Key Facts
- Hangul: 시다 (sida)
- Meaning: sour
- Level: A2
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 시
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: Takes 이/가 for the food that is sour.
- Usage: Contracted forms 셔요, 셨어요 look odd but are regular. Typical collocations: 신 김치 (sour kimchi), 신 과일.
What Does 시다 Mean?
The food that is sour takes 이/가. 신 레몬 is a sour lemon, and 신김치 is well-fermented kimchi with a sour taste. Fruit is the other common place to meet it: 신 과일.
The adjective 시큼하다 is a close neighbour that means slightly sour or tangy, often of vinegar or fermented food.
Senses:
- sour: Describes a sour taste, e.g. 신 레몬.
How Do You Pronounce 시다?
시다 is read as spelled, [시다]. The short stem merges with the ending in speech, so 셨어요 is [셔써요] and 셨습니다 is [셛씀니다]. The formal present 십니다 is [심니다], because ㅂ becomes ㅁ before ㄴ.
How Do You Use 시다 in a Sentence?
이 귤은 조금 셔요.
This tangerine is a bit sour.
이 귤은 조금 셔요 uses 조금 to soften the remark, and 셔요 is the contraction of 시 + 어요.
레몬이 너무 셔서 못 먹어요.
The lemon is too sour, so I can't eat it.
레몬이 너무 셔서 못 먹어요 gives the cause with 셔서 and the inability with 못.
신 음식을 좋아해요?
Do you like sour food?
신 음식을 좋아해요 is a question: the modifier 신 describes the food, and 좋아해요 asks about taste.
How Does Sida Conjugation Work?
시다 is regular, and the only twist is contraction. The stem 시 plus an 어 ending merges into one syllable: 셔요, 셨어요, 셔서. Before the formal ending the stem takes ㅂ: 십니다, and the modifier is 신. Consonant endings keep the stem whole: 시면, 시겠어요, 시지 않아요.
시다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 셔요 | ||
| Polite past | 셨어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 실 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 시겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 십니다 | ||
| Formal past | 셨습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 실 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 셔 | ||
| Casual past | 셨어 | ||
| Casual future | 실 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 시세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 셔서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 시면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 신 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 셨던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 실 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 셔요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 시지 않아요 |
For a word meaning 'sour', -고 싶다 has no cell, because that ending attaches to action verbs.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 셨어요 | [셔써요] |
| Polite future | 실 거예요 | [실꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 시겠어요 | [시게써요] |
| Formal present | 십니다 | [심니다] |
| Formal past | 셨습니다 | [셛씀니다] |
| Formal future | 실 것입니다 | [실꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 셨어 | [셔써] |
| Past modifier | 셨던 | [셛떤] |
| Long negative | 시지 않아요 | [시지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 시는 귤
Correct: ✓ 신 귤
Why: 시다 is an adjective, so before a noun it takes -(으)ㄴ: 시 + ㄴ = 신 귤 (a sour tangerine). 시는 is the verb pattern and is wrong here.
Where Does 시다 Turn up in Daily Talk?
Typical collocations are 신 김치 and 신 과일. Because 쓰다 is the bitter taste, 시다 and 쓰다 are the pair beginners mix up, while 달다, 짜다 and 맵다 fill out the set.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 시다?
| Word | How to tell it from 시다 |
|---|---|
| 쓰다 | 쓰다 means bitter, a different unpleasant taste. |
| 시큼하다 | 시큼하다 is a slightly sour, tangy smell or taste, often of vinegar or fermented food. |
Tasting Tangerines at a Fruit Stall
A shopper wants fruit that is sweet rather than sharply sour. The seller describes today’s batch and compares it with yesterday’s.
Shopper
이 귤은 셔요?
I gyureun syeoyo?
Are these tangerines sour?
Seller
조금 셔요.
Jogeum syeoyo.
They are a little sour.
Shopper
어제 산 귤도 셨어요.
Eoje san gyuldo syeosseoyo.
The tangerines I bought yesterday were sour too.
Seller
신 과일을 좋아해요?
Sin gwaireul joahaeyo?
Do you like sour fruit?
The question 셔요? and the statement 셔요 have the same spelling; the rising voice makes the first one a question. 셨어요 places the taste in the past. In the final question, 신 describes 과일 before the noun. The seller is asking about a preference, so the fruit takes 을 with 좋아해요.
