Key Facts
- Hangul: 덥다 (deopda)
- Meaning: hot (weather)
- Level: A1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 덥
- Conjugation class: ㅂ-irregular
- Grammar: Takes 이/가 for the weather or place; with a person it can mean feeling hot.
- Usage: Very common in summer small talk: 오늘 너무 더워요. Opposite is 춥다.
What Does 덥다 Mean?
덥다 describes the weather or a place: 오늘 너무 덥다. With a person as the topic, it means that person feels hot. It is the staple of summer small talk.
Hot objects use a different word: 뜨겁다 for things you touch, and 따뜻하다 for comfortable warmth. 춥다 is the plain opposite.
Senses:
- hot (weather): Describes hot weather or feeling hot, e.g. 오늘 너무 덥다.
How Do You Pronounce 덥다?
덥다 is [덥따]: the final ㅂ of 덥 is a stop, and it makes the ㄷ of 다 tense. The same holds for 덥습니다 [덥씀니다] and 덥겠어요 [덥께써요]. After the ㅂ turns into 우/워, the past 더웠어요 is [더워써요].
How Do You Use 덥다 in a Sentence?
오늘은 정말 더워요.
It is really hot today.
오늘은 정말 더워요 uses 정말 for 'really' and shows 더워요, with ㅂ turned into 워.
어제는 더웠어요. 오늘은 시원해요.
It was hot yesterday. Today is cool.
어제는 더웠어요 is the past, and 오늘은 시원해요 follows as the contrast.
더우면 에어컨을 켜세요.
If you are hot, turn on the air conditioner.
더우면 에어컨을 켜세요 pairs the conditional 더우면 with a polite instruction.
How Does Deopda Conjugation Work?
덥다 is a ㅂ-irregular adjective. Before a vowel ending, the ㅂ turns into 우 and 우 + 어 merges to 워: 더워요, 더웠어요, 더워서. The 으 endings give 더우세요, 더우면 and 더운. Consonant endings keep the ㅂ: 덥습니다, 덥지, 덥겠어요.
덥다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 더워요 | ||
| Polite past | 더웠어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 더울 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 덥겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 덥습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 더웠습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 더울 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 더워 | ||
| Casual past | 더웠어 | ||
| Casual future | 더울 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 더우세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 더워서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 더우면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 더운 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 더웠던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 더울 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 더워요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 덥지 않아요 |
For a word meaning 'hot' (of weather), -고 싶다 has no cell, because that ending attaches to action verbs.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 더웠어요 | [더워써요] |
| Polite future | 더울 거예요 | [더울꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 덥겠어요 | [덥께써요] |
| Formal present | 덥습니다 | [덥씀니다] |
| Formal past | 더웠습니다 | [더웓씀니다] |
| Formal future | 더울 것입니다 | [더울꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 더웠어 | [더워써] |
| Past modifier | 더웠던 | [더웓떤] |
| Long negative | 덥지 않아요 | [덥찌 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 덥어요
Correct: ✓ 더워요
Why: 덥다 is a ㅂ-irregular: ㅂ becomes 워 before 어. Learners attach 어요 and keep the ㅂ. The ㅂ turns into 워 first.
Where Does 덥다 Turn up in Daily Talk?
Use it in summer small talk: 오늘 너무 더워요. When you want a fan or an air conditioner, 더우면 is the opening of the offer. 시원하다 is the relief word, and 춥다 is the opposite.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 덥다?
| Word | How to tell it from 덥다 |
|---|---|
| 뜨겁다 | 뜨겁다 is for hot objects, food or water, not weather. |
| 따뜻하다 | 따뜻하다 is warm and comfortable rather than hot. |
Taking a Break from the Afternoon Heat
Two friends have been walking outside. One feels hot and suggests stopping; the other compares today with yesterday.
Jisu
너무 더워요. 잠깐 쉴까요?
Neomu deowoyo. Jamkkan swilkkayo?
It is so hot. Shall we rest for a moment?
Mina
네. 어제도 더웠어요.
Ne. Eojedo deowosseoyo.
Yes. It was hot yesterday too.
Jisu
더우면 저 카페에 들어가요.
Deoumyeon jeo kapee deureogayo.
If you are hot, let’s go into that café.
The first line can describe both the weather and the speaker's discomfort. The walking situation makes the meaning clear without a stated subject. 더웠어요 looks back at yesterday; 더우면 makes feeling hot the condition for going inside. Notice that all three forms have lost the dictionary form's final ㅂ.
