Key Facts
- Hangul: 잘생기다 (jalsaenggida)
- Meaning: handsome
- Level: A2
- Part of speech: verb
- Stem: 잘생기
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: 이/가 marks the person; the face part can take 이/가 as well (얼굴이 잘생겼다).
- Usage: A state is said with the past 잘생겼어요, and the modifier is 잘생긴.
What Does 잘생기다 Mean?
잘생기다 describes good looks, most often in a man: 잘생긴 남자 is a handsome man. It is about facial looks, not about style.
The word is listed as a verb, not an adjective, so a person who is handsome now is described with the past form 잘생겼어요. The present form 잘생겨요 exists but is much rarer in everyday compliments.
How Do You Pronounce 잘생기다?
The dictionary form is read as written. In the past the doubled ㅆ links on: 잘생겼어요 is [잘생겨써요] and 잘생겼습니다 is [잘생겯씀니다]. Before ㄴ the ㅂ of the formal ending turns into ㅁ, so 잘생깁니다 is [잘생김니다].
How Do You Use 잘생기다 in a Sentence?
그 배우는 정말 잘생겼어요.
That actor is really handsome.
정말 strengthens 잘생겼어요, and 그 배우는 is the topic of the compliment.
잘생긴 남자를 봤어요.
I saw a handsome man.
잘생긴 is the modifier before 남자를, and 봤어요 is the past of seeing.
동생이 잘생겨서 인기가 많아요.
My younger brother is good-looking, so he is popular.
잘생겨서 gives the reason; the speaker explains that the brother is popular because of his looks.
Notice that two of the three examples avoid the present tense: the compliment uses the past 잘생겼어요 and the description uses 잘생긴, while 잘생겨서 gives a reason.
How Does Jalsaenggida Conjugation Work?
잘생기다 is regular. 기 + 어 contracts to 겨, which gives 잘생겨요, and the past is 잘생겼어요. The word to remember is the modifier: 잘생긴 looks like a past form but it is the normal present modifier, because this verb names a resulting state. The -는 form is not used. The want-to form 잘생기고 싶어요 exists and means wanting to be good-looking.
The table gives the present negatives 안 잘생겨요 and 잘생기지 않아요, but to say someone is not handsome, speakers normally use the past, 안 잘생겼어요. The because-form is 잘생겨서, the if-form 잘생기면, and the modifiers are 잘생긴 (now), 잘생겼던 (earlier) and 잘생길 (later); the honorific polite form is 잘생기세요.
잘생기다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 잘생겨요 | ||
| Polite past | 잘생겼어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 잘생길 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 잘생기겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 잘생깁니다 | ||
| Formal past | 잘생겼습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 잘생길 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 잘생겨 | ||
| Casual past | 잘생겼어 | ||
| Casual future | 잘생길 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 잘생기고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 잘생기세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 잘생겨서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 잘생기면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 잘생긴 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 잘생겼던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 잘생길 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 잘생겨요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 잘생기지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 잘생겼어요 | [잘생겨써요] |
| Polite future | 잘생길 거예요 | [잘생길꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 잘생기겠어요 | [잘생기게써요] |
| Formal present | 잘생깁니다 | [잘생김니다] |
| Formal past | 잘생겼습니다 | [잘생겯씀니다] |
| Formal future | 잘생길 것입니다 | [잘생길꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 잘생겼어 | [잘생겨써] |
| Casual future | 잘생길 거야 | [잘생길꺼야] |
| Want-to form | 잘생기고 싶어요 | [잘생기고 시퍼요] |
| Past modifier | 잘생겼던 | [잘생겯떤] |
| Long negative | 잘생기지 않아요 | [잘생기지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 잘생기는 사람
Correct: ✓ 잘생긴 사람
Why: Learners expect a verb to take 는 before a noun and say 잘생기는. With this verb the -는 form is not used: the state is described with 잘생긴.
Why Is the past Tense Used for a Present Look?
Looks are treated as a result: the face has already turned out good, so Korean says 잘생겼어요 even for a man who is handsome today. The opposite, 못생기다, works the same way.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 잘생기다?
| Word | How to tell it from 잘생기다 |
|---|---|
| 멋있다 | 멋있다 is cool or stylish overall; 잘생기다 is about facial looks. |
| 예쁘다 | 예쁘다 is pretty and used for women or objects; 잘생기다 is mostly used for men. |
Looking at the Cast of a New Drama
Two coworkers are looking at a drama poster. They use the usual present-day compliment 잘생겼어요, the noun modifier 잘생긴, and the reason form 잘생겨서.
Jisu
그 배우는 정말 잘생겼어요.
Geu baeuneun jeongmal jalsaenggyeosseoyo.
That actor is really handsome.
Alex
잘생긴 배우가 많네요.
Jalsaenggin baeuga manneyo.
There are a lot of handsome actors.
