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20 Essential Korean Adjectives (형용사)

Want to say someone is kind, food is delicious, or you’re tired after a long day? You’ll need adjectives—and in Korean, adjectives behave like verbs.

📘 Table of Contents (click to open)

1. What Are Adjectives in Korean?
2. 20 Useful Adjectives (Table)
3. How to Use: Predicate & Attributive
4. Practice Tasks
5. Related Posts
6. References

🧠 What Are Adjectives in Korean?

Korean adjectives (형용사) act like verbs: they conjugate and usually sit at the end of the sentence.

Basic pattern → [Subject] + [Adjective + 요]

• 날씨가 좋아요. — The weather is good.
• 음식이 맛있어요. — The food is delicious.

📚 20 Useful Korean Adjectives (RR + meaning + example)

Korean	Romanization (RR)	Meaning	Example (Korean + EN)
좋다	jota	to be good	오늘 기분이 좋아요.
나쁘다	nappeuda	to be bad	날씨가 나빠요.
많다	manhta	to be many/much	사람이 많아요.
적다	jeokda	to be few/little	시간이 적어요.
크다	keuda	to be big	집이 커요.
작다	jakda	to be small	방이 작아요.
길다	gilda	to be long	머리가 길어요.
짧다	jjalbda	to be short	수업이 짧아요.
맛있다	masitda	to be delicious	김치찌개가 맛있어요.
맛없다	mateopda	to be tasteless	이 음식은 맛없어요.
재미있다	jaemiitda	to be fun/interesting	영화가 재미있어요.
재미없다	jaemieopda	to be boring	수업이 재미없어요.
아프다	apeuda	to be sick/hurt	배가 아파요.
피곤하다	pigonhada	to be tired	너무 피곤해요.
친절하다	chinjeolhada	to be kind	선생님이 친절해요.
예쁘다	yeppeuda	to be pretty	꽃이 예뻐요.
잘생기다	jalsaenggida	to be handsome	배우가 잘생겼어요.
조용하다	joyonghada	to be quiet	여기가 조용해요.
시끄럽다	sikkeureopda	to be noisy	교실이 시끄러워요.
기쁘다	gippeuda	to be glad/happy	좋은 소식에 기뻐요.

Note: RR(R evised Romanization) follows orthography. Pronunciation may differ (e.g., 많다 is pronounced “manta”).

✍️ How to Use Korean Adjectives

1) Predicate (끝에 놓기)

이 영화는 재미있어요. — This movie is fun.

2) Attributive (명사 수식)

• 재미있는 책 — a fun book
• 예쁜 꽃 — a pretty flower
• 조용한 장소 — a quiet place

3) Mini rules

• Adjective → polite ending: -아요 / -어요 / -해요
• Before nouns: vowel-final stem → -ㄴ (예: 크다 → 큰 방), consonant-final → -은 (예: 작다 → 작은 방), 하다 → -한 (예: 조용하다 → 조용한).
• Irregulars to meet later: ㅂ (예: 쉽다 → 쉬워요), 르 (예: 빠르다 → 빨라요).

🗣️ Practice Tasks

1. Write 5 sentences using any adjectives from the table.
2. Describe 5 things around you: 이 [명사]은/는 [형용사]요.
3. Make 3 noun phrases: [형용사-ㄴ/은] [명사] (예: 맛있는 커피).

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📌 Related Posts

• Structure of Korean Sentences (SOV): Word Order Patterns
• Transition Words in Korean: However/But/So
• Korean Honorifics — 님 vs 씨 vs 선생님

🔎 References & Further Reading

• National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL) — English site & Romanization
• Standard Korean Language Dictionary (표준국어대사전) — definitions & example entries
• Overview: Korean grammar (adjectives as stative verbs)

Tags: Korean adjectives, 형용사, RR romanization, Korean grammar basics, TOPIK beginner

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