Phrases You Will Meet in Summer
날씨가 덥다 describes hot weather, while 방이 덥다 describes a hot room. The adjective works indoors as well as outdoors. A heated room can feel 덥다 even in winter. The shared idea is heat in the surrounding environment or the person's experience of that heat.
너무 더워요 usually means “it is so hot” or “it is too hot.” In a complaint, 너무 adds the sense that the heat is unwelcome. 더운 날씨 packages the same description before a noun: “hot weather.” This is useful in a longer sentence where the weather is the setting rather than the whole message.
더위를 타다 means to be sensitive to heat or to get hot easily. Although 타다 has other meanings, this phrase is about someone's usual response to heat, not riding anything. 더위를 먹다 means to become unwell from the heat; it is an expression you may hear in summer conversation. Neither expression is just another conjugated form of 덥다.
Weather Reports, Small Talk and Comfort
A weather presenter may use 덥겠습니다 to forecast hot conditions. The 겠 ending here expresses a prediction. The weather is not making a plan or expressing an intention. In ordinary conversation, 더울 거예요 can also predict that a place or day will be hot. Time words and the setting tell you whether the prediction concerns tomorrow or a room you have not entered yet.
With an older visitor, 더우세요? asks respectfully whether they feel hot. The honorific ending refers to the person experiencing the heat. You would use 더워요 to describe your own discomfort. When simply describing the weather, there is no respected weather subject to honor.
A restaurant can be 덥다 because its air feels hot, while the soup is 뜨겁다 because of its temperature. If the soup is spicy, the relevant word is 맵다. These distinctions are especially useful when asking for help: the listener needs to know whether you mean the room, the food's temperature or its seasoning.
Why 더운 Has No 워
더워요 contains 우 joined with 어, producing 워. 더운 has a different ending: the changed stem 더우 combines with the noun modifier ending ㄴ. No 어 is present to make 워. The same 더우 remains visible in 더우면. These forms help you see the irregular pattern instead of memorizing every item as a separate exception.
Consonant endings keep 덥, as in 덥습니다 and 덥지 않아요. Spelling a form by copying the sound of 더워요 into every slot will therefore fail. Choose the ending first, then decide whether that ending triggers the ㅂ change.
Words to Describe the Heat around You
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 더위 | heat; hot weather | A noun used in phrases about coping with summer heat. |
| 습도 | humidity | Helps explain why warm air feels uncomfortable. |
| 에어컨 | air conditioner | The appliance in the existing 더우면 example. |
| 맵다 | to be spicy | Describes a different kind of “hot” food. |
The Korean weather vocabulary lesson puts heat alongside humidity, rain and other conditions.
Mini Drill: Choose 덥 or 더우
- Give the polite present of 덥다.
- Put “hot” before 날씨.
- Give the conditional meaning “if it is hot.”
- Give the formal present, keeping the correct consonant.
Show drill answers
- 더워요.
- 더운 날씨.
- 더우면.
- 덥습니다.
Quick Self-Test
- Can 덥다 describe a heated room in winter?
- Which word describes spicy soup: 덥다, 뜨겁다 or 맵다?
- Does 더위를 타다 describe today's temperature or a person's sensitivity?
Show self-test answers
- Yes. It can describe indoor heat.
- 맵다. 뜨겁다 describes the soup's temperature.
- A person's sensitivity to heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say "It Is Hot Today"?
오늘은 정말 더워요.
Why Is It 더워요 and Not 덥어요?
덥다 is a ㅂ-irregular. The ㅂ turns into 워 before an 어 ending.
Can I Use 덥다 for Hot Soup?
No. Hot soup, water or coffee uses 뜨겁다.
What Is the Opposite of 덥다?
춥다.
Which Words Are Related to 덥다?
The entries closest to 덥다 (hot, of weather) are 춥다 (cold, of weather), 뜨겁다 (hot to the touch), 시원하다 (cool/refreshing), 따뜻하다 (warm).
What Should You Learn Next?
춥다 is the opposite and follows the same rule, 뜨겁다 covers hot objects, and 시원하다 and 따뜻하다 cover the pleasant middle. To see why 'hot' (of weather) takes the form 더워요, read ㅂ-irregular verbs and adjectives; the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems, and the Korean verb dictionary lists the rest of the family.