Key Facts
- Hangul: 무섭다 (museopda)
- Meaning: scary
- Part of speech: adjective (형용사)
- Level: A1
- Stem: 무섭
- Class: ㅂ-irregular
- Spoken as: [무섭따]
What Does 무섭다 Mean?
무섭다 works in two directions: a thing can be scary (무서운 영화) and a person can feel scared of it (저는 벌레가 무서워요). The thing feared takes 가, not 를. The word also has a figurative use for strict people: 무서운 선생님 is an awe-inspiring teacher whom students respect and fear. To name an action of fearing something with an object, use the verb 무서워하다 instead.
How Do You Pronounce 무섭다?
The dictionary form is [무섭따], with a tense ㄷ after the closing ㅂ, and the same happens in 무섭습니다 [무섭씀니다]. After the ㅂ becomes 우 the spelling can be trusted, so 무서워요 is said as written, while the past 무서웠어요 is [무서워써요] and the long negative 무섭지 않아요 is [무섭찌 아나요].
How Do You Use 무섭다 in a Sentence?
저는 벌레가 무서워요.
I'm scared of bugs.
저는 벌레가 무서워요 marks 벌레가 with 가: bugs are what causes the fear. 저는 is the topic.
무서운 영화를 봤어요.
I watched a scary movie.
무서운 영화를 봤어요 puts 무서운 before 영화를 and ends with the past 봤어요.
밤길이 무서우면 같이 가요.
If walking at night scares you, let's go together.
In 밤길이 무서우면 같이 가요 the conditional 무서우면 sets the worry, and 같이 가요 is the invitation that follows.
How Does Museopda Conjugation Work?
무섭다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 무서워요 | ||
| Polite past | 무서웠어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 무서울 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 무섭겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 무섭습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 무서웠습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 무서울 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 무서워 | ||
| Casual past | 무서웠어 | ||
| Casual future | 무서울 거야 | ||
| Because / and then | 무서워서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 무서우면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 무서운 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 무서웠던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 무서울 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 무서워요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 무섭지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 무서워요 | — |
| Polite past | 무서웠어요 | [무서워써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 무서울 거예요 | [무서울꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 무섭겠어요 | [무섭께써요] |
| Formal present | 무섭습니다 | [무섭씀니다] |
| Formal past | 무서웠습니다 | [무서웓씀니다] |
| Formal future | 무서울 것입니다 | [무서울꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 무서워 | — |
| Casual past | 무서웠어 | [무서워써] |
| Casual future | 무서울 거야 | [무서울꺼야] |
| Because / and then | 무서워서 | — |
| Conditional (if) | 무서우면 | — |
| Modifier, present | 무서운 | — |
| Modifier, past | 무서웠던 | [무서웓떤] |
| Modifier, future | 무서울 | — |
| Short negative | 안 무서워요 | — |
| Long negative | 무섭지 않아요 | [무섭찌 아나요] |
Is 무섭다 Regular or Irregular?
무섭다 is ㅂ-irregular. Before a vowel ending, the ㅂ turns into 우, so 무섭 + 어요 becomes 무서워요, and the conditional is 무서우면. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 무섭습니다. The ㅂ-irregular lesson shows how to spot the group.
Common Mistake with 무섭다
Wrong (the feared thing marked with 를): ✗ 저는 개를 무서워요
Correct: ✓ 저는 개가 무서워요
Why: With 무섭다 the feared thing takes 가 because the word is descriptive. The object marker 를 belongs to the verb 무서워하다, which is why 개를 무서워하다 is fine but 개를 무서워요 is not.
무섭다 Versus 무서워하다 and 두렵다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 무서워하다 | 무서워하다 is the verb: to fear something with an object, as in 개를 무서워하다. |
| 두렵다 | 두렵다 is a deeper dread, more literary than 무섭다. |
Choosing a Movie after a Sleepless Night
Two friends are discussing yesterday’s horror movie before choosing what to watch tonight. They use the past, a reason form and a modifier.
Jisu
어제 본 영화는 무서웠어요?
Eoje bon yeonghwaneun museowosseoyo?
Was the movie you watched yesterday scary?
Mina
네, 너무 무서워서 잠을 못 잤어요.
Ne, neomu museowoseo jameul mot jasseoyo.
Yes, it was so scary that I couldn’t sleep.
Jisu
오늘도 무서운 영화를 볼 거예요?
Oneuldo museoun yeonghwareul bol geoyeyo?
Are you going to watch a scary movie today too?
Mina
아니요. 오늘은 코미디를 볼 거예요.
Aniyo. Oneureun komidireul bol geoyeyo.
