Key Facts
- Hangul: 빠르다 (ppareuda)
- Meaning: fast
- Level: A1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 빠르
- Conjugation class: 르
- Grammar: The thing described takes 이/가, as in 기차가 빨라요.
- Usage: Frequent in speech about speed and time. 빨리 is the adverb meaning quickly.
What Does 빠르다 Mean?
It has two senses: moving quickly, as in 차가 빠르다, and done in a short time, as in 처리가 빠르다. The thing described takes 이/가, as in 기차가 빨라요. The adverb 빨리 means quickly.
Senses:
- fast: Moving quickly, as in 차가 빠르다.
- quick: Done in a short time, as in 처리가 빠르다.
How Do You Pronounce 빠르다?
빠르다 is read as spelled. In the polite forms the ㄹ is doubled and clear: 빨라요 and 빨랐어요 [빨라써요]. The formal present 빠릅니다 is [빠름니다], and the past modifier 빨랐던 is [빨랃떤].
How Do You Use 빠르다 in a Sentence?
이 기차는 정말 빨라요.
This train is really fast.
이 기차는 정말 빨라요 uses 정말 for really and the 르 form 빨라요.
그 선수는 어릴 때부터 빨랐어요.
That athlete was fast even as a child.
그 선수는 어릴 때부터 빨랐어요 is the past, [빨라써요], and 어릴 때부터 means since childhood.
걸음이 빠른 사람이 먼저 갔어요.
The fast walker went ahead first.
걸음이 빠른 사람이 먼저 갔어요 uses the modifier 빠른 before 사람.
How Does Ppareuda Conjugation Work?
빠르다 is a 르 adjective. Before 아 or 어 the ㅡ of 르 drops and ㄹ doubles, so 빠르 + 아요 becomes 빨라요 and the past is 빨랐어요. Before consonants the stem is regular: 빠르면, 빠른, 빠르지 않아요. There is no want-to form, because 빠르다 is a descriptive word.
빠르다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 빨라요 | ||
| Polite past | 빨랐어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 빠를 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 빠르겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 빠릅니다 | ||
| Formal past | 빨랐습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 빠를 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 빨라 | ||
| Casual past | 빨랐어 | ||
| Casual future | 빠를 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 빠르세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 빨라서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 빠르면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 빠른 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 빨랐던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 빠를 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 빨라요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 빠르지 않아요 |
Form left out on purpose (Want to (polite)): -고 싶다 attaches to verbs, not to descriptive words like this one.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 빨랐어요 | [빨라써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 빠를 거예요 | [빠를꺼예요] |
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 빠르겠어요 | [빠르게써요] |
| Formal present | 빠릅니다 | [빠름니다] |
| Formal past | 빨랐습니다 | [빨랃씀니다] |
| Formal future | 빠를 것입니다 | [빠를꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 빨랐어 | [빨라써] |
| Casual future | 빠를 거야 | [빠를꺼야] |
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 빨랐던 | [빨랃떤] |
| Negative (long form) | 빠르지 않아요 | [빠르지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 빠르어요
Correct: ✓ 빨라요
Why: 르-irregular: ㅡ drops and ㄹ doubles, so 빠르 + 아요 becomes 빨라요.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 빠르다?
| Word | How to tell it from 빠르다 |
|---|---|
| 이르다 | 이르다 means early in time and sounds more formal; 빠르다 means fast, and in everyday speech it also covers being early. |
| 느리다 | 느리다 is the opposite: slow. |
이르다 means early in time and sounds more formal, while 빠르다 is fast in speed and, in everyday speech, also early. 느리다 is the opposite: slow.
Where Does 빠르다 Turn Up?
Speed and timing are the two big topics. 늦다 is the other side of timing, being late. The two senses share one stem and one set of forms. A train or a runner is fast, and a process can be quick too, as in 처리가 빠르다, where the handling takes little time.
Choosing a Train at the Station
Jisu and Alex need to get across the city. They compare a train with a bus and discuss which route to choose. Listen for the present, past and noun-modifying forms.
Jisu
이 기차가 버스보다 빨라요?
I gichaga beoseuboda ppallayo?
Is this train faster than the bus?
Alex
네, 어제도 기차가 더 빨랐어요.
Ne, eojedo gichaga deo ppallasseoyo.
Yes, the train was faster yesterday too.
Jisu
그럼 빠른 기차로 가요.
Geureom ppareun gicharo gayo.
Then let’s take the fast train.
