Beginner • • 10 min read

Korean Adjectives: A Complete Guide to Descriptive Words

Master Korean adjectives with this comprehensive guide. Learn how to describe things, people, and feelings in Korean with proper conjugation and usage.

Understanding Korean Adjectives

Korean adjectives (형용사) are different from English adjectives in several important ways:

  1. They conjugate like verbs
  2. They can act as complete sentences
  3. They always end in 다 in dictionary form
  4. They follow specific conjugation patterns

Common Adjectives by Category

1. Size and Quantity

  • 크다 (big)
  • 작다 (small)
  • 많다 (many/much)
  • 적다 (few/little)
  • 길다 (long)
  • 짧다 (short)

2. Appearance

  • 예쁘다 (pretty)
  • 멋있다 (cool/handsome)
  • 귀엽다 (cute)
  • 아름답다 (beautiful)
  • 못생기다 (ugly)

3. Feelings

  • 행복하다 (happy)
  • 슬프다 (sad)
  • 즐겁다 (joyful)
  • 외롭다 (lonely)
  • 피곤하다 (tired)

Basic Adjective Practice

1. What's the opposite of '크다' (big)?

2. Which word means 'beautiful'?

3. Match the meaning: '피곤하다'

Conjugation Patterns

Present Tense (-아/어요)

The basic polite form follows these rules:

  1. If the stem ends in ㅏ or ㅗ → add -아요
  2. For all other vowels → add -어요

Examples:

크다 → 커요 (is big)
작다 → 작아요 (is small)
예쁘다 → 예뻐요 (is pretty)

Past Tense (-았/었어요)

Add -았어요 or -었어요 to the stem:

크다 → 컸어요 (was big)
작다 → 작았어요 (was small)
예쁘다 → 예뻤어요 (was pretty)

Future Tense (-을/를 거예요)

Add -(으)ㄹ 거예요 to the stem:

크다 → 클 거예요 (will be big)
작다 → 작을 거예요 (will be small)
예쁘다 → 예쁠 거예요 (will be pretty)

Tense Practice

1. What's the past tense of '길다' (long)?

2. Make '맛있다' future tense

3. Choose the correct past tense of '좋다'

Using Adjectives

Before Nouns

When describing nouns directly, use -(으)ㄴ:

큰 집 (big house)
작은 책 (small book)
예쁜 꽃 (pretty flower)

As Sentences

Korean adjectives can be complete sentences:

날씨가 춥다 (The weather is cold)
음식이 맛있어요 (The food is delicious)
영화가 재미있었어요 (The movie was interesting)

Usage Practice

1. How do you say 'small dog'?

2. Transform '긴 머리' (long hair) to a complete sentence

3. Choose the correct way to say 'The weather is hot'

Common Patterns

Negative Forms

Two ways to make adjectives negative:

  1. 안 + adjective
  2. adjective stem + 지 않다
예쁘다 → 안 예뻐요 / 예쁘지 않아요
크다 → 안 커요 / 크지 않아요

Comparison

Use -보다 for comparisons:

이것이 저것보다 커요 (This is bigger than that)
한국어가 영어보다 어려워요 (Korean is harder than English)

Superlative

Use 제일 or 가장 for superlatives:

제일 큰 집 (the biggest house)
가장 맛있는 음식 (the most delicious food)

Advanced Usage Practice

1. Make '비싸다' (expensive) negative

2. How do you say 'Korean is more difficult than Japanese'?

3. Transform '쉽다' (easy) to mean 'the easiest'

Next Steps

To master Korean adjectives:

  1. Learn common irregular conjugation patterns
  2. Practice describing everyday objects and situations
  3. Study adjective pairs (antonyms)
  4. Focus on natural usage in conversation

Remember: Korean adjectives behave like verbs, so practice their conjugation patterns regularly.