Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives) in Korean

In Brief

Korean qualities are usually expressed by descriptive verbs: 크다 means “to be big,” so 이 집이 커요 is literally built around “this house is-big.” At the end of a polite sentence, these words take -아/어요, as in 좋아요 and 맛있어요. Before a noun, most use -(으)ㄴ: 큰 집 “a big house” and 좋은 날 “a good day.”

Overview

English normally combines an adjective with a separate form of be: “the weather is good.” Korean usually packages the quality and “being” together in one word. 좋다 is therefore closer to “to be good” than to the English word “good.” It can stand as the predicate (the part that says something about the subject) and conjugate: 날씨가 좋아요 “The weather is good.” The Korean term 형용사 is conventionally translated as “adjective,” but “descriptive verb” helps explain how it behaves.

This is an A1 foundation used whenever you describe size, appearance, taste, condition, emotion, weather, or value. As with Korean action verbs, the dictionary form ends in -다, the word normally comes at the end of its clause, and its ending changes for politeness and tense. Korean can omit a subject that is already clear, so 맛있어요 may be a complete sentence meaning “It’s delicious.”

The largest difference from English appears before a noun. English uses the same form in “the house is big” and “a big house.” Korean does not: compare 집이 커요 with 큰 집. The first is sentence-final; the second is an attributive or noun-modifying form (a form placed directly before a noun). Beginners should first learn the regular contrast -아/어요 versus -(으)ㄴ, then add the common irregular patterns.

How It Works

1. Find the stem

Remove -다 from the dictionary form to find the stem (the base to which endings attach).

Dictionary form	Stem	Meaning
크다	크-	to be big
작다	작-	to be small
좋다	좋-	to be good
예쁘다	예쁘-	to be pretty
맛있다	맛있-	to be delicious

The dictionary form is useful for looking up a word, but it is not normally used as a polite sentence by itself. Use 커요, not 크다요.

2. Use -아/어요 at the end of a polite sentence

Descriptive verbs follow the same basic polite-ending system as action verbs:

• Use -아요 when the stem’s final vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ: 작다 → 작아요, 좋다 → 좋아요.
• Use -어요 after other vowels: 먹다 → 먹어요 is the action-verb pattern; descriptive examples include 길다 → 길어요 and 맛있다 → 맛있어요.
• 하다 becomes 해요: 건강하다 → 건강해요 “is healthy.”
• Common vowel contractions occur: 크다 → 커요, 예쁘다 → 예뻐요, 비싸다 → 비싸요.

A basic descriptive sentence often has this shape:

noun + 이/가 + descriptive verb + 아/어요

• 방이 작아요. — The room is small.
• 음식이 맛있어요. — The food is delicious.
• 오늘은 날씨가 추워요. — As for today, the weather is cold.

이/가 marks the grammatical subject—the person or thing being described. In real conversation, 은/는 may instead mark the topic or set up a contrast: 이 방은 작아요 means “As for this room, it’s small” and can suggest comparison with another room.

Do not add 이에요/예요 after a descriptive verb. Those forms of the copula 이다 are used after nouns: 학생이에요 “is a student.” A descriptive verb already supplies the meaning “is”: 조용해요 “is quiet.”

3. Put most descriptive verbs before nouns with -(으)ㄴ

To describe a noun directly, remove -다 and form the present noun modifier:

Stem type	Pattern	Example
Ends in a vowel	stem + -ㄴ	크다 → 큰 집 “a big house”
Ends in a consonant	stem + -은	작다 → 작은 방 “a small room”
Ends in ㄹ	drop ㄹ, then add -ㄴ	길다 → 긴 길 “a long road”

The modifier must come immediately before the noun it describes. There are no articles or agreement endings comparable to English a/an or plural adjective forms: 큰 집, 큰 집들, and 큰 두 집 all keep 큰 unchanged.