Sour Taste, Sour Kimchi, and Spoilage
신맛 means “sour taste” or “sourness”. It is written as one word. Use it when naming the taste itself, such as the sourness of lemon or vinegar. 신 과일 describes fruit, while 신맛 names one quality of that fruit. The modifier 신 has other meanings in other words, so the taste context matters.
신김치 is the noun for well-fermented kimchi with a sour taste. Sourness alone does not mean the kimchi has gone bad: that tang is useful in dishes such as kimchi stew. The National Institute of Korean Language distinguishes this one-word noun from a phrase describing kimchi as sour in its note on 신김치. “Sour” describes taste; “spoiled” makes a different claim about the food.
너무 셔요 means “it is too sour” in a tasting conversation. 조금 셔요 means “it is a little sour”. The first can explain why you cannot eat something, as in the lemon example above. The second simply gives the degree of sourness and may be a perfectly acceptable description of fruit you enjoy.
Where Will You Hear 시다?
At a market, 시다 helps you ask about citrus fruit before buying it. At home, it comes up when someone tastes kimchi, yogurt, or a dressing. In food descriptions, you may see the noun 신맛 rather than a full sentence ending in 셔요. A label naming a taste does not tell you how strongly an individual person will experience it.
Sour is different from bitter even when both tastes make you pull a face. Lemon gives you a clear model for 시다; unsweetened bitter medicine gives you a model for 쓰다. Asking whether something is 달다, sweet, is another useful way to compare two batches of fruit without calling either one bad.
Why Do 셔요 and 신 Look so Different?
Both begin with the same short stem, 시-. An 어 ending contracts with its vowel, producing 셔요 or 셔서. A noun modifier adds ㄴ directly, producing 신. There is no lost consonant to restore. Seeing just one syllable in 신 does not make it a different dictionary word in 신 과일.
The formal 십니다 also belongs to the taste adjective. Its resemblance to respectful endings elsewhere can be distracting: identify what the sentence describes before deciding what a short form means. A tangerine being sour does not need an honorific subject. In ordinary tasting talk, 셔요 is the form you need most.
Build a Taste Vocabulary
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 신맛 | sourness | Names the taste itself rather than describing the whole dish. |
| 식초 | vinegar | A familiar source of sourness in sauces. |
| 레몬 | lemon | A useful reference when explaining a sharp sour taste. |
| 달다 | sweet | Lets you contrast sweetness with sourness in fruit. |
The cooking vocabulary lesson connects taste descriptions with ingredients and seasoning. 시다 tells you the taste you notice; the ingredient word helps explain where it comes from.
Mini Drill: Follow the Short Stem
- Give the polite present of 시다.
- Describe a sour tangerine: ____ 귤.
- Complete the cause form: 레몬이 너무 ____ 못 먹어요.
- Give the formal present.
Show drill answers
- 셔요.
- 신 귤.
- 셔서: the sourness explains why the speaker cannot eat it.
- 십니다.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 신맛 name sourness or bitterness?
- Does sour kimchi automatically mean spoiled kimchi?
- Which form reports a past taste: 셔요 or 셨어요?
Show answers
- Sourness; bitterness belongs with 쓰다.
- No. Well-fermented kimchi can have a sour taste.
- 셨어요.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say "It Is Sour"?
셔요. For a fruit: 이 귤은 조금 셔요.
Is 셔요 the Only Correct Form?
No. The uncontracted form, with 시 and 어요 kept apart, is also correct, but the two usually merge (시 + 어 = 셔), so 셔요 is what you will normally hear.
What Is the Formal Form of 시다?
십니다, read [심니다].
How Is 시다 Different from 쓰다?
시다 is sour. 쓰다 is bitter.
Which Words Are Related to 시다?
The entries closest to 시다 (sour) are 쓰다 (bitter), 달다 (sweet), 짜다 (salty), 맵다 (spicy).
What Should You Learn Next?
쓰다 (bitter) is the best next word, and 달다, 짜다 and 맵다 round out the taste set. To see why 'sour' takes the form 셔요, read how to conjugate the present tense; the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems, and the Korean verb dictionary lists the rest of the family.