Key Facts
- Hangul: 좁다 (jopda)
- Meaning: narrow
- Level: A2
- Stem: 좁
- Conjugation class: regular
- Particles: The thing described takes 이/가, as in 방이 좁아요.
- Spoken as: [좁따]
What Does 좁다 Mean?
좁다 means small in width, as in 길이 좁다, or cramped, as in 방이 좁다. The thing described takes 이/가. It is also used for shoulders, and figuratively for minds: 생각이 좁다 means narrow-minded. The opposite is 넓다. Clothes that are too small are not 좁다; use 작다 or 끼다 for those, as the mistake below shows. When the problem is a lack of room, as with four people sharing one house in the third example, 좁다 is the right word.
How Do You Pronounce 좁다?
The dictionary form has 2 syllables and is spoken [좁따], with a tense ㄷ after the ㅂ batchim. Revised Romanization writes jopda. Before a vowel the ㅂ slides across, so 좁아요 is [조바요] and 좁은 is [조븐].
How Do You Use 좁다 in a Sentence?
우리 방은 좁아요. 그래도 아늑해요.
Our room is small. Still, it is cozy.
우리 방은 좁아요 describes the room. 그래도 아늑해요 adds that it is still cozy.
길이 좁아서 차가 못 들어가요.
The road is narrow, so cars cannot enter.
길이 좁아서 gives the reason, and 차가 못 들어가요 gives the result.
좁은 집에서 네 명이 살아요.
Four people live in a small house.
The modifier 좁은 sits before 집. Four people live there, 네 명이 살아요.
How Does Jopda Conjugation Work?
좁다 is regular, not ㅂ irregular. The final ㅂ of the stem is what trips learners, but in 좁아요 it simply slides to the next syllable and no 워 appears. The ending is 아: 좁아요, 좁았어요, 좁아서, and the modifier is 좁은. Plain written style keeps the dictionary form for the present (좁다) and uses 좁았다 for the past, as in a memoir describing an old neighbourhood where 길이 좁았다.
좁다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 좁아요 | ||
| Polite past | 좁았어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 좁을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 좁겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 좁습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 좁았습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 좁을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 좁아 | ||
| Casual past | 좁았어 | ||
| Casual future | 좁을 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 좁으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 좁아서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 좁으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 좁은 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 좁았던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 좁을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 좁아요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 좁지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 좁아요 | [조바요] |
| Polite past | 좁았어요 | [조바써요] |
| Plan future | 좁을 거예요 | [조블꺼예요] |
| Guess future | 좁겠어요 | [좁께써요] |
| Formal present | 좁습니다 | [좁씀니다] |
| Formal past | 좁았습니다 | [조받씀니다] |
| Formal future | 좁을 것입니다 | [조블꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 좁아 | [조바] |
| Casual past | 좁았어 | [조바써] |
| Casual future | 좁을 거야 | [조블꺼야] |
| Honorific | 좁으세요 | [조브세요] |
| Because | 좁아서 | [조바서] |
| If | 좁으면 | [조브면] |
| Present modifier | 좁은 | [조븐] |
| Past modifier | 좁았던 | [조받떤] |
| Future modifier | 좁을 | [조블] |
| Short negative | 안 좁아요 | [안 조바요] |
| Long negative | 좁지 않아요 | [좁찌 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 옷이 좁아요 (meaning "clothes that are too small")
Correct: ✓ 옷이 작아요 / 옷이 꽉 껴요
Why: 옷이 좁아요 is wrong for clothes that are too small. Clothes use 작다 or the verb 끼다.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|
| 작다 | 작다 is small in size. 좁다 is narrow or lacking space. |
| 넓다 | 넓다 is the opposite: wide and roomy. |
Viewing a Room with a Housing Agent
A renter visits a room and compares it with the previous property. The renter explains why the earlier room did not suit their furniture.
Renter
이 방은 좀 좁아요.
I bangeun jom jobayo.
This room is a little cramped.
Agent
아까 본 방도 좁았어요?
Akka bon bangdo jobasseoyo?
Was the room you saw earlier cramped too?
Renter
네. 좁아서 책상을 못 놓아요.
Ne. Jobaseo chaeksangeul mot noayo.
Yes. It is too cramped to put a desk in.
좁아요 assesses the room now, 좁았어요 asks about the earlier viewing, and 좁아서 gives the reason the desk will not fit. 좀 softens the first complaint, though it does not change which dimension is being discussed. The problem is usable space, so 좁다 is more precise than a general comment about size.
