Key Facts
- Hangul: 불쌍하다 (bulssanghada)
- Meaning: pitiful
- Part of speech: adjective (형용사)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 불쌍하
- Class: 하다 type
What Does 불쌍하다 Mean?
불쌍하다 describes a being that deserves compassion, such as a stray animal, a lonely child or someone in trouble. 불쌍한 강아지 means "a poor puppy". The pitied one is the subject and takes 이/가 or 은/는, as in 강아지가 불쌍해요. The feeling belongs to the speaker, while the adjective describes the pitied being. It can also describe yourself as pitiable.
How Do You Pronounce 불쌍하다?
The double ㅆ is already part of the spelling, so there is no extra tensing to add. The formal 불쌍합니다 is [불쌍함니다], and the past 불쌍했어요 is [불쌍해써요]. The planned future 불쌍할 거예요 reads [불쌍할꺼예요].
How Do You Use 불쌍하다 in a Sentence?
길고양이가 불쌍해요.
The stray cat is pitiful.
길고양이가 is the stray cat and the subject. The sentence reports the pity without adding why.
불쌍한 사람을 도와주세요.
Please help the poor person.
불쌍한 comes before 사람을 and describes the person who needs help. The request 도와주세요 shows what the pity leads to.
혼자라서 불쌍했어요.
He was alone, so I felt pity for him.
혼자라서 gives the cause, being alone. The past tense tells of pity you felt at that earlier moment.
Usage Notes for 불쌍하다
Be careful with tone: said directly to a person, 불쌍하다 can sound condescending. It is far more common about animals, children and people in stories. A more formal phrase is 불쌍히 여기다, which is a written style. When you want to say you yourself are sad, use 슬프다 instead, because 불쌍하다 describes someone as pitiable rather than simply sad.
How Does Bulssanghada Conjugation Work?
불쌍하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 불쌍해요 | ||
| Polite past | 불쌍했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 불쌍할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 불쌍하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 불쌍합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 불쌍했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 불쌍할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 불쌍해 | ||
| Casual past | 불쌍했어 | ||
| Casual future | 불쌍할 거야 | ||
| Because / and then | 불쌍해서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 불쌍하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 불쌍한 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 불쌍했던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 불쌍할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 불쌍해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 불쌍하지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 불쌍해요 | — |
| Polite past | 불쌍했어요 | [불쌍해써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 불쌍할 거예요 | [불쌍할꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 불쌍하겠어요 | [불쌍하게써요] |
| Formal present | 불쌍합니다 | [불쌍함니다] |
| Formal past | 불쌍했습니다 | [불쌍핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 불쌍할 것입니다 | [불쌍할꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 불쌍해 | — |
| Casual past | 불쌍했어 | [불쌍해써] |
| Casual future | 불쌍할 거야 | [불쌍할꺼야] |
| Because / and then | 불쌍해서 | — |
| Conditional (if) | 불쌍하면 | — |
| Modifier, present | 불쌍한 | — |
| Modifier, past | 불쌍했던 | [불쌍핻떤] |
| Modifier, future | 불쌍할 | — |
| Short negative | 안 불쌍해요 | — |
| Long negative | 불쌍하지 않아요 | [불쌍하지 아나요] |
Is 불쌍하다 Regular or Irregular?
Only the ending changes in 불쌍하다. The stem 불쌍하 gives 해 before 아 or 어 endings, as in 불쌍해요, 불쌍해서 and 불쌍했어요. Before a consonant sound the 하 stays: 불쌍합니다, 불쌍한 and 불쌍하지 않아요 all show it. Nothing inside 불쌍 ever shifts. A full walkthrough of this contraction is in the 하다 to 해요 lesson.
Common Mistake with 불쌍하다
This is a meaning trap rather than a grammar error: both sentences below are correct Korean, but they say different things.
Says "I am pitiful": 저는 불쌍해요
Says "I feel sorry for that person": ✓ 그 사람이 불쌍해요
Why: The subject of 불쌍하다 is the pitied person. If you want to say that you feel pity, make the other person the subject; if you put 저는 alone in front, you describe yourself as pitiful.
불쌍하다 Versus 슬프다 and 외롭다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 슬프다 | 슬프다 is your own sadness. 불쌍하다 is pity for someone else who is suffering. |
| 외롭다 | 외롭다 is feeling lonely yourself. 불쌍하다 describes another being as pitiable. |
Talking after an Animal Rescue Video
Two friends have watched a video about a puppy that was found alone. They discuss the puppy and the ending of the story.
Jisu
혼자 있는 강아지가 불쌍해요.
Honja inneun gangajiga bulssanghaeyo.
I feel sorry for the puppy that is alone.
Minho
저도 불쌍해서 울었어요.
