🎨 Korean Adjectives: Describing People, Places & Feelings

Want to say someone is kind? Or that food is delicious? Or you're tired after a long day?

Then you need adjectives — the words that bring color to your Korean sentences! 🌈🇰🇷

In this post, you’ll learn the most common and useful Korean adjectives (형용사), how to use them naturally, and start making your Korean sound more expressive. 🗣️✨

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🧠 What Are Adjectives in Korean?

Korean adjectives act like verbs!
That means they conjugate and go at the end of a sentence just like verbs do.

✅ Basic pattern:
[Subject] + [adjective]요.

Example:

• 날씨가 좋아요. → The weather is good.

• 음식이 맛있어요. → The food is delicious.

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📚 20 Useful Korean Adjectives

Korean	Romanization	Meaning	Example Sentence
좋다	jota	to be good	오늘 기분이 좋아요. (I feel good today.)
나쁘다	nappeuda	to be bad	날씨가 나빠요. (The weather is bad.)
많다	manta	to be many/much	사람이 많아요. (There are many people.)
적다	jeokda	to be few/little	시간이 적어요. (There’s little time.)
크다	keuda	to be big	집이 커요. (The house is big.)
작다	jakda	to be small	방이 작아요. (The room is small.)
길다	gilda	to be long	머리가 길어요. (The hair is long.)
짧다	jjalbda	to be short	수업이 짧아요. (The class is short.)
맛있다	masitda	to be delicious	김치찌개가 맛있어요. (The stew is delicious.)
맛없다	maseopda	to be tasteless	이 음식은 맛없어요. (This food is not tasty.)
재미있다	jaemiitda	to be fun	영화가 재미있어요. (The movie is fun.)
재미없다	jaemieopda	to be boring	수업이 재미없어요. (The class is boring.)
아프다	apeuda	to be sick/hurt	배가 아파요. (My stomach hurts.)
피곤하다	pigonhada	to be tired	너무 피곤해요. (I’m very tired.)
친절하다	chinjeolhada	to be kind	선생님이 친절해요. (The teacher is kind.)
예쁘다	yeppeuda	to be pretty	꽃이 예뻐요. (The flower is pretty.)
잘생기다	jalsaenggida	to be handsome	배우가 잘생겼어요. (The actor is handsome.)
조용하다	joyonghada	to be quiet	여기가 조용해요. (It’s quiet here.)
시끄럽다	sikkeureopda	to be noisy	교실이 시끄러워요. (The classroom is noisy.)
기쁘다	gippeuda	to be happy	좋은 소식에 기뻐요. (I’m happy with the good news.)

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✍️ How to Use Korean Adjectives

Adjectives can form their own sentence:

• 이 영화는 재미있어요. → This movie is fun.

Or they can modify a noun:

• 재미있는 책 → a fun book

• 예쁜 꽃 → a pretty flower

✅ Conjugated form ends in -아요/-어요/-해요 depending on the verb stem.

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🗣️ Practice Ideas

1. Write 5 sentences with your favorite adjectives.

2. Look around your room and describe things aloud in Korean.

3. Try this sentence frame:

   • 이 [noun]은/는 [adjective]요.

   • 예: 이 음식은 맛있어요.

🎯 Challenge: Say 5 things about your day using adjectives!

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👩‍🏫 Want to Practice Live?

Learning adjectives is just the first step. Let’s use them in conversation so you sound expressive and natural — not robotic!

👉 Book a live class with me on italki:
https://www.italki.com/ko/teacher/7916559

Let’s make your Korean more colorful — one adjective at a time! 🎨💬