Mastering Korean Adjectives: Essentials of Grammar and Usage

In this post we’ll learn how to use Korean adjectives. First, we’ll start by defining and giving examples of some common Korean adjectives. Then, we’ll identify two different grammatical roles of adjectives, because the distinction is very important to Korean grammar. After that we’ll look at the first role – predicative adjectives – which as you’ll see function like verbs. Next, we’ll turn to the second role – attributive adjectives – which appear right before a noun in a phrase like a big house. All along we’ll give clear explanations and examples.

What Are Korean Adjectives?

Adjectives, or 형용사 hyeong-yongsa in Korean, are words that describe states or qualities such as size, color, emotion, or condition. Some common English examples are big, small, good, cold, and happy. The important thing to remember about Korean adjectives is that they behave like verbs. This means that their forms are essentially verbal forms, and that they don’t need a verb like is or are (is big, are small, etc.) because is or are is already built in. This also means that the basic dictionary form of an adjective looks just like a verb, ending in -다 -da. (Check out this post to learn about essential Korean verb forms, including the dictionary form.) Here are some examples of Korean adjectives in their basic dictionary or plain form.

• 크다 keuda (to be big)
• 작다 jakda (to be small)
• 좋다 joda (to be good)
• 나쁘다 nappeuda (to be bad)
• 덥다 deopda (to be hot)
• 춥다 chupda (to be cold)
• 행복하다 haengbokhada (to be happy)

Two Grammatical Roles of Korean Adjectives

In Korean, just like in other languages, adjectives can serve two main grammatical roles:

• Predicative adjectives: used as the main predicate of a sentence. In English, predicative adjectives follow verbs like is or are:
  The house is big.
  The cars are small.
• Attributive adjectives: directly modify a noun, appearing right before the noun in English:
  a big house
  the small cars

This distinction is important in Korean because Korean adjectives behave quite differently and take different forms depending on which role they’re playing.

• Predicative adjectives: come at the end of the sentence, conjugate like verbs, have different politeness levels, and even have tense:
  집이 커요. jib-i keoyo. (The house is big.)
  그 영화는 아주 좋았어요. geu yeonghwa-neun aju joasseoyo. (That film was very good.)
• Attributive adjectives: come before the noun and take the ending -(으)ㄴ –(eu)n.
  큰 집 keun jib (a/the big house)
  아주 좋은 영화 aju joh-eun yeonghwa (a/the very good film)

Predicative Adjectives

First, let’s look at predicative adjectives. Predicative adjectives function like verbs and come at the end of a sentence. They conjugate for tense and politeness level, and they are negated just like action verbs. In this section we’ll take a look at a few key features of Korean adjectives in their predicative roles.

Plain/Dictionary Form

The plain and dictionary forms of Korean adjectives are identical. They both end in –다 -da. (Remember that with action verbs, the plain form ends in –ㄴ다/–는다 -nda/-neunda.) The plain form of the adjective is used when giving neutral statements, especially in writing things like textbooks or reports.

• 날씨가 춥다.
  nalsshi-ga chupda.
  The weather is cold.
• 이 집은 크다.
  i jib-eun keuda.
  This house is big.
• 그 영화는 재미있다.
  geu yeonghwa-neun jaemiitda.
  That movie is interesting.

Informal High (-요 -yo) Form

The informal high form ends in –요 -yo, but it’s formed from the verb base, which often involves a vowel or other change. (For example, 크다 keuda (big, plain) becomes 커요 keoyo (big, informal high.)) There are rules and patterns that you can learn, so if that interests you check out the “Forming the Verb Base” section of this post on essential verb forms. 

You use the informal high form in most everyday conversations with people you don’t know well. It’s polite, neutral, and a very common spoken style.

• 이 집은 커요.
  i jib-eun keoyo.
  This house is big.
• 날씨가 좋아요.
  nalsshi-ga joayo.
  The weather is good.
• 그 차는 작아요.
  geu chaneun jagayo.
  The car is small.

Informal Low Form

To form the informal low, simply remove –요 -yo from the informal high. You use this form with close friends, family, children, or when talking to yourself. It’s casual and intimate, with no politeness marking. (So don’t use it with strangers or in formal situations!)

• 이 집은 커.
  i jib-eun keo.
  This house is big.
• 날씨가 좋아.
  nalsshi-ga joa.
  The weather is good.
• 그 차는 작아.
  geu cha-neun jaga.
  The car is small.

Formal High Form

The formal high is made by removing –다 -da from the plain/dictionary form, and then adding:

• –ㅂ니다 –mnida to stems ending in a vowel (remember ㅂ is pronounced m here)
  크다 keuda > 큽니다 keumnida (is/are big)
• –습니다 –seumnida to stems ending in a consonant
  작다 jagda > 작습니다 jagseumnida (is/are small)

You use the formal high in situations where you want to show respect or polite distance, for example in stores, when giving presentations, in professional settings, and so on.