Jeodo bulssanghaeseo ureosseoyo.
I cried too because I felt sorry for it.
Jisu
불쌍한 강아지가 새 가족을 만났어요.
Bulssanghan gangajiga sae gajogeul mannasseoyo.
The poor puppy found a new family.
The puppy is the one described as 불쌍하다. Minho's 저도 means “me too”: he shares the reaction, while the puppy remains the understood focus of pity. The last line uses 불쌍한 before 강아지 and adds a hopeful result. This context is easier to translate as “poor puppy” than “pitiful puppy”.
Phrases for Pity and Compassion
불쌍한 강아지 means “a poor puppy”, where “poor” means unfortunate. It does not tell you whether the animal or its owner has money. The same adjective can describe someone who has been abandoned, treated unfairly or left in a difficult situation.
불쌍히 여기다 means “to regard with pity” or “to take pity on”. It is more formal and written in tone than simply saying 불쌍해요. The expression names an attitude toward someone. You may meet it in a story or a serious appeal for compassion.
불쌍해 보이다 means “to look pitiful”. The 보이다 part makes the judgment explicitly about appearance. Someone may look miserable in a scene without the speaker knowing their whole story. It still carries a judgment of pity, so adding “looks” does not automatically make it tactful.
Where Will You Hear This Word?
Viewers use 불쌍하다 when discussing a drama character who is repeatedly mistreated. A short 불쌍해 can mean “I feel so sorry for them”. The feeling belongs to the viewer, while the adjective describes the character's unfortunate situation. English often moves the speaker into the subject position when translating.
The word also appears in conversations about stray animals and children in difficult circumstances. In a news story or a personal appeal, describing a concrete need can be more respectful than labeling a person pitiful. Tone and the person's own perspective matter, even if your intention is compassion.
Saying 불쌍해요 directly to a colleague who has had a bad week may sound as though you look down on them. For support, focus on what happened or offer help. The 요 ending makes the sentence polite in form, but it cannot remove a judgment built into the word.
Who Is Pitiful, and Who Feels the Pity?
그 사람이 불쌍해요 means that the speaker feels sorry for that person. The person takes 이/가 because they are the one being described. This differs from an English sentence beginning “I pity”, where the person after the verb is the object.
저는 불쌍해요 can describe yourself as unfortunate or pitiable. It is possible Korean, but it does not simply mean “I feel pity”. Depending on context, a speaker may be expressing self-pity. Likewise, 불쌍하다 can describe an earlier version of yourself; its meaning is not restricted to other people.
불쌍해서 gives pity as the reason for a response, such as crying at a story. 불쌍한 describes the person or animal before a noun. Keep those jobs separate: the reason form joins ideas, while the modifier builds a noun phrase.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 슬프다 | sad | Describes sadness rather than someone deserving pity. |
| 외롭다 | lonely | Describes lack of companionship from the person's perspective. |
| 안타깝다 | saddened; distressed about something | Expresses regret or concern about an unfortunate situation. |
| 돕다 | to help | Names an action that may follow compassion. |
The emotions vocabulary lesson helps separate pity, sadness and loneliness when you describe a character or react to a story.
Mini Drill
- Put the adjective before “person”: ____ 사람.
- Give the because-form for pity leading to tears.
- Report the feeling about an earlier scene, politely.
- Choose the subject for “I feel sorry for the puppy”: 저는 or 강아지가?
Show drill answers
- 불쌍한 사람.
- 불쌍해서.
- 불쌍했어요.
- 강아지가 불쌍해요 identifies the puppy as pitiable.
Quick Self-Test
- Does “poor” in 불쌍한 강아지 necessarily refer to money?
- Does 요 guarantee that calling a coworker 불쌍하다 sounds respectful?
- Can 저는 불쌍해요 describe self-pity?
Show answers
- No. It means unfortunate or deserving compassion.
- No. The judgment itself can sound condescending.
- Yes. It describes the speaker as pitiable, rather than simply reporting pity for someone else.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say the Poor Puppy?
Say 불쌍한 강아지. The modifier 불쌍한 sits before the noun.
Can I Say 저는 불쌍해요 for I Feel Pity?
No, that means "I am pitiful". Name the one you pity, as in 그 사람이 불쌍해요.
Does 불쌍하다 Sound Rude?
It can sound condescending if you say it to a person's face. It is safer about animals or in stories.
What Is the past Tense?
The polite past is 불쌍했어요, said [불쌍해써요].
Which Words Are Related to 불쌍하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Continue with 슬프다 for your own sadness and 외롭다 for loneliness, then 아쉽다 and 착하다 to widen your feeling words. Type any other stem into the Korean verb conjugator to compare, and find the rest of the family in the Korean verb dictionary.