Key Facts
- Hangul: 그립다 (geuripda)
- Meaning: to miss
- Part of speech: adjective (형용사)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 그립
- Class: ㅂ-irregular
- Dictionary-form sound: [그립따]
What Does 그립다 Mean?
그립다 is deeper and more wistful than a simple wish to see someone. 고향이 그리워요 means "I miss my hometown", and it reaches past people to places and times, as in 어릴 때가 그리웠어요. Grammatically the thing missed is the subject, marked with 이/가, and the person who feels it takes 은/는, as in 저는 고향이 그리워요.
How Do You Pronounce 그립다?
The dictionary form is said [그립따], with the 다 tensed after ㅂ. The formal 그립습니다 is [그립씀니다], and the long negative 그립지 않아요 is [그립찌 아나요]. Where the ㅂ has turned into 우, sounds flow on as 그리웠어요, read [그리워써요].
How Do You Use 그립다 in a Sentence?
저는 고향이 그리워요.
I miss my hometown.
The speaker 저는 is the topic, while 고향이 is the thing missed. Notice 이 rather than 을, because the word is an adjective.
어릴 때가 그리웠어요.
I missed my childhood.
어릴 때 means "when I was little", and with 가 it becomes the thing longed for. The past 그리웠어요 says the feeling was real at that time.
그리운 친구에게 편지를 써요.
I write a letter to a friend I miss.
그리운 sits before 친구에게 and describes the friend. The letter in the sentence is the typical place this word turns up.
Usage Notes for 그립다
그립다 is more poetic than 보고 싶다 and turns up in songs and letters. In daily talk with a person, 보고 싶다 is the direct choice, while 그립다 fits memories, old places and long separations. Notice that the polite form is irregular but the formal is not: 그리워요 next to 그립습니다. If you want an active verb with an object, 그리워하다 takes 을/를.
How Does Geuripda Conjugation Work?
그립다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 그리워요 | ||
| Polite past | 그리웠어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 그리울 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 그립겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 그립습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 그리웠습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 그리울 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 그리워 | ||
| Casual past | 그리웠어 | ||
| Casual future | 그리울 거야 | ||
| Because / and then | 그리워서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 그리우면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 그리운 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 그리웠던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 그리울 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 그리워요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 그립지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 그리워요 | — |
| Polite past | 그리웠어요 | [그리워써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 그리울 거예요 | [그리울꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 그립겠어요 | [그립께써요] |
| Formal present | 그립습니다 | [그립씀니다] |
| Formal past | 그리웠습니다 | [그리웓씀니다] |
| Formal future | 그리울 것입니다 | [그리울꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 그리워 | — |
| Casual past | 그리웠어 | [그리워써] |
| Casual future | 그리울 거야 | [그리울꺼야] |
| Because / and then | 그리워서 | — |
| Conditional (if) | 그리우면 | — |
| Modifier, present | 그리운 | — |
| Modifier, past | 그리웠던 | [그리웓떤] |
| Modifier, future | 그리울 | — |
| Short negative | 안 그리워요 | — |
| Long negative | 그립지 않아요 | [그립찌 아나요] |
Is 그립다 Regular or Irregular?
그립다 is ㅂ-irregular. Its stem 그립 loses ㅂ before a vowel ending and gains 우, so the result is 그리워요, 그리워서 and 그리운. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 그립습니다 and 그립지 않아요. Most adjectives whose stem ends in ㅂ follow the same pattern. To see the rule applied to other adjectives, read what ㅂ-irregular means.
Common Mistake with 그립다
Wrong: ✗ 저는 고향을 그리워요
Correct: ✓ 저는 고향이 그리워요
Why: 그립다 is an adjective, so the thing missed is the subject and takes 이/가. Using 을/를 needs the verb 그리워하다 instead.
그립다 Versus 보고 싶다 and 아쉽다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 보고 싶다 | 보고 싶다 is a direct "I want to see you" for a person. 그립다 is a deeper, wistful longing that also covers times and places. |
| 아쉽다 | 아쉽다 is regret that something ended or is lacking. 그립다 is longing for something gone. |
Looking at Old Hometown Photos
Two friends living away from home look through childhood photos together. They use polite speech.
Mina
이 사진을 보니까 고향이 그리워요.
I sajineul bonikka gohyangi geuriwoyo.
Looking at this photo makes me miss my hometown.
Jun
저도요. 어릴 때가 그리워요.
Jeodoyo. Eoril ttaega geuriwoyo.
Me too. I miss my childhood.
Mina
작년에도 많이 그리웠어요.
Jangnyeonedo mani geuriwosseoyo.
I missed it a lot last year too.
Jun
그리운 친구에게 연락해 보세요.
Geuriun chinguege yeollakae boseyo.