• 이 식당은 아주 좋습니다.
  i shikdang-eun aju jotseumnida.
  This restaurant is very good.
• 그 도시는 큽니다.
  geu doshi-neun keumnida.
  The city is big.
• 우리 나라는 작습니다.
  uri nara-neun jagseumnida.
  Our country is small.

Summary of Predicative Forms

Here is a summary of a few common Korean adjectives in the four forms that we’ve looked at.

	Dictionary/Plain	Informal Low	Informal High	Formal High
big	크다 keuda	커 keo	커요 keoyo	큽니다 keumnida
small	작다 jagda	작아 jaga	작아요 jagayo	작습니다 jagseumnida
good	좋다 jota	좋아 joa	좋아요 joayo	좋습니다 jotseumnida
interesting	재미있다 jaemiitda	재미있어 jaemiisseo	재미있어요 jaemiisseoyo	재미있습니다 jaemiitseumnida
cold	춥다 chupda	추워 chuweo	추워요 chuweoyo	춥습니다 chupseumnida

Negative Predicative Forms

There are two common ways to negate predicative adjectives, and they are identical to the negation options for verbs.

Short Negation with 안 an

The short negation is a simple way of negating. Just put 안 an right before the predicative adjective.

• 이 집은 안 커요.
  i jib-eun an keoyo.
  This house is not big.
• 날씨가 안 좋아요.
  nalsshi-ga an joayo.
  The weather is not good.

Long Negation with –지않다 -ji anda

The long negative is formed by adding –지 -ji to the adjective stem (the plain form minus –다 -da) and then using a conjugated for of 않다 anda. The long negation can sound more formal than the short negation.

• 이 집은 크지 않아요.
  i jib-eun keuji anayo.
  This house is not big.
• 그 영화는 재미있지 않아요.
  geu yeonghwaneun jaemiitji anayo.
  That movie is not interesting.

Past Tense of Predicative Adjectives

You may not be very used to the idea of an adjective having tense. But Korean adjectives behave essentially like verbs, so they have past forms. These forms simply translate as was/were X instead of is/are X.

The rules for forming the past of adjectives are just like the rules for forming the past of verbs. Start with the adjective base. Add –ㅆ– –ss– and these endings:

• 다 –da for the Past Dictionary/Plain
• 어 –eo for the Past Informal Low
• 어요 –eoyo for the Past Informal High
• 습니다 –seumnida for the Past Formal High

Here are the most common past forms of 크다 keuda (to be big), 작다 jagda (to be small), 좋다 jota (to be good), 재미있다 jaemiitda (to be interesting), and 춥다 chupda (to be cold).

	Dictionary / Plain	Informal Low	Informal High	Formal High
big	컸다 keotda	컸어 keosseo	컸어요 keosseoyo	컸습니다 keotseumnida
small	작았다 jagatda	작았어 jagasseo	작았어요 jagasseoyo	작았습니다 jagatseumnida
good	좋았다  joatda	좋았어 joasseo	좋았어요 joasseoyo	좋았습니다 joatseumnida
interesting	재미있었다 jaemiiteotda	재미있었어 jaemiisseosseo	재미있었어요 jaemiisseosseoyo	재미있었습니다 jaemiitseotsseumnida
cold	추웠다 chuweotda	추웠어 chuweosseo	추웠어요 chuweosseoyo	추웠습니다 chuweotseumnida

• 그 영화는 재미있었어요.
  geu yeonghwaneun jaemiisseosseoyo.
  That movie was interesting.
• 여행이 정말 좋았어.
  yeohaengi jeongmal joasseo.
  The trip was really good.
• 어제는 많이 추웠어요.
  eoje-neun mani chuweosseoyo.
  Yesterday it was very cold.
• 그때 그 집은 작았습니다.
  geuttae geu jib-eun jagassseumnida.
  At that time, that house was small.

Attributive Adjectives

The attributive form of Korean adjectives is the form that is used right before a noun. This is equivalent to English a big house or cold weather. In Korean, the attributive form of an adjective has the ending – (으)ㄴ –(eu)n.

To form the attributive form of the adjective, start with the dictionary/plain form, take off the  –다 -da ending, and add:

• –ㄴ -n if the stem ends in a vowel
  크다 keuda > 크keu  >  큰 keun (big)
• –은 -eun if the stem ends in a consonant
  작다 jagda> 작 jag > 작은 >jageun (small)

Here are some examples of attributive adjectives in phrases.

• 큰 집 keun jip (a big house)
• 작은 방 jageun bang (a small room)
• 좋은 음식 joeun eumsik (good food)
• 나쁜 습관 nappeun seupgwan (a bad habit)
• 추운 날씨 chuun nalsshi (cold weather)
• 행복한 사람 haengbokan saram (a happy person)
• 유명한 도시 yumyeonghan doshi (a famous city)
• 비싼 차 bissan cha (an expensive car)

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