How to Say I'm Sad in Korean (슬퍼요)

What you'll learn

• Say I'm sad with 슬퍼요, 슬퍼 or 슬픕니다, depending on the listener.
• Tell 슬퍼요 (sad) apart from 속상해요 (upset) and 우울해요 (down).
• Understand why 슬프- becomes 슬퍼-.
• Pronounce 슬픕니다 as [슬픔니다] and 속상해요 as [속쌍해요].

Before you start: you only need to read Hangul. When you want the happy side, learn I'm happy in Korean. Time: about 10 minutes. Audio plays only when you press a button.

How Do You Say I'm Sad in Korean?

The standard way to say I'm sad in Korean is 슬퍼요. The base word is the adjective 슬프다 (seulpeuda), "to be sad". An adjective in Korean works like the English "is sad", so 슬퍼요 can describe you, a film or a song. Korean usually drops "I", so one word is a whole sentence.

The next section sorts these forms by listener.

What Are the Polite, Formal and Casual Ways to Say I'm Sad?

The stem 슬프- stays the same and the ending changes with the speech level. The full system is in the guide to Korean speech levels.

Polite: 슬퍼요 (seulpeoyo)

슬퍼요 is the form to learn first. It is soft and sincere, and it fits a coworker, a teacher or a neighbour. The past tense is 슬펐어요 (seulpeosseoyo), "I was sad".

Here 슬퍼서 means "because it is sad", and the sad thing is the movie, not the speaker.

Casual: 슬퍼 (seulpeo)

슬퍼 drops 요. Use it with close friends, siblings and people younger than you. A quiet 슬퍼... is also what people text when they want a friend to ask what is wrong.

Formal: 슬픕니다 (seulpeumnida)

슬픕니다 appears in speeches, announcements and news. In daily talk you will rarely say it. It is pronounced [슬픔니다].

Upset: 속상해요 (soksanghaeyo)

속상해요 is a very common everyday word. The parts are 속 (inside) and 상하다 (to be hurt), so it means "my inside is hurt". Use it for disappointment, worry over someone, or frustration about something that happened, where English would say "upset".

Down: 우울해요 (uulhaeyo)

우울해요 describes a low mood that stays for a while. It is heavier than a passing sad moment, so use it for a mood, not for one bad scene in a film.

Beneath these forms sits one small grammar rule.

Why Does 슬프다 Become 슬퍼요?

The stem 슬프- ends in the vowel ㅡ (eu). Before the endings -아요 or -어요, Korean drops that ㅡ. The ending is 아 if the vowel in the syllable before is ㅏ or ㅗ, and 어 otherwise. In 슬프다 the syllable before is 슬, whose vowel is ㅡ, so the ending is 어: 슬프 + 어요 becomes 슬퍼요.

• 슬프다 → 슬퍼요 (sad)
• 기쁘다 → 기뻐요 (glad)
• 예쁘다 → 예뻐요 (pretty)
• 아프다 → 아파요 (sick), where the 아 in front pulls the ending to 아

This is called ㅡ-dropping (으 탈락). School grammar counts it as regular, though many learner books teach it with the irregular verbs. Before consonant endings the ㅡ stays, which gives the formal 슬픕니다.

How Do You Pronounce 슬퍼요?

슬퍼요 is pronounced [슬퍼요], seul-peo-yo, in three syllables. It sounds like it is written.

1. 슬 (seul): the vowel ㅡ is unrounded, so keep your lips flat and spread, then end with a light ㄹ.
2. 퍼 (peo): ㅍ is a puff of air. The vowel ㅓ is also unrounded.
3. 요 (yo): a short "yo".

Sound Changes to Listen For

These changes follow the National Institute of Korean Language standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법):

• Tensing after a stop. 속상해요 is [속쌍해요]. The final ㄱ of 속 makes the ㅅ of 상 tense (Article 23). The romanization soksanghaeyo does not show this, because it comes from a neighbouring sound. See Korean tensification.
• ㅂ before ㄴ becomes ㅁ. 슬픕니다 is [슬픔니다] (Article 18). See Korean nasalization.

Next, who you can say it to.

When Should You Use 슬퍼요, and When Should You Not?

Use 슬퍼요 when you feel real sadness and want to share it. Pick a different word when the feeling is smaller.

