Key Facts
- Hangul: 까맣다 (kkamata)
- Meaning: to be black
- Level: A1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 까맣
- Conjugation class: ㅎ-irregular
- Grammar: A descriptive word, so the subject takes 이/가 (머리가 까매요).
- Polite present and past: 까매요, 까맸어요
What Does 까맣다 Mean?
까맣다 is the colour word you reach for when the black is thick and total. A typical phrase is 까만 머리 (black hair), and the same feeling covers 밤하늘 and food that has burned. Two noun forms exist: 까망 and 까만색.
It belongs to the A1 colour set with 하얗다, 빨갛다, 노랗다 and 파랗다, so it is one of the first adjectives that changes its shape. The thing that is black takes 이/가, as in 머리가 까매요.
How Do You Pronounce 까맣다?
The dictionary form is read [까마타]: the ㅎ of 맣 joins the following ㄷ and makes an aspirated ㅌ. Before 습니다 the ㅎ is not heard but makes the ㅅ tense, so 까맣습니다 is heard as [까마씀니다], and the long negative is [까마치 아나요]. The past forms are pronounced [까매써요] for 까맸어요.
How Do You Use 까맣다 in a Sentence?
제 고양이는 까매요.
My cat is black.
제 고양이는 까매요 sets the cat up as the topic with 는; 까매요 is the polite present, and the 맣 of the stem has already turned into 매.
밤하늘이 까맸어요.
The night sky was black.
밤하늘이 is the subject, and 까맸어요 moves the colour into the past.
까만 안경을 샀어요.
I bought black glasses.
까만 comes before the noun 안경을 and 샀어요 closes the sentence.
Across the three lines the stem appears as 까매요, 까맸어요 and 까만, and the ㅎ never shows.
How Does Kkamata Conjugation Work?
까맣다 is a ㅎ-irregular adjective. When a vowel ending follows, the final ㅎ of the stem 까맣 drops. With 아/어 endings the last vowel also becomes ㅐ, which gives 까매요, 까맸어요 and 까매서. Before an 으-type ending only the ㅎ drops: 까마면 and 까마세요. The modifier is 까만, and the future modifier is 까말. Before a consonant the ㅎ stays, so 까맣습니다 and 까맣지 않아요 keep it.
Negatives: put 안 in front for 안 까매요, or use the long form 까맣지 않아요. The honorific polite form is 까마세요.
까맣다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 까매요 | ||
| Polite past | 까맸어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 까말 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 까맣겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 까맣습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 까맸습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 까말 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 까매 | ||
| Casual past | 까맸어 | ||
| Casual future | 까말 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 까마세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 까매서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 까마면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 까만 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 까맸던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 까말 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 까매요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 까맣지 않아요 |
There is no want-to row for black: that ending attaches to verbs, not to descriptive words.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 까맸어요 | [까매써요] |
| Polite future | 까말 거예요 | [까말꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 까맣겠어요 | [까마케써요] |
| Formal present | 까맣습니다 | [까마씀니다] |
| Formal past | 까맸습니다 | [까맫씀니다] |
| Formal future | 까말 것입니다 | [까말꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 까맸어 | [까매써] |
| Casual future | 까말 거야 | [까말꺼야] |
| Past modifier | 까맸던 | [까맫떤] |
| Long negative | 까맣지 않아요 | [까마치 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 까맣어요
Correct: ✓ 까매요
Why: Keeping the ㅎ and adding 어요 treats the word as regular. The ㅎ has to drop and the vowel changes to ㅐ.
When Should You Choose 까맣다 over 검다?
검다 also means black; it is the more neutral word and is common in writing and in phrases such as 검은 옷. 까맣다 feels denser and is the natural choice for hair, the night and burnt food. Its opposite in the colour set is 하얗다.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 까맣다?
| Word | How to tell it from 까맣다 |
|---|---|
| 검다 | Also black, a bit more formal, used for hair, eyes and clothes (검은 옷). 까맣다 is a deep, dense black. |
| 하얗다 | The opposite colour, white. |
Choosing a Cat's Photo
Two friends are choosing a photo of a black cat. The lighting made the cat look different in yesterday's picture.
Jisu
이 고양이는 정말 까매요.
I goyangineun jeongmal kkamaeyo.
This cat is really black.
Mina
어제 사진에서는 더 까맸어요.
Eoje sajineseoneun deo kkamaesseoyo.
It looked even blacker in yesterday’s photo.
Jisu
저는 까만 고양이를 좋아해요.