Common Phrases for Space and Perspective
방이 좁다 describes a room that feels cramped. 길이 좁다 describes a road with little width. The room use can concern how much furniture or how many people fit; it does not require a room shaped like a thin corridor. English may translate these uses as “small” and “narrow,” respectively.
어깨가 좁다 means “to have narrow shoulders.” Here the adjective describes the width of a body part. It does not mean that the person is short. The noun tells you the relevant dimension: shoulders have width, a person has height, and a skirt has length.
마음이 좁다 literally suggests a narrow heart or mind. Its usual force is criticism: someone is petty, ungenerous or unwilling to be understanding. 생각이 좁다 similarly criticizes a limited outlook. These figurative uses assess someone’s attitude, so they can sound much sharper than a comment about a small room.
좁은 골목 means “a narrow alley.” 좁은 sits directly before the noun and describes it. The phrase does not itself say whether cars may enter. To explain a restriction, a sentence needs the surrounding information, such as the existing example about cars being unable to get through.
Where Will You Hear or See 좁다?
Housing conversations and accommodation reviews use 좁다 for rooms, bathrooms and kitchens. A review may describe a space as cramped even if its listed floor area seems adequate. Furniture placement and the number of people sharing it can affect that judgment; 좁다 reports the lack of room rather than a measurement.
Directions and driving conversations use 좁다 for alleys or roads where passing is difficult. A warning about a narrow road concerns width. It does not necessarily mean the road is crowded, which would concern traffic or people occupying the available space at that moment.
좁아요 is a normal polite way to describe a room to an agent. A direct comment that another person is 마음이 좁다 is more personal. The same adjective can therefore be neutral in a property description and insulting in a character judgment. Adding 요 makes an ending polite; it does not remove the criticism.
Words for Describing Usable Space
| Related word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 넓다 | to be wide / spacious | The direct opposite for rooms and widths. |
| 골목 | alley | A common place described with 좁다. |
| 공간 | space | Useful when discussing room for people or furniture. |
| 복잡하다 | to be crowded / complicated | Can describe congestion rather than physical width. |
The size adjectives lesson compares width, overall size and length.
Keep ㅂ in Every Regular Form
좁아요 keeps the ㅂ that appears in 좁다. Before a vowel it is heard at the beginning of the next syllable, but the spelling still belongs to the stem. The same principle gives 좁은, 좁으면 and 좁아서. There is no 워 contraction in this adjective.
In 좁습니다, the formal ending is 습니다 because 좁 ends in a consonant. The ㅂ in the stem and the consonants in the ending each have their own job. Sound changes in the spoken form do not license dropping letters from the written word.
좁으세요 is an honorific form, but a room or road does not need honorific treatment. Use 좁아요 when politely describing those things. The table shows how the ending attaches; choosing it still depends on whether there is a respected human subject to honor.
Finally, 안 좁아요 means “not cramped” or “not narrow.” It does not necessarily mean “very spacious.” Negating an adjective leaves room for an ordinary middle case. If you want to praise a room as spacious, use 넓다 rather than expecting the negative alone to convey that praise.
Mini Drill: Practice the Forms
- Give the polite present of 좁다.
- Put 좁다 before 집.
- Complete “because it is narrow”: 좁____.
- Choose the normal adjective for an overall clothing size that is too small.
Show drill answers
- 좁아요. Retain ㅂ in the stem.
- 좁은 집. This adjective takes 은 before the noun.
- 좁아서. The vowel ㅗ selects 아.
- 작다. Use 끼다 when describing a tight fit.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 좁다 always describe a long, thin shape?
- Is 마음이 좁다 usually praise?
- Does 안 좁아요 necessarily mean “very spacious”?
Show answers
- No. It also describes cramped usable space.
- No. It criticizes someone’s outlook or generosity.
- No. It only denies that the space is cramped or narrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say the Road Is Narrow?
Say 길이 좁아요.
Is 좁다 ㅂ Irregular?
No. It is regular, so the polite form is 좁아요.
Can It Describe a Mind?
Yes, 생각이 좁다.
What Is the Opposite?
넓다.
Which Words Are Related to 좁다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Pair 좁다 with 넓다, then review the regular verbs that look irregular. The pattern behind 좁다 is covered in regular verbs that look irregular; to check any other form, open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.