Situations Where It Fits

• After a sad film or song. 이 노래 너무 슬퍼요 (this song is so sad).
• Saying goodbye. 헤어지니까 슬퍼요 (I am sad because we are parting).
• Telling a close friend. 나 오늘 좀 슬퍼.

Situations to Avoid

• A small disappointment. A late bus or a lost game is 속상해요, not 슬퍼요.
• A formal meeting. Keep feelings short, and prefer 유감입니다 (yugamimnida, I regret it) in formal writing.
• A long low mood. 우울해요 is closer, and a serious low mood is better shared with a doctor or a trusted person.

Two short conversations show how it sounds.

What Does I'm Sad Sound Like in a Real Conversation?

In real life the line is followed by care. Notice how the listener answers.

What to notice: 슬펐어 is the casual past, and the friend answers with care, not advice.

What to notice: the colleague picks 속상해요, not 슬퍼요, because a failed presentation is a setback, not a grief. The question 왜 그래요? (what's wrong?) is a wh-question, so it does not end with a sharp rise.

What Should You Know about the Culture behind I'm Sad?

Koreans often express sadness through shared activities, such as a long walk, a meal or a sad ballad. A ballad is a slow, emotional song, and the genre is a pillar of Korean pop music. Saying 슬퍼요 is natural between friends, but at work people tend to use gentler words like 속상해요 or 마음이 안 좋아요 (maeumi an joayo, my heart is not well).

There is also a familiar idea of 정 (jeong), the bond that grows between people. Sadness at parting, at a graduation or at moving house is often described through it, and friends answer with company, not with solutions. A friend who says 같이 있어 줄게 (gachi isseo julge, I'll stay with you) is offering exactly what the situation asks for.

An expert tip: when you want to comfort someone, say 마음이 아파요 (maeumi apayo, my heart hurts). It is a common way to speak about sadness over someone else's trouble, and it sounds warmer than 슬퍼요 when the other person is the one suffering.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with I'm Sad in Korean?

Most mistakes come from the ㅡ-dropping stem and from using one word for every unhappy feeling.

Another trap is the honorific. The ending -시- shows respect for the person you talk about, so 슬프세요 asks "are you sad?" to someone older, and you never use it about yourself.

How Do You Ask Someone If They Are Sad?

Turn the same words into a question. To a friend, say 슬퍼? (seulpeo?). To a colleague, say 슬퍼요? (seulpeoyo?), with a gentle rise at the end, because this is a yes/no question. To ask why, use a question word: 왜 슬퍼요? (wae seulpeoyo?). A wh-question puts the stress on 왜 and usually ends with a fall or a rise-fall, not a sharp rise.

To an older person, ask 속상하세요? (soksanghaseyo?). It carries the honorific -시- and the softer word 속상하다. A kind follow-up is 무슨 일 있었어요? (museun il isseosseoyo?), "what happened?". In connected speech it is often [무슨 닐 이써써요], with ㄴ added before 일, while the romanization keeps the spaced words separate.

Is It the Same as I Am Sad, Im Sad or I Feel Sad?

Yes, for the main phrase. The short answers below cover the other searches folded into this page.

• I am sad in Korean: 슬퍼요 or the formal 슬픕니다.
• Im sad in Korean: the same sentence; the missing apostrophe makes no difference.
• Sad in Korean: the adjective is 슬프다. Before a noun it becomes 슬픈, as in 슬픈 영화 (a sad movie).
• I feel sad in Korean: 슬퍼요 again, or 마음이 슬퍼요 for "my heart is sad", which sounds a little poetic.

Related Phrases to Learn Next

• When someone near you is crying, use don't cry in Korean.
• To lift a friend's mood, learn cheer up in Korean.
• For the opposite feeling, see I'm happy in Korean.
• A sad feeling can turn into frustration, so compare I'm angry in Korean.

Every phrase in this group lives in the Korean feelings phrases collection.

Practice: Say It Aloud

Play the slow clip of 슬퍼요 three times, then say it with flat lips. Then choose a phrase. Answers follow.

1. You are texting a close friend after a bad day.
2. You tell a coworker politely that you feel sad.
3. You are disappointed that your plan fell through.
4. You want to say "I'm so sad" to a teacher.

Answers

1. 슬퍼.
2. 슬퍼요.
3. 속상해요.
4. 너무 슬퍼요.

Drill these with the phrase flashcards. Saying i'm sad in Korean gets easier once you can feel the difference between 슬퍼요, 속상해요 and 우울해요.

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