Try getting in touch with a friend you miss.
The hometown and childhood both take 이/가 because they are what is missed. 그리웠어요 recalls a past feeling. In the last line, 그리운 describes 친구, while the suggestion is carried by 연락해 보세요. The dialogue moves from an emotion to a possible action without turning 그립다 into an action verb.
Which Things Can Be 그립다?
그립다 fits people, places and periods of life that feel absent. 고향이 그립다 is homesickness for a hometown. 어린 시절이 그립다 means missing one's childhood days. A photo, an old song or a familiar smell can bring on that feeling even when the speaker has no immediate plan to return.
A person does not have to be gone forever for 그립다 to fit. Distance and memory are enough. The word can sound tender or nostalgic, but it does not by itself tell you whether the missing person is a friend, a relative or a romantic partner.
| Collocation | Meaning | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 고향이 그립다 | miss one's hometown | Longing for a familiar place and life there. |
| 어린 시절이 그립다 | miss one's childhood | A time, rather than a person, is missed. |
| 그리운 얼굴 | a face one misses | 얼굴 stands for the familiar person. |
| 그리운 목소리 | a voice one misses | The sound recalls someone who is absent. |
그리운 얼굴 is not a face that feels lonely. The feeling belongs to the person who misses that face. English often needs “a face I miss” to make the relationship clear. The same reading applies to 그리운 친구: the friend is missed, rather than necessarily doing the missing.
Where Will You Meet 그립다?
Songs, letters, personal essays and dramas about family separation often use 그립다. A speaker looking through an old album may use it in ordinary conversation too. The word's nostalgic associations do not make it restricted to poetry or formal writing.
그리워요 is a polite personal statement. 그리워 is suitable between close people using casual speech, and 그립습니다 sounds more formal or solemn. A letter can choose the formal form to give the emotion weight; that does not mean the polite form expresses a weaker feeling.
보고 싶다 is especially useful when directly telling someone you want to see them. 그립다 leaves more room for memories of a whole place or time. For English “I missed the bus,” neither expression works: that is a missed opportunity to catch transport, not longing.
What Changes, and What Stays, in 그립다?
Before 어요, the stem-final ㅂ changes to 우, and 우 plus 어 becomes 워: 그리워요. Before the noun-modifying ending, the result is 그리운. Before the conditional ending it is 그리우면. Keep the 우 in those last two forms; neither uses 워 because neither contains the same 어 combination.
The consonant ending in 그립습니다 keeps ㅂ. This is why copying the polite-present base into every other form gives the wrong pattern. The particle is a separate challenge: changing the ending does not change the need for 고향이 with the adjective. The related verb 그리워하다 uses an object instead.
Words for Talking about Absence and Memory
| Word | Meaning | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 고향 | hometown | A common subject of 그리워요. |
| 추억 | memories of the past | Names the memories behind the longing. |
| 외롭다 | be lonely | Describes loneliness, even without missing one specific place. |
| 아쉽다 | feel regret or disappointment | Fits a loss or shortfall without necessarily expressing longing. |
The emotions vocabulary lesson helps you distinguish longing from loneliness, regret and other feelings.
Mini Drill: Choose the Form
- Say “I miss my hometown” with 저는.
- Put 그리워요 into the polite past.
- Complete ___ 친구 for “a friend I miss.”
- Give the formal present without dropping ㅂ.
Show drill answers
- 저는 고향이 그리워요. Use 이 for the hometown.
- 그리웠어요. The past marker follows the contracted vowel.
- 그리운 친구. The modifier keeps 우.
- 그립습니다. This consonant ending keeps ㅂ.
Quick Self-Test
- Can 그립다 describe missing childhood?
- Does 그리운 친구 mean the friend is necessarily lonely?
- Which particle goes with 고향 before 그리워요: 이 or 을?
Show self-test answers
- Yes. A past time can be what you long for.
- No. It means a friend someone misses.
- 이: 고향이 그리워요.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say I Miss My Hometown?
Say 저는 고향이 그리워요. The hometown takes 이 because 그립다 is an adjective.
Can 그립다 Be Used for a Person?
Yes, as in 그리운 친구, a friend you miss. For a plain "I want to see you" the usual phrase is 보고 싶다.
What Is the Difference from 그리워하다?
그리워하다 is the verb and takes 을/를, while 그립다 describes the feeling and takes 이/가.
Is the Formal Form Irregular Too?
No, the ㅂ stays before a consonant, so the formal is 그립습니다.
Which Words Are Related to 그립다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Next study 보고 싶다, the everyday way to say you miss someone, then 아쉽다 for regret and 외롭다 for loneliness. Try the Korean verb conjugator on a similar stem, then look up its entry in the Korean verb dictionary.