Key Facts
- Hangul: 가늘다 (ganeulda)
- Meaning: to be thin (narrow)
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 가늘
- Conjugation class: ㄹ-class (ㄹ drops)
- Grammar: A descriptive word, so the subject takes 이/가 (다리가 가늘어요).
- Polite present and past: 가늘어요, 가늘었어요
What Does 가늘다 Mean?
가늘다 describes thin, slender things such as thread, legs or fingers: 가는 실 (a thin thread). It also means fine or faint, as in 목소리가 가늘다 (a faint voice).
The word measures width, not flat thickness. It is mostly used for lines, fingers and legs. The subject takes 이/가: 다리가 가늘어요.
How Do You Pronounce 가늘다?
Before a vowel the ㄹ moves to the next syllable: 가늘어요 is read [가느러요] and 가늘어서 is [가느러서]. The formal present 가늡니다 is [가늠니다], and the past 가늘었어요 is [가느러써요].
How Do You Use 가늘다 in a Sentence?
이 실은 아주 가늘어요.
This thread is very thin.
이 실은 아주 가늘어요 points to a thread and calls it very thin.
가는 연필을 사고 싶어요.
I want to buy a thin pencil.
가는 연필을 사고 싶어요 uses the modifier 가는 before 연필을, and 사고 싶어요 expresses the wish to buy.
허리가 가늘어서 바지가 커요.
Her waist is thin, so the pants are big.
허리가 가늘어서 바지가 커요 gives the reason first: the waist is slim, so the pants are big.
The sentences show 가늘어요, 가는 and 가늘어서: the ㄹ drops in the modifier and stays in the other two.
How Does Ganeulda Conjugation Work?
가늘다 is an ㄹ-class adjective. The ㄹ of the stem drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ: 가는, 가늡니다, 가느세요. It stays before other endings: 가늘어요, 가늘었어요, 가늘어서, 가늘면. The future forms 가늘 거예요 and 가늘 keep it, since the ending starts with ㄹ.
Negatives: 안 가늘어요 or 가늘지 않아요. The honorific polite form is 가느세요.
가늘다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 가늘어요 | ||
| Polite past | 가늘었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 가늘 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 가늘겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 가늡니다 | ||
| Formal past | 가늘었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 가늘 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 가늘어 | ||
| Casual past | 가늘었어 | ||
| Casual future | 가늘 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 가느세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 가늘어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 가늘면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 가는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 가늘었던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 가늘 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 가늘어요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 가늘지 않아요 |
There is no want-to row for 가늘다: that ending attaches to verbs, not to descriptive words.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 가늘었어요 | [가느러써요] |
| Polite future | 가늘 거예요 | [가늘꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 가늘겠어요 | [가늘게써요] |
| Formal present | 가늡니다 | [가늠니다] |
| Formal past | 가늘었습니다 | [가느럳씀니다] |
| Formal future | 가늘 것입니다 | [가늘꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 가늘었어 | [가느러써] |
| Casual future | 가늘 거야 | [가늘꺼야] |
| Past modifier | 가늘었던 | [가느럳떤] |
| Long negative | 가늘지 않아요 | [가늘지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 가늘은 실
Correct: ✓ 가는 실
Why: The ㄹ has to drop before ㄴ, so the modifier is 가는. Adding 은 to the full stem gives a form that does not exist.
Which Thin Word Fits: 가늘다 or 얇다?
가늘다 is for things thin in width, like a line, a thread or a leg. 얇다 is for flat things such as paper and clothes. Both sit opposite thick words: 굵다 for round things and 두껍다 for flat ones. 길다 (long) often appears beside 가늘다 in descriptions of fingers.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 가늘다?
| Word | How to tell it from 가늘다 |
|---|---|
| 얇다 | Thin for flat things like paper and clothes. 가늘다 is thin and slender in width, like a line. |
| 굵다 | The opposite: thick in girth. |
Buying Thread at a Sewing Shop
A customer wants thread for a small sewing project. The customer uses 가는 before the noun, the clerk describes the thread with 가늘어요, and the reply compares it with thread used earlier through 가늘었어요.
Customer
가는 실을 찾고 있어요.
Ganeun sireul chatgo isseoyo.
I’m looking for fine thread.
Clerk
이 실은 어때요? 아주 가늘어요.
I sireun eottaeyo? Aju ganeureoyo.
How about this thread? It’s very fine.
Customer
전에 쓴 실도 가늘었어요. 이걸로 주세요.
Jeone sseun sildo ganeureosseoyo. Igeollo juseyo.
The thread I used before was fine too. I’ll take this one.
