Key Facts
- Hangul: 저렇다 (jeoreota)
- Pronunciation: [저러타]
- Meaning: to be like that (far)
- Level: A2
- Stem: 저렇
- Conjugation class: ㅎ-irregular
- Grammar: descriptive
What Does 저렇다 Mean?
저렇다 describes something at a distance from both speaker and listener: 저런 옷 (clothes like those over there). When applied to a person's behaviour it carries a tone of criticism or surprise, as in 왜 저래? and the exclamation 저런.
The subject takes 이/가, as in 저 사람이 저래요. It is a spoken word at level A2.
In 저 사람은 왜 저래요?, the word 저 appears twice. The first one is the pointing word 'that' before 사람, and the second is the front of the verb 저렇다. Hearing the pair together shows that the speaker is pointing at a person who is clearly away from the conversation, in contrast with 이렇다 for something at hand.
How Do You Pronounce 저렇다?
저렇다 is read [저러타], with ㅎ and ㄷ merging into ㅌ. 저렇습니다 is [저러씀니다], 저렇지 않아요 is [저러치 아나요], and 저랬어요 is [저래써요]. The initial 저 uses ㅓ, an unrounded vowel.
How Do You Use 저렇다 in a Sentence?
저 사람은 왜 저래요?
Why is that person acting like that?
저래요 in 저 사람은 왜 저래요?: the speaker is puzzled by a person's behaviour. The question word 왜 carries the question, so the sentence needs no rising tone.
저런 집에서 살고 싶어요.
I want to live in a house like that.
저런 before 집에서 describes a house like that one over there, with a wish added at the end.
저러면 위험해요.
It is dangerous if he does that.
저러면 with 위험해요 warns that something is dangerous if the other person does that.
How Does Jeoreota Conjugation Work?
ㅎ-irregular: the ㅎ is lost and the vowel becomes ㅐ before 아/어, so 저렇 + 어요 = 저래요, with the past 저랬어요. 으 endings drop ㅎ only: 저러세요, 저러면. The future is 저럴 거예요, and the modifier is 저런. Consonant endings keep ㅎ: 저렇습니다.
저렇다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 저래요 | ||
| Polite past | 저랬어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 저럴 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 저렇겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 저렇습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 저랬습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 저럴 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 저래 | ||
| Casual past | 저랬어 | ||
| Casual future | 저럴 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 저러세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 저래서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 저러면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 저런 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 저랬던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 저럴 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 저래요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 저렇지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 저랬어요 | [저래써요] |
| Future plan | 저럴 거예요 | [저럴꺼예요] |
| Future guess | 저렇겠어요 | [저러케써요] |
| Formal now | 저렇습니다 | [저러씀니다] |
| Formal past | 저랬습니다 | [저랟씀니다] |
| Formal future | 저럴 것입니다 | [저럴꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 저랬어 | [저래써] |
| Casual future | 저럴 거야 | [저럴꺼야] |
| Modifier past | 저랬던 | [저랟떤] |
| Long negative | 저렇지 않아요 | [저러치 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 저렇어요
Correct: ✓ 저래요
Why: 저렇다 is a ㅎ irregular adjective: ㅎ drops and the vowel becomes ㅐ, giving 저래요 and 저런. Do not be fooled by 저 meaning 'I'. In 저렇다 the 저 is the distant pointing word, which is why 저래요 describes something far away.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 저렇다 |
|---|---|
| 이렇다 | 이렇다 is like this, near the speaker; 저렇다 is like that, far from both people. |
| 그렇다 | 그렇다 is like that, near the listener or just mentioned. |
Watching Someone Lean over a Platform Barrier
Two commuters notice a person repeatedly leaning over a barrier. They are speaking quietly to each other, not addressing that person directly.
Mina
저 사람은 왜 저래요?
Jeo sarameun wae jeoraeyo?
Why is that person acting like that?
Alex
아까도 저랬어요.
Akkado jeoraesseoyo.
They were doing that earlier too.
Mina
저러면 위험해요.
Jeoreomyeon wiheomhaeyo.
It is dangerous if they do that.
