Key Facts
- Hangul: 작다 (jakda)
- Meaning: small
- Level: A1
- Stem: 작
- Conjugation class: regular
- Particles: The thing described takes 이/가, as in 신발이 작아요.
- Spoken as: [작따]
What Does 작다 Mean?
작다 is the basic size word, as in 방이 작다. It also describes a quiet voice, 목소리가 작다. The thing described takes 이/가, so 신발이 작아요 means the shoes are small. For a person's height, 키가 작다 means short, and the opposite is 크다. Be careful with amounts: 적다 is for few or little, and 좁다 is for narrow space.
How Do You Pronounce 작다?
The dictionary form has 2 syllables and is spoken [작따], with a tense ㄸ after the ㄱ batchim. Revised Romanization still writes jakda. Before a vowel the ㄱ slides across, so 작아요 is [자가요] and 작았어요 is [자가써요]. The formal form is [작씀니다].
How Do You Use 작다 in a Sentence?
이 신발은 저한테 작아요.
These shoes are small for me.
이 신발은 makes the shoes the topic, and 저한테 means for me. 작아요 is the polite statement.
처음 집은 작았어요.
My first house was small.
처음 집은 작았어요 uses the past. The adjective takes 았어요 because its last vowel is ㅏ.
작은 가방에 지갑을 넣었어요.
I put my wallet in the small bag.
The modifier 작은 sits before 가방. The wallet then goes in the bag, 지갑을 넣었어요.
How Does Jakda Conjugation Work?
작다 is regular. The ㅏ in the stem makes the ending 아: 작아요, 작았어요, 작아서. Before a consonant it is plain: 작으면. The present modifier is 작은. With a respected person as the subject, the honorific 작으세요 is used, as in 키가 작으세요 about an older relative. In class you may also hear 목소리가 작아요, a polite hint to speak up. Plain written style keeps the dictionary form for the present (작다) and uses 작았다 for the past.
작다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 작아요 | ||
| Polite past | 작았어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 작을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 작겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 작습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 작았습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 작을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 작아 | ||
| Casual past | 작았어 | ||
| Casual future | 작을 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 작으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 작아서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 작으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 작은 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 작았던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 작을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 작아요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 작지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 작아요 | [자가요] |
| Polite past | 작았어요 | [자가써요] |
| Plan future | 작을 거예요 | [자글꺼예요] |
| Guess future | 작겠어요 | [작께써요] |
| Formal present | 작습니다 | [작씀니다] |
| Formal past | 작았습니다 | [자갇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 작을 것입니다 | [자글꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 작아 | [자가] |
| Casual past | 작았어 | [자가써] |
| Casual future | 작을 거야 | [자글꺼야] |
| Honorific | 작으세요 | [자그세요] |
| Because | 작아서 | [자가서] |
| If | 작으면 | [자그면] |
| Present modifier | 작은 | [자근] |
| Past modifier | 작았던 | [자갇떤] |
| Future modifier | 작을 | [자글] |
| Short negative | 안 작아요 | [안 자가요] |
| Long negative | 작지 않아요 | [작찌 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 사람이 작아요 (meaning "there are few people")
Correct: ✓ 사람이 적어요
Why: 작다 is about size, so 사람이 작아요 says the people are small. For a small number or amount, Korean uses 적다.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|
| 적다 | 적다 means few or little in amount. 작다 means small in size. |
| 좁다 | 좁다 describes narrow space. 작다 is small overall. |
Trying on Shoes in a Shop
A customer compares two pairs of shoes with a shop assistant. Listen for a current fit, a prediction, and a comment about the first pair.
Customer
이 신발은 저한테 작아요.
I sinbareun jeohante jagayo.
These shoes are too small for me.
Assistant
이것도 작을 거예요.
Igeotdo jageul geoyeyo.
These will probably be too small too.
Customer
아까 신발도 작았어요.
Akka sinbaldo jagasseoyo.
The shoes I tried earlier were too small too.