Jeoneun kkaman goyangireul joahaeyo.
I like black cats.
까매요 describes the cat now, 까맸어요 recalls its appearance in the earlier photo, and 까만 places the colour before 고양이. 더 compares the pictures: it means “more” or “even more”. The cat has not necessarily changed colour; a past description can simply report how something looked in that setting.
Which Common Expressions Use 까맣다?
| Expression | Literal image | Everyday meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 까만 머리 | Black hair | A direct description of hair colour. |
| 까맣게 타다 | To burn black | To become blackened; with skin, to become deeply tanned. |
| 까맣게 잊다 | To forget blackly | To forget completely. |
까맣게 잊다 describes a complete lapse of memory. There is no black object involved. In a drama, a character who forgot an appointment may use 까맣게 with 잊다 to stress that the appointment had entirely slipped their mind.
까맣게 타다 needs context. With toast or a pan, the blackness comes from burning. With someone's face or skin after a holiday, it can mean a deep tan. It is a description of colour change, so the English translation depends on what has become dark.
까맣게 keeps ㅎ because 게 starts with a consonant. That makes it a useful contrast with 까매요 and 까만, where the irregular change removes ㅎ. The same word can therefore look quite different across these familiar expressions.
Where Will You Meet 까맣다?
In daily conversation, 까만 is an easy way to identify a cat, a bag or someone's hair. Picture-book descriptions also use it because a colour helps distinguish one visible object from another. With a noun already in view, 까매요 can stand alone as the whole description.
A clothing shop's colour selector is more likely to use a colour noun such as 검정 or 검은색 than the dictionary form 까맣다. In conversation, 까만 옷 is a normal description of black clothes. A product label and a spoken sentence serve different jobs even when they refer to the same colour.
Be considerate with comments about someone's skin. 얼굴이 까매요 describes a dark face or complexion, but a direct comment on appearance may be unwelcome. The adjective is ordinary Korean; adding a polite ending does not make every observation socially comfortable.
Why Does 까만 Have No Final ㅎ?
까만 is the form before a noun. The ending removes the stem's ㅎ, leaving 까마 plus ㄴ. In 까매요, the vowel also changes. Learning those two results separately prevents the common mistake of expecting every form without ㅎ to contain 매.
까맣습니다 keeps the spelling ㅎ because 습니다 begins with a consonant. Its formal style suits a report or presentation. For a simple comment about a cat, 까매요 is the usual polite choice. Neither form describes an action the cat performs.
Colour Words to Learn Alongside 까맣다
| Korean | Meaning | One useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 검정 | black | A noun used when naming the colour. |
| 검은색 | black colour | Useful for a colour choice on a product. |
| 하얗다 | to be white | The contrasting colour adjective. |
| 어둡다 | to be dark | Describes low light; an unlit room need not be black. |
The colours vocabulary lesson groups colour names with descriptions you can put before nouns.
Mini Drill: Follow the Ending
- Give the polite present of 까맣다.
- Fill the gap: ____ 안경, “black glasses”.
- Change 까매요 to the polite past.
- Give the formal present, keeping the stem spelling.
Show drill answers
- 까매요: ㅎ drops and the vowel becomes ㅐ.
- 까만 안경: the modifier loses ㅎ without changing to 매.
- 까맸어요.
- 까맣습니다: the consonant ending keeps written ㅎ.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 까맣게 잊다 refer to a colour?
- Which names a colour: 검정 or 어둡다?
- Can 까맣게 타다 describe both burnt toast and tanned skin?
Show answers
- No. It means to forget completely.
- 검정. 어둡다 describes darkness or low light.
- Yes. The subject tells you whether “burn black” or “tan deeply” fits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 까맣다?
까매요. The ㅎ drops and the vowel changes, so 까맣어요 is not a form.
Is 까만색 the Same Word as 까맣다?
No. 까만색 is the noun for the colour black, while 까맣다 is the descriptive word you conjugate. 까망 is another noun form.
Why Does the Modifier Lose Its ㅎ?
Before the modifier ending the ㅎ drops as well, so the result is 까만, as in 까만 머리.
Can a Colour Word Take a Want-to Ending?
No. Wanting is expressed on verbs, so a descriptive word like this one has no want-to form.
Which Words Are Related to 까맣다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Next, compare 까맣다 with its opposite 하얗다 and the rest of the colour set. The rule behind this entry is explained in ㅎ-irregular verbs and adjectives. To test other words, use the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.