Key Facts
- Hangul: 아프다 (apeuda)
- Meaning: sick; painful
- Level: A1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 아프
- Conjugation class: ㅡ
- Grammar: The person or the aching body part takes 이/가, as in 배가 아파요.
- Usage: For someone older, use 편찮으시다 instead of 아프시다 (the honorific for a senior being ill). In speech, 아프다 is a daily word.
What Does 아프다 Mean?
The first meaning is being unwell: 감기에 걸려서 아파요 says someone is sick because of a cold. The second is localized pain: 머리가 아파요 is a headache and 배가 아파요 a stomachache. In both cases the person or the aching body part takes 이/가 and never an object marker, because an adjective has no object.
For a senior who is ill, use 편찮으시다 instead of 아프시다. Among peers and juniors, 아프다 is the everyday word.
Senses:
- sick: Being ill or unwell, as in 감기에 걸려서 아파요.
- painful: A body part hurts, as in 머리가 아파요.
How Do You Pronounce 아프다?
아프다 is read as it is spelled. The formal present 아픕니다 is [아픔니다], because ㅂ before ㄴ turns into [ㅁ]. In the past, 아팠어요 is [아파써요] and 아팠습니다 is [아팓씀니다], where the doubled ㅆ batchim is read as a plain stop before 습.
How Do You Use 아프다 in a Sentence?
어제부터 머리가 많이 아파요.
My head has hurt a lot since yesterday.
어제부터 means since yesterday, and 머리가 shows that the head is the one in pain. 많이 intensifies 아파요.
감기에 걸려서 어제 많이 아팠어요.
I caught a cold, so I was quite sick yesterday.
걸려서 gives the reason and 아팠어요 puts the sickness in the past. The two clauses read as cause and result.
아프면 집에서 쉬세요.
If you are sick, please rest at home.
아프면 is the conditional, and the speaker follows with 쉬세요, a polite request to rest at home.
How Does Apeuda Conjugation Work?
아프다 is a ㅡ-drop word. Before 아/어 the ㅡ of 프 disappears, and the vowel of the syllable before it, ㅏ in 아, chooses 아 rather than 어: 아프 + 아요 becomes 아파요. Before consonants and 으 endings nothing is dropped, so you see 아프면, 아프세요 and 아픈. The past modifier is 아팠던, and there is no -고 싶다 form, because that ending belongs to verbs, not descriptive words like this one.
아프다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 아파요 | ||
| Polite past | 아팠어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 아플 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 아프겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 아픕니다 | ||
| Formal past | 아팠습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 아플 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 아파 | ||
| Casual past | 아팠어 | ||
| Casual future | 아플 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 아프세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 아파서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 아프면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 아픈 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 아팠던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 아플 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 아파요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 아프지 않아요 |
Forms left out on purpose: -고 싶다 attaches to verbs, not to descriptive words like this one.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 아팠어요 | [아파써요] |
| Polite future | 아플 거예요 | [아플꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 아프겠어요 | [아프게써요] |
| Formal present | 아픕니다 | [아픔니다] |
| Formal past | 아팠습니다 | [아팓씀니다] |
| Formal future | 아플 것입니다 | [아플꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 아팠어 | [아파써] |
| Casual future | 아플 거야 | [아플꺼야] |
| Past modifier | 아팠던 | [아팓떤] |
| Long negative | 아프지 않아요 | [아프지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 아프어요 or 아픈어요
Correct: ✓ 아파요
Why: Learners often attach 어요 as if the stem were regular, or add the modifier ending to the polite form. The ㅡ must disappear first, and the vowel ㅏ before it selects 아, which gives 아파요 in one step.
Where Does 아프다 Turn up in Daily Talk?
It is a first-week survival word. You can name the sore spot with 이/가 (머리가, 배가), say how long it has hurt with 어제부터, and give a reason with 감기에 걸려서. A doctor or pharmacist will hear all three patterns.
치료하다 (to treat) and 낫다 (to recover) are the verbs that usually follow, because they describe what happens after the pain starts.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 아프다?
| Word | How to tell it from 아프다 |
|---|---|
| 다치다 | 다치다 names an injury or accident; 아프다 describes the hurt or illness once it exists. |
| 피곤하다 | 피곤하다 is tiredness, while 아프다 is sickness or pain. |
At the Clinic: Describing Pain over Time
A doctor asks a patient about pain. The patient distinguishes pain that started yesterday from the symptom that remains now.
Doctor
어디가 아파요?
Eodiga apayo?