No. Today I’m going to watch a comedy.
무서웠어요 asks for a reaction to the film. 무서워서 links the fear to its result, losing sleep. 무서운 identifies the kind of film being discussed next. The same adjective can describe the film and explain the viewer’s reaction without an extra verb meaning “feel”.
Scary Things and Feeling Scared
영화가 무서워요 means “the movie is scary” or “the movie scares me”, depending on the conversation. 저는 무서워요 can mean “I’m scared” when the cause of fear is already clear. To name the cause explicitly, use the pattern in 저는 벌레가 무서워요: the topic is the person experiencing fear, and the subject is what frightens them.
무서워하다 helps when reporting another person's fear as behaviour. In 아이가 개를 무서워해요, “the child is afraid of dogs”, 아이가 is the child and 개를 is the object of the fear. Compare 개가 무서워요, which presents dogs as frightening. This change involves the whole construction, including the particle, rather than simply swapping one ending.
무섭다 does not always mean immediate physical danger. 무서운 선생님 can be a teacher whose strictness makes students nervous. It does not by itself say that the teacher is cruel. Likewise, 무서운 이야기 is a frightening story; the events need not have happened in real life.
Familiar Combinations and Where They Appear
무서운 영화 and 무서운 이야기 appear in recommendations, reviews and conversations about entertainment. 정말 무서워요 means “it’s really scary” or “I’m really scared”. 하나도 안 무서워요 means “it isn’t scary at all” or “I’m not scared at all”; 하나도 strengthens the negative, rather than saying the fear is only small.
On a dark walk, 무서우면 같이 가요 offers company if the other person feels afraid. In a drama, a short 무서워 may be a character admitting fear to someone close. The casual ending fits that relationship; the polite 무서워요 is the safer conversational form with someone you do not know well.
Fear and surprise also need different words. A sudden noise may make someone jump, which is 놀라다. 무섭다 describes fear, which may continue after the noise stops. A person can be startled without being frightened for long, or frightened without any sudden surprise.
What Stays Irregular outside 무서워요?
The change also matters before a noun and in an if-clause: 무서운 and 무서우면 both use 우. 무섭습니다 and 무섭지 않아요 keep ㅂ because their endings begin with consonants. Learn these as contrasting pairs. Keeping ㅂ everywhere would hide the pattern you need to recognise in everyday speech.
| Korean | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 공포 | fear; horror | Appears in 공포 영화, the horror-film genre. |
| 두렵다 | to be afraid; to dread | Often suits an uncertain future or an abstract fear. |
| 놀라다 | to be startled; surprised | Focuses on the reaction to something unexpected. |
| 걱정하다 | to worry | Concerns possible trouble rather than necessarily feeling scared. |
The emotions vocabulary lesson teaches words for separating fear, surprise and worry.
무섭지 않아요 is useful when reassuring someone that an experience is not frightening. It keeps the same subject pattern as the positive description. A film can be the topic, and the negative denies that it is scary. The short 안 무서워요 gives the same basic negative meaning; it does not turn the adjective into the action verb 무서워하다. To change to that verb, you must also reconsider which noun is the subject and which is the object.
Mini Drill: Keep or Change ㅂ?
- Give the polite past of 무섭다.
- Fill “a scary story”: ____ 이야기.
- Complete “if it is scary”: ____.
- Give the formal present, keeping the stem's consonant.
Show drill answers
- 무서웠어요.
- 무서운 이야기.
- 무서우면.
- 무섭습니다. The ㅂ stays before 습니다.
Quick Self-Test
- Which particle completes 저는 개__ 무서워요?
- Does 무서운 선생님 necessarily mean a cruel teacher?
- Which word focuses on being startled: 무섭다 or 놀라다?
Show answers
- 가: 저는 개가 무서워요.
- No. It can describe a strict, intimidating teacher.
- 놀라다.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is the Feared Thing Marked with 가 in 벌레가 무서워요?
무섭다 is descriptive, so the thing that scares you takes 가.
Can 무섭다 Describe a Person?
Yes. 무서운 선생님 is a strict teacher, and it can be said with respect as well as fear.
How Do I Say 'a Scary Movie'?
Use the modifier 무서운 before the noun: 무서운 영화.
Is 무섭다 Stronger than 두렵다?
Not exactly. 두렵다 is more literary and often names a deeper or more abstract fear, while 무섭다 is the everyday word.
Which Words Are Related to 무섭다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Learn 무서워하다 next for the object version, then 놀라다 for being startled, 걱정하다 for worrying, and 싫어하다 for dislike. The Korean verb conjugator tests other stems, and the Korean verb dictionary lists the rest of the family.