보다 marks the thing used for comparison, so 버스보다 means “than the bus.” 더 means “more,” making the second line explicitly comparative. 빠른 describes 기차 directly; the adjective keeps 르 in this form even though the spoken sentence ending is 빨라요.
빠르다, 빠른 and 빨리 in Different Positions
빠르다 describes the speed of a thing or person. 빠른 goes immediately before a noun: 빠른 기차 is “a fast train,” and 빠른 답장 is “a quick reply.” 빨리 modifies an action instead. It answers how someone does something, rather than what a train or reply is like.
English uses “fast” in both “the train is fast” and “go fast.” Korean distinguishes the adjective from the adverb. 빨라요 can end a sentence describing speed, while 빨리 normally needs an action to complete the thought. A standalone 빨리! is a shortened demand to hurry, with the action understood.
빠르게 is another adverb meaning “quickly” or “rapidly.” You may see it in explanations and instructions. 빨리 is especially common in everyday requests to do something soon or without delay. Neither adverb replaces the adjective ending when you simply want to say that a train is fast.
Common Combinations beyond Moving Quickly
말이 빠르다 means someone’s speech is fast. The topic is their speaking pace, not how early they arrived. 걸음이 빠르다 describes a quick walking pace. These phrases put the thing whose speed you are judging before 이/가, which explains the existing example about a fast walker.
눈치가 빠르다 describes someone who quickly picks up social cues or understands what is happening. Literally, their 눈치 is quick. The practical meaning is perceptiveness: noticing a hint, reading a mood or realizing something before it is said directly. It is not a comment about eyesight or running speed.
빠른 시일 내에 means “within a short time” or “as soon as possible.” You may see it in service replies and formal messages about resolving an issue. The phrase promises a short interval in general terms; it does not give an exact date or time.
How Does Speed Language Sound in Real Situations?
A customer review may describe delivery, a response or processing as fast. In a travel conversation, the comparison might concern total journey time rather than the vehicle’s maximum speed. Check what is being measured: a faster train can still involve a longer wait before departure.
Repeated 빨리 in a drama can show urgency or impatience. Adding 요 to an adjective statement makes that statement polite, but the bare adverb 빨리 is not itself a polite request. The action and ending around it carry the request. This matters when you want somebody to hurry without sounding as if you are ordering them around.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 속도 | speed | Names the rate being compared. |
| 급행 | express service | A transport label for a service with fewer stops. |
| 느리다 | slow | The opposite of fast in speed. |
| 일찍 | early | An adverb about time, rather than speed. |
The transportation vocabulary lesson teaches the route and vehicle words needed for comparisons like the station dialogue. Keep 일찍 and 빨리 distinct: doing something early concerns its timing, while doing it quickly concerns its pace or how soon it gets done.
Which Forms Keep 르?
The change in 빨라요 belongs to the 아/어 family of endings. It also appears in 빨라서, “because it is fast,” and 빨랐어요, “was fast.” The modifier 빠른, conditional 빠르면 and formal 빠릅니다 retain 르. Learning those two groups prevents the doubled ㄹ from spreading into every form.
빠르세요 honors a person whose action or ability is being described. It is not the usual way to tell someone to hurry. For a train or internet connection, the ordinary adjective form 빨라요 is enough; there is no respected human subject to honor.
Mini Drill: Speed in Three Positions
- Change 빠르다 to the polite present.
- Complete “a fast train”: ____ 기차.
- Give the “because it is fast” form.
- Choose the adverb meaning “quickly”: 빨리 or 빠른?
Show drill answers
- 빨라요.
- 빠른 기차.
- 빨라서.
- 빨리.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 빠른 lose 르 in the same way as 빨라요?
- What kind of ability does 눈치가 빠르다 describe?
- Does 빨리 always mean “early in the morning”?
Show answers
- No. 빠른 keeps 르.
- Quickly picking up social cues or understanding a situation.
- No. It means quickly or without delay; 일찍 expresses early timing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is It 빨라요 and Not 빠르어요?
It is a 르 pattern: ㅡ drops and ㄹ doubles.
What Is the Opposite?
느리다, slow.
Does 빠르다 Mean Early?
Often, yes. In everyday speech 빠르다 also covers being early or ahead of time. 이르다 is a more formal word for early in time.
What Does 빨리 Mean?
It is the adverb meaning quickly.
Which Words Are Related to 빠르다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 느리다 and 이르다, then 늦다. The rule behind 빨라요 (fast) is in 르-irregular verbs and adjectives, and the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems. 빠르다 (fast) sits beside 느리다 and 이르다 in the Korean verb dictionary.