Key Facts
- Hangul: 미지근하다 (mijigeunhada)
- Meaning: to be lukewarm
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 미지근하
- Conjugation class: regular 하다 adjective
- Grammar: A descriptive word, so the subject takes 이/가 (물이 미지근해요).
- Polite present and past: 미지근해요, 미지근했어요
What Does 미지근하다 Mean?
미지근하다 describes a temperature in between, as in 미지근한 물 (lukewarm water). A second sense is half-hearted, as in 태도가 미지근하다 (a lukewarm attitude).
It is typical for drinks, food and bath water, and it often carries a mild complaint. Coffee that sat too long, soup that was served late and a beer that lost its chill are the classic cases, and a lukewarm attitude is the figurative cousin. The thing takes 이/가: 물이 미지근해요.
How Do You Pronounce 미지근하다?
Every syllable is read as spelled. The formal present 미지근합니다 is [미지근함니다], the past 미지근했어요 is [미지근해써요], and the future 미지근할 거예요 is [미지근할꺼예요].
How Do You Use 미지근하다 in a Sentence?
커피가 식어서 미지근해요.
The coffee has cooled and is lukewarm.
커피가 식어서 미지근해요 gives the cause with 식어서: the coffee cooled down.
국이 미지근했어요.
The soup was lukewarm.
국이 미지근했어요 reports in the past that the soup was lukewarm.
미지근한 물로 씻으세요.
Wash with lukewarm water.
미지근한 물로 씻으세요 uses the modifier before 물로 and gives a polite instruction to wash with it.
The three lines show 미지근해요, 미지근했어요 and 미지근한.
How Does Mijigeunhada Conjugation Work?
미지근하다 is a regular 하다 adjective. Before 아/어 endings the 하 becomes 해: 미지근해요, 미지근했어요, 미지근해서. Before 으-type endings it is 하: 미지근하면, 미지근하세요. The modifier is 미지근한. Consonant endings attach directly: 미지근합니다, 미지근하지 않아요.
Negatives: 안 미지근해요 or 미지근하지 않아요. The honorific polite form is 미지근하세요.
미지근하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 미지근해요 | ||
| Polite past | 미지근했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 미지근할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 미지근하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 미지근합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 미지근했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 미지근할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 미지근해 | ||
| Casual past | 미지근했어 | ||
| Casual future | 미지근할 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 미지근하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 미지근해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 미지근하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 미지근한 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 미지근했던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 미지근할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 미지근해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 미지근하지 않아요 |
There is no want-to row for lukewarm: that ending attaches to verbs, not to descriptive words.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 미지근했어요 | [미지근해써요] |
| Polite future | 미지근할 거예요 | [미지근할꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 미지근하겠어요 | [미지근하게써요] |
| Formal present | 미지근합니다 | [미지근함니다] |
| Formal past | 미지근했습니다 | [미지근핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 미지근할 것입니다 | [미지근할꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 미지근했어 | [미지근해써] |
| Casual future | 미지근할 거야 | [미지근할꺼야] |
| Past modifier | 미지근했던 | [미지근핻떤] |
| Long negative | 미지근하지 않아요 | [미지근하지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 미지근 물
Correct: ✓ 미지근한 물
Why: The bare root 미지근 is not a modifier; before a noun the adjective needs 한.
Why Does 미지근하다 Sound Like a Complaint?
A drink should be hot or cold, so lukewarm means it has gone wrong. Say 맥주가 미지근해요 when a beer is no longer cold. 따뜻하다 and 시원하다 are the pleasant counterparts, while 뜨겁다 and 차갑다 mark the extremes.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 미지근하다?
| Word | How to tell it from 미지근하다 |
|---|---|
| 따뜻하다 | Pleasantly warm. 미지근하다 is lukewarm, often unpleasantly neither hot nor cold. |
| 시원하다 | Pleasantly cool. 미지근하다 is the unpleasant in-between temperature of a drink that should be cold. |
Checking the Soup at a Restaurant
A customer has just tasted the soup. The server acknowledges the problem and offers to heat it again. The exchange uses the present 미지근해요 and the modifier 미지근한.
Customer
국이 좀 미지근해요.
Gugi jom mijigeunhaeyo.
The soup is a bit lukewarm.
Server
미지근한 국을 드렸네요. 죄송합니다. 다시 데워 드릴게요.
Mijigeunhan gugeul deuryeonneyo. Joesonghamnida. Dasi dewo deurilgeyo.