Jisu
네. 이 배우는 잘생겨서 인기가 많아요.
Ne. I baeuneun jalsaenggyeoseo ingiga manayo.
Yes. This actor is popular because he is handsome.
The conversation concerns what the actors look like now. 잘생겼어요 does not imply that the actor used to be handsome but no longer is. The second line places 잘생긴 directly before 배우, “actor”. The third line links appearance to popularity, which is the speaker's explanation rather than part of the word's definition.
The polite ending 요 suits coworkers who speak politely to each other. When close friends react to the same poster, 잘생겼어 is the casual form they are likely to use. The main compliment keeps the past-shaped ending in both speech levels.
Which Combinations Describe Appearance?
| Combination | Meaning | What it focuses on |
|---|---|---|
| 잘생긴 얼굴 | a handsome face | The appearance of the face itself. |
| 잘생긴 배우 | a handsome actor | An actor's looks, with no claim about acting skill. |
| 정말 잘생겼어요 | really handsome | A stronger direct compliment. |
| 잘생겨서 인기가 많다 | to be popular because of good looks | A stated link between appearance and popularity. |
These are literal descriptions, not idioms. A 잘생긴 배우 can be a good actor or a poor actor; the phrase only praises appearance. If you want to discuss a performance, name the acting or the role instead. Likewise, popularity in the final phrase is an additional claim introduced by the reason ending.
The English word “handsome” often suggests a man, and 잘생기다 is also commonly used for men. It can describe a woman with striking or handsome features too. It is not restricted by grammatical gender. Choose a compliment that suits the person's appearance and your relationship rather than assigning a word solely from gender.
Where Do People Use 잘생기다?
Drama discussions, cast interviews and comments on photos often contain 잘생겼어요 or the casual 잘생겼어. A photo comment usually means “you look handsome” now. It does not date the person's good looks to the moment the photo was taken unless the surrounding sentence makes that contrast.
A direct appearance compliment is more personal than a comment about a poster. Among friends it may be welcome; at work or with a stranger it can feel too personal. The polite ending makes the sentence courteous in form, but it does not decide whether commenting on someone's appearance fits the situation.
Use 멋있다 for a broader impression of style, presence or coolness. A suit, confident behaviour or an impressive performance can contribute to that impression. 잘생기다 points more directly to attractive looks, so the words praise different aspects even when both could describe one actor.
Why Does a Regular Verb Need Special Care?
“Regular” describes how the endings attach; it does not guarantee that every form in a table serves the same purpose in daily speech. The contraction 기 plus 어 gives 겨 without an irregular stem replacement. For an ordinary compliment, the useful completed-state form is 잘생겼어요.
The National Institute of Korean Language explains this resulting-state use in its guidance on the classification of 잘생기다. The dictionary's verb label helps explain why a form containing 었 can describe a current appearance.
Keep 잘생기다 joined as one word. Its 잘 is part of this dictionary verb; splitting it from 생기다 loses the standard spelling of the word being taught. The same joined stem remains in 잘생긴 and 잘생겨서. In the latter form, 서 adds a reason without requiring the full past ending used in the main compliment.
Words for Discussing a Drama Cast
| Korean | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 배우 | actor | Names the person whose appearance you are discussing. |
| 얼굴 | face | Makes the focus on facial looks explicit. |
| 연기 | acting | Evaluate this separately from the actor's looks. |
| 인기 | popularity | A person's popularity is different from their appearance. |
The movies and TV vocabulary lesson teaches the surrounding entertainment words, so you can move from a comment on looks to a discussion of the drama itself.
Mini Drill: Describe the Actor Now
- Choose the ordinary compliment: 잘생겨요 or 잘생겼어요?
- Complete “a handsome actor”: ____ 배우.
- Give the reason form of 잘생기다.
- Make the ordinary compliment casual by removing 요.
Show drill answers
- 잘생겼어요.
- 잘생긴 배우.
- 잘생겨서.
- 잘생겼어.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 잘생긴 배우 tell you the actor performs well?
- Which nearby word also covers style and an overall cool impression?
- Must 잘생겼어요 refer to someone who was handsome only in the past?
Show answers
- No. It describes looks.
- 멋있다.
- No. It normally describes present good looks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Do Koreans Say 잘생겼어요 for Someone Who Is Handsome Now?
The look is treated as a result, so the past form states the present condition.
What Is the Modifier before a Noun?
잘생긴, as in 잘생긴 남자.
Does 잘생기다 Apply to Women?
It is mostly used for men; 예쁘다 is the usual word for women.
What Is the Opposite?
못생기다, which is blunt and can be rude about a person.
Which Words Are Related to 잘생기다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Move on to 못생기다, its blunt opposite, then to 멋있다 for overall style. The regular pattern behind 잘생겨요 is explained in the present-tense recipe. Then put another word through the Korean verb conjugator and compare the pattern, or browse more entries in the Korean verb dictionary.