Where does it hurt?
Patient
어제는 배가 아팠어요.
Eojeneun baega apasseoyo.
My stomach hurt yesterday.
Doctor
지금도 아파요?
Jigeumdo apayo?
Does it still hurt now?
Patient
네. 배가 아파서 밥을 못 먹었어요.
Ne. Baega apaseo babeul mot meogeosseoyo.
Yes. My stomach hurt, so I couldn’t eat.
아파요 asks about the current state, 아팠어요 places the pain in the past, and 아파서 gives the reason for not eating. 어제는 contrasts yesterday with another time, while 지금도 asks whether the pain continues now. A past-tense statement alone does not tell the listener whether the pain has stopped.
How Can You Make a Pain Description More Precise?
Name the body part before 아파요. 목이 아파요 means the throat or neck hurts, depending on the situation; 허리가 아파요 means the lower back hurts. Korean often leaves out “my” when the speaker is reporting their own symptoms. The body-part noun takes 이 after a consonant and 가 after a vowel.
조금 아파요 means it hurts a little, while 많이 아파요 reports a lot of pain. 계속 아파요 says the pain continues. These additions describe intensity or persistence without naming a cause. 아프다 alone does not tell someone whether the problem began with an injury, an illness or something else.
When talking about an ill older person, 편찮으시다 is a respectful choice. For a particular body part, a form such as 아프세요 is also possible. The question 어디가 아프세요? politely asks a respected person where it hurts. Respect applies to the person experiencing the pain; it does not make the body-part noun an object.
Expressions beyond Physical Pain
마음이 아프다 literally says the heart or mind hurts. It commonly describes emotional pain, sadness or sympathy. 가슴이 아프다 can likewise express heartache, but it can also describe physical chest pain. The situation decides which meaning is intended; the words alone do not settle it.
머리가 아프다 can describe a literal headache or the feeling that a difficult problem is giving someone a headache. 골치가 아프다 is a common way to describe something troublesome or worrying. In a work conversation about a complicated task, the concern may be the problem rather than a physical symptom.
배가 아프다 usually describes a stomachache. In a story about resenting another person's success, it can also suggest envy. This figurative reading depends on a clear context about jealousy. At a clinic, the natural reading of 배가 아파요 is physical pain.
Keep the Adjective Endings Straight
아픈 is the form used directly before a noun, as in 아픈 곳, “the place that hurts”. 아파요 is a complete polite statement. Use the modifier to identify a sore spot, and the sentence ending to report that it hurts.
아프면 keeps ㅡ because 면 does not begin with 아 or 어. 아파서 loses it because 서 joins through the 아/어 form. The choice belongs to the ending, so learning 아파요 does not mean replacing 아프 with 아파 in every form.
Useful Words for Describing the Situation
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 통증 | pain | A noun often used in symptom descriptions. |
| 증상 | symptom | Names what a person experiences or notices. |
| 감기 | a cold | Names an illness rather than the general state of hurting. |
| 상처 | wound | Names a wound rather than the pain itself. |
The body vocabulary lesson helps you name the sore area before adding 아파요.
Mini Drill: Choose the Right Ending
- Give the polite present of 아프다.
- Complete “because it hurts”: 아프다 → ____.
- Complete “if it hurts”: 아프다 → ____.
- Put 아프다 before 곳 to mean “the place that hurts”.
Show drill answers
- 아파요.
- 아파서.
- 아프면. Keep ㅡ.
- 아픈 곳.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 아팠어요 alone tell you whether the pain has ended?
- What kind of pain does 마음이 아프다 commonly describe?
- Which marker belongs after 배 in “my stomach hurts”: 가 or 를?
Show answers
- No. It reports a past state; ask about now to find out whether it continues.
- Emotional pain, sadness or sympathy.
- 가: 배가 아파요.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say That My Head Hurts?
머리가 아파요. The aching part takes 이/가.
What Is the Honorific for an Ill Senior?
Use 편찮으시다 rather than 아프시다 when someone older than you is ill.
Why Is There No Want-to Form?
-고 싶다 attaches to verbs, and 아프다 is a descriptive word, so that cell is empty.
What Is the past Tense?
아팠어요. For a pain that lasted, 아팠던 can describe a noun.
Which Words Are Related to 아프다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Look at 다치다 next, then 낫다 for getting better. The rule that governs 아파요 is in ㅡ-drop verbs and adjectives, the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems, and the Korean verb dictionary lists the rest of the family. The honorific side is covered in honorific and humble verbs.