I see we served you lukewarm soup. I’m sorry. I’ll heat it again for you.
Customer
네, 감사합니다.
Ne, gamsahamnida.
Yes, thank you.
좀 softens the customer’s complaint. 미지근한 modifies 국, while 미지근해요 finishes the temperature report. The server’s 다시 데워 드릴게요 offers a specific remedy: heating the soup again. The apology is deferential because the listener is a customer.
Which Collocations Describe Temperature and Attitude?
미지근한 물 is “lukewarm water”. This can be a neutral description in washing instructions. The existing example with 씻으세요 asks the listener to wash with it; it does not complain about the water. The desired temperature depends on the task.
미지근한 커피 means “lukewarm coffee”. If a customer ordered a hot drink, this normally explains dissatisfaction. The adjective describes the current temperature. It does not say whether the coffee started hot, was mixed with cool liquid or sat untouched; the surrounding sentence supplies the cause.
미지근한 반응 is “a lukewarm response”. The response shows little enthusiasm. Nobody’s body temperature is being measured. You might read this phrase in a report about how people received a proposal, a new product or a performance.
태도가 미지근하다 describes a half-hearted attitude. 태도 means “attitude”, so the phrase points to someone’s weak commitment or lack of a clear stance. Compare the noun before the adjective: water gives a literal temperature reading, while attitude gives a figurative one.
Where Will You Hear or See 미지근하다?
Restaurant conversations use 미지근해요 when soup or a drink is insufficiently hot or cold. In product instructions, 미지근한 물 may specify the water to use for washing an item. The adjective alone gives no exact temperature in degrees. Follow any more precise temperature instruction given alongside it.
News and reviews use the figurative collocations for a response that falls short of excitement. A “lukewarm response” does not necessarily mean outright rejection. People may have accepted something without enthusiasm, or offered only weak support. The rest of the report tells you which.
The word also does not mean “cool and refreshing”. 시원하다 often presents coolness as pleasant; 미지근하다 leaves the listener between warm and cool. That is why the same water can be suitable for washing while the same temperature feels disappointing in a drink that should be chilled.
To explain that a drink has become lukewarm, give the change separately, as the coffee example does with 식어서. 미지근했어요 only locates the temperature description in the past. It does not by itself say that the drink gradually cooled or that someone served it at the wrong temperature.
Which Forms Are Useful for Things Rather than People?
미지근해요 is polite to the listener and works naturally with water, coffee or soup as the subject. The table also includes the honorific 미지근하세요. A hot drink does not become a respected person because a customer ordered it, so keep 미지근해요 when reporting its temperature.
Before a noun, keep the full modifier 미지근한. The descriptive part 미지근 cannot stand alone before 물. In a sentence ending, 하 contracts to 해 in 미지근해요; before the noun, 하 remains in 미지근한. The two shapes do different jobs.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 따뜻하다 | to be warm | Often describes comfortable warmth. |
| 뜨겁다 | to be hot | Describes a stronger heat than merely warm. |
| 차갑다 | to be cold | Can describe a drink’s temperature by touch or taste. |
| 식다 | to cool down | Describes a change from a hotter state. |
Use the restaurant vocabulary lesson for the food and service words needed to explain a temperature problem.
Mini Drill: Describe the Temperature
- Finish “lukewarm water”: ____ 물.
- Give the polite past after a disappointing meal.
- Make the condition “if it is lukewarm”.
- Choose the ordinary polite ending for soup: 미지근해요 or 미지근하세요.
Show drill answers
- 미지근한 물.
- 미지근했어요.
- 미지근하면.
- 미지근해요. The soup needs no honorific ending.
Quick Self-Test
- Is 미지근한 물 always a complaint?
- What does 미지근한 반응 describe?
- Does 미지근하다 specify an exact temperature?
Show answers
- No. It can be a neutral instruction about suitable water.
- A response with little enthusiasm.
- No. It describes a temperature range without a number.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 미지근하다?
미지근해요.
Can I Use It for People?
Yes, for a half-hearted attitude: 태도가 미지근하다.
How Do I Say Lukewarm Water?
미지근한 물, with the modifier 미지근한.
Is It a Compliment?
Usually not; it points out that something is not hot or cold enough.
Which Words Are Related to 미지근하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Put 미지근하다 beside 따뜻하다 and 시원하다, then 뜨겁다 and 차갑다 to build the whole temperature scale. The rule behind this entry is explained in 하다 to 해요. To test other words, use the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.