저한테 makes the size relative to the customer. The shoes are not necessarily small for everyone. 작을 거예요 predicts the fit before trying the next pair; 작았어요 recalls the earlier pair. 도 means “also” or “too”.
Common Combinations beyond “Small”
키가 작다 means a person is short. 키 names height, so the sentence identifies the dimension directly. 작은 키 is “short stature”. For the length of a skirt, a pencil, or a journey, 짧다 is the more specific word for short. A small bag can have a long strap: overall size and length are separate descriptions.
목소리가 작다 means someone has a quiet voice or is speaking quietly. It concerns loudness, rather than the pitch of the voice. In a classroom or online meeting, this phrase may explain why someone cannot hear you. It does not by itself say that the speaker is shy or that the microphone is broken.
작은 실수 means a small or minor mistake. Here size is figurative: the mistake has limited importance or consequences. 작은 행복, “small happiness”, similarly describes modest everyday pleasures. These phrases extend the ordinary size meaning; they do not require an unrelated idiomatic translation.
Where Will You Hear 작다?
작다 appears in clothing reviews, apartment descriptions, product comparisons, and everyday comments about children. A review saying a room is small describes its overall size. 좁다 focuses more on limited space or width, so it is useful when the room feels cramped or moving around is difficult.
At a shop, 작아요 can mean “it is too small” even though there is no separate Korean word for “too” in the sentence. The situation supplies the idea that the item does not fit. 저한테 adds “for me”, which is helpful when asking for a different size without criticizing the product itself.
Use care when describing a person’s body. 키가 작아요 is an ordinary description, but adding a polite ending does not make an unwanted comment welcome. When you need to identify someone, a name, clothing description, or location may be more useful than their height.
Which Adjective Ending Belongs before a Noun?
작은 is the present describing form: 작은 가방 means “a small bag”. Wrong: 작는 가방. Correct: 작은 가방. The ㄴ ending describes a present quality, unlike the 는 ending commonly used with action verbs.
작았던 recalls something that was small. It looks back on the earlier state and does not automatically guarantee that the object is large now. 작을 거예요 makes an estimate about size or fit; it does not express the object’s intention.
Keep the final ㄱ in spelling even when it links into the next syllable in speech. The contrast between 작다 and 작아요 is a normal sound change, so there is no special irregular stem to memorize. In 안 작아요, the negative 안 stays separate from the adjective.
작은 방 and 좁은 방 can describe the same room from different angles. The first compares its overall size; the second highlights restricted space. A product description may similarly call a device small while praising a large screen. Choose the noun carefully so the listener knows which part you are measuring.
Size Words Worth Learning Together
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 크다 | big | The direct opposite for overall size. |
| 좁다 | narrow / cramped | Focuses on width or available space. |
| 짧다 | short | Describes length or duration. |
| 크기 | size | A noun for asking about dimensions. |
The size adjectives lesson compares this set. In a description, decide whether you mean overall size, length, or width before choosing the adjective.
Mini Drill
- Give the polite past of 작다.
- Put 작다 before 가방: ____ 가방.
- Make the conditional “if it is small”.
- Choose the adjective for a small number of visitors: 작다 or 적다.
Show drill answers
- 작았어요.
- 작은 가방.
- 작으면.
- 적다.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 저한테 add in a shoe shop?
- Does 목소리가 작다 describe a low-pitched voice?
- Which form describes a small bag now: 작은 or 작았던?
Show answers
- “For me”: the fit is relative to the speaker.
- No. It describes low loudness.
- 작은.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say These Shoes Are Small?
Say 이 신발은 저한테 작아요.
How Do I Say I Am Short?
Say 키가 작아요.
What Is the Opposite?
크다.
Is It Used for Sound?
Yes, 목소리가 작다 means a quiet voice.
Which Words Are Related to 작다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Pair 작다 with 크다, then learn 작아지다 for getting smaller and 적다 for amounts. The pattern behind 작다 is covered in how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense; to check any other form, open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.