?

No. A Korean adjective already contains the meaning "is" in its ending, so 날씨가 좋아요 means "The weather is nice" with no separate verb. This is why Korean adjectives are also called descriptive verbs. Never add 이에요 after an adjective: 좋아요이에요 is wrong. Use 이에요 or 예요 only after nouns.

How Do I Form the Present Tense of an Adjective?

Remove 다 from the dictionary form and add 아요 or 어요. Use 아요 when the last vowel of the stem is ㅏ or ㅗ, as in 좋아요, and 어요 for other vowels, as in 넓어요. Stems ending in a vowel merge, as in 싸요. 하다 adjectives become 해요, as in 피곤해요, and irregular stems change first.

How Do I Put an Adjective before a Noun?

Change the adjective to its modifier form with -(으)ㄴ. Add ㄴ to a vowel stem (예쁜 꽃), 은 to a consonant stem (좋은 날씨), and drop ㄹ before ㄴ (긴 머리). For 있다 and 없다 words use 는: 맛있는 음식. The polite ending 요 does not appear before a noun.

How Do I Say That Something Becomes More of a Quality?

Add -아/어지다 to the adjective stem. 예쁘다 becomes 예뻐지다 ("to become pretty"), 크다 becomes 커지다 ("to become big"), and 따뜻하다 becomes 따뜻해지다. In the polite present, 날씨가 점점 따뜻해져요 means "The weather is getting warmer". Do not use -고 있다 to describe a quality.

Can I Use an Adjective with -고 있다 or -는다?

No. Adjectives name states, so 예쁘고 있어요 is wrong. For a change in progress, use 예뻐지고 있어요. The plain written present also differs: verbs take -는다/-ㄴ다, as in 먹는다, but adjectives keep the dictionary form, as in 좋다. The plain present lesson covers this contrast in detail.