저래요 refers to behaviour both commuters can see. 저랬어요 looks back to the same behaviour earlier. 저러면 turns it into a condition: behaving that way creates a risk. English needs “that way” or “doing that” to make the reference clear; Korean can leave the action unnamed.
Phrases You Will Hear with 저렇다
왜 저래? means “Why are they acting like that?” or “What is with them?” The literal question asks why someone is like that. In conversation it often conveys irritation, disbelief or concern rather than a calm request for an explanation. The casual ending suits close friends talking among themselves.
저런 식으로 means “in that sort of way.” 식 means a way or manner. This phrase points to how something is being done, so the listener needs a visible action or enough context to identify the manner. It can be critical, but the phrase itself does not specify what is wrong.
저런! can stand alone as an exclamation such as “Oh dear!” Before a noun, 저런 describes a kind of thing, as in the existing house example. When it is an exclamation, the speaker reacts to a situation instead. Punctuation and the following words help you tell the two uses apart.
저런 사람 means “a person like that.” The phrase describes a type of person or someone showing a particular behaviour. It gives more evaluation than simply pointing out “that person.” A neutral description of where someone stands may need only 저 사람.
Where Will You Hear or See 저렇다?
Drama dialogue and everyday comments use 저래 and 저래요 when someone behaves unexpectedly. A viewer may hear the word while a character looks across a room or reacts to an event on a screen. The person being discussed does not need to be physically far away in kilometres; the shared scene supplies the distance or detachment.
Adding 요 makes the ending polite to the listener, but the judgment about the other person can still sound sharp. Saying 왜 저래요? about a colleague within hearing distance may embarrass them. 저렇습니다 is formal, yet its ending likewise does not remove a negative implication from the surrounding sentence.
For a purely factual description, naming the action gives more information than 저래요 alone. If someone has not seen what happened, they may not know what “like that” refers to. This word works best when speaker and listener already share the scene or understand the behaviour under discussion.
Which Forms Are Easy to Mix Up?
저렇다 describes a state or quality: being like that. 저렇게, meaning “like that” or “in that way,” describes how an action happens. 저런 goes before a noun. These forms share the pointing idea, but each fills a different place in the sentence.
The ㅎ-irregular pattern gives three useful landmarks: 저래요 to end the sentence, 저런 before a noun and 저러면 before a consequence. In 저렇습니다 the ㅎ remains written. Learn the written forms as well as the sound; hearing the aspirated dictionary form does not mean every ending contains an aspirated consonant.
| Related word | Meaning | What it points to |
|---|---|---|
| 이렇다 | to be like this | A state close to the speaker or being presented now. |
| 그렇다 | to be like that | A state already mentioned or associated with the listener. |
| 어떻다 | to be how | Asks about a state instead of pointing to one. |
| 저렇게 | in that way | Describes the manner of an action. |
The position words lesson helps you describe where the person or object actually is when pointing alone is unclear.
Mini Drill: Choose the Pointing Form
- Finish a polite sentence about that behaviour: 저렇다 → present.
- Put 저렇다 before 집: “a house like that.”
- Say “if it is like that” using the conditional.
- Describe the same behaviour earlier using the polite past.
Show pointing-form answers
- 저래요.
- 저런 집.
- 저러면.
- 저랬어요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 요 guarantee that 왜 저래요? sounds kind about the person discussed?
- Which fits before a noun: 저런 or 저래요?
- Can 저런! be a reaction rather than a noun modifier?
Reveal the self-test answers
- No. The ending is polite to the listener, but the remark may still criticize someone.
- 저런.
- Yes. On its own it can express surprise or sympathy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 저렇다?
It is 저래요.
When Do I Use 저렇다 Instead of 그렇다?
Use 저렇다 when the thing is far from both of you, and 그렇다 when it was just mentioned or is near the listener.
Does 저렇다 Sound Rude?
It can. Used about a person's behaviour it expresses criticism or surprise, so tone matters.
What Is the Modifier Form?
It is 저런, as in 저런 집에서 살고 싶어요.
Which Words Are Related to 저렇다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 이렇다 and 그렇다 for the near and middle pointing words, 어떻다 for asking, and 다르다 for 'different'.
The ㅎ-irregular lesson explains the pattern behind 저래요, and the conjugator checks any other form. The dictionary lists the rest.