The clerk hears 가는 실 as a request for fine thread. Nothing in the phrase says how long the thread should be or what colour it is. In the last line, 도 adds “too”: the earlier thread was also fine. The past form describes its quality at that earlier time; it does not mean the thread has become thicker now.
What Does 가늘다 Measure?
For 가는 선, “a thin line”, think about the line's width on the page. A line can be long and thin at the same time. For 가는 실, “fine thread”, think about the small diameter of the thread. Length and diameter answer different questions, so 길다 can add information without contradicting 가늘다.
손가락이 가늘다 describes slender fingers. Here the focus is the shape of a body part. It does not tell you the person's weight or health. Similar descriptions of a waist or legs can sound personal, so a product description of gloves or trousers is a different social setting from a comment about someone's body.
목소리가 가늘다 extends the shape idea to a thin or delicate voice. It describes the quality of the sound. A thin voice can still be audible across a room, so this phrase alone does not mean the person is whispering. To ask someone to speak more loudly, you need language about volume rather than just voice quality.
These combinations are descriptive collocations, not hidden idioms. Knowing the noun lets you interpret the same adjective as slender, fine or thin without searching for a separate English meaning each time.
Where Will You Encounter 가늘다?
Craft instructions and descriptions of thread, wire or lines are natural places for 가늘다. In a drawing lesson, the contrast with 굵다 helps distinguish a fine line from a thick one. On a product page, the adjective gives a general impression; a measurement gives the exact diameter or width.
Descriptions of people in stories can use 가는 손가락 or a thin voice to build a picture of a character. The adjective itself is neutral. The scene determines whether the description sounds admiring, concerned or simply observational. It does not carry an automatic compliment.
For a sheet of paper, switch to 얇다 because the relevant dimension is flat thickness. A narrow strip of paper can be narrow in width and thin in thickness, so different adjectives can describe different dimensions of the same object. Decide which dimension you want the listener to imagine before choosing the word.
Why Does 가는 Look so Different from 가늘어요?
The ㄹ disappears in 가는 because the adjective modifier adds ㄴ. Before 어요, that same ㄹ remains in the spelling and links into the next syllable in speech. Compare 가는 실 with 실이 가늘어요: the first identifies a kind of thread, and the second makes a statement about the thread.
Keep ㄹ in 가늘면, “if it is thin”. An ㄹ stem takes 면 directly here, so there is no extra 으 between the stem and the ending. This gives you three useful shapes to recognise: 가늘어요 for a statement, 가는 for a noun description and 가늘면 for a condition.
The modifier 가는 also occurs with the verb 가다, “to go”. A phrase about thread at a sewing shop is usually about fine thread. Elsewhere, the following noun and the wider sentence tell you whether 가는 describes thinness or someone going somewhere. Identical spelling does not make the two dictionary words related.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 굵다 | thick; coarse | The opposite for thread, lines and similar shapes. |
| 얇다 | thin | Describes the thickness of a flat object. |
| 좁다 | narrow | Fits limited space, such as a narrow room or passage. |
| 길다 | long | Measures length, which 가늘다 leaves unspecified. |
The size adjective lesson groups these dimensions so you can describe what is small, narrow, thin or long more precisely.
Mini Drill: Keep or Drop ㄹ?
- Put 가늘다 before 실: ____ 실.
- Give the formal present.
- Give the conditional meaning “if it is thin”.
- Change 가늘어요 to the polite past.
Show drill answers
- 가는 실. Drop ㄹ before ㄴ.
- 가늡니다. Drop ㄹ before ㅂ.
- 가늘면. Keep ㄹ and add 면 directly.
- 가늘었어요.
Quick Self-Test
- Which adjective normally describes a thin sheet of paper?
- Does 가는 실 say the thread is short?
- Does 목소리가 가늘다 necessarily mean a quiet voice?
Show answers
- 얇다.
- No. It describes the thread's diameter, not its length.
- No. It describes a thin voice quality; volume is a separate feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Modifier of 가늘다?
가는. The form 가늘은 is wrong.
What Is the Polite Present?
가늘어요, read [가느러요].
Can 가늘다 Describe a Voice?
Yes. 목소리가 가늘다 means a faint, thin voice.
Why Is the Formal Form Missing the ㄹ?
An ㄹ stem takes the ㅂ니다 ending and the ㄹ drops before that ㅂ, so the formal present is 가늡니다, read [가늠니다].
Which Words Are Related to 가늘다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Pair 가늘다 with 굵다, then look at 얇다 and 두껍다 for flat things. The rule behind this entry is explained in ㄹ-drop verbs and adjectives. To test other words, use the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.