Several high-frequency forms require special attention:

Pattern	Dictionary form	Before a noun	Example
Regular consonant	좋다	좋은	좋은 생각 “a good idea”
ㅂ irregular	춥다	추운	추운 날 “a cold day”
ㅂ irregular	어렵다	어려운	어려운 문제 “a difficult problem”
ㅎ irregular	빨갛다	빨간	빨간 사과 “a red apple”
ㅎ irregular	그렇다	그런	그런 사람 “that kind of person”
르 stem	빠르다	빠른	빠른 버스 “a fast bus”
Existential pattern	있다/없다	있는/없는	시간이 있는 사람, 돈이 없는 학생

Do not assume every word ending in ㅂ or ㅎ is irregular. 좁다 → 좁은 방 and 좋다 → 좋은 날 are regular in this form. Learn frequent words as a set: dictionary form, polite form, and noun modifier.

4. Distinguish a complete sentence from a noun phrase

A noun phrase is a noun together with words that describe it. It does not make a complete statement by itself.

• 큰 집 — a big house: noun phrase
• 집이 커요. — The house is big: complete polite sentence
• 큰 집이에요. — It is a big house: complete sentence; 이에요 follows the noun 집

This distinction prevents a common English-based mistake. 큰 cannot normally finish a sentence, and 커요 cannot be placed directly before 집.

5. Negation and past descriptions

The easiest negative forms are 안 + descriptive verb and -지 않다:

• 안 비싸요. — It is not expensive.
• 비싸지 않아요. — It is not expensive.
• 방이 크지 않아요. — The room is not big.

For the past, place -았/었- before the polite ending, following the usual past-tense rules:

• 날씨가 좋았어요. — The weather was good.
• 방이 작았어요. — The room was small.
• 음식이 맛있었어요. — The food was delicious.
• 어제는 추웠어요. — It was cold yesterday.

The plain noun-modifying form -(으)ㄴ describes a current or characteristic quality in beginner examples. More exact time contrasts belong to later noun-modifying grammar and are introduced below under advanced use.

Examples in Context

Korean	English	Note
이 집이 커요.	This house is big.	Sentence-final 크다 → 커요
제 방은 작아요.	My room is small.	은 presents the room as the topic
날씨가 좋아요.	The weather is good.	Regular 좋다 → 좋아요
오늘은 아주 추워요.	It is very cold today.	ㅂ-irregular 춥다 → 추워요
이 가방은 안 무거워요.	This bag is not heavy.	Short negation with 안
그 문제는 어렵지 않아요.	That problem is not difficult.	Long negation with -지 않아요
맛있어요!	It’s delicious!	The understood subject is omitted
큰 집에서 살아요.	I live in a big house.	큰 modifies 집
작은 커피를 주세요.	Please give me a small coffee.	작은 modifies 커피
오늘은 좋은 날이에요.	Today is a good day.	좋은 날 is followed by 이에요
맛있는 음식을 먹었어요.	I ate delicious food.	맛있다 → 맛있는, not 맛있은
긴 영화였지만 재미있었어요.	It was a long movie, but it was interesting.	길다 → 긴; two past descriptions
저기 빨간 문이 보여요?	Can you see the red door over there?	ㅎ-irregular 빨갛다 → 빨간
조용한 카페를 찾고 있어요.	I’m looking for a quiet café.	조용하다 → 조용한
시간이 없는 사람도 많아요.	Many people also have no time.	없다 → 없는 before a noun

Common Mistakes

Adding the copula after a descriptive verb

• Wrong: 날씨가 좋아요예요.
• Right: 날씨가 좋아요.
• Why: 좋다 already means “to be good.” 이에요/예요 belongs after a noun, as in 좋은 날이에요 “It is a good day.”

Using the polite sentence form before a noun

• Wrong: 커요 집
• Right: 큰 집
• Why: 커요 ends a polite clause. Before 집, use the noun-modifying form 큰.

Using -는 with every descriptive verb

• Wrong: 크는 집 when you mean “a big house”
• Right: 큰 집
• Why: Present action verbs commonly use -는, but ordinary descriptive verbs use -(으)ㄴ for a current quality. 있는, 없는, and compounds such as 맛있는 are important exceptions to memorize.

Attaching -(으)ㄴ without applying an irregular change

• Wrong: 춥은 날, 길은 길
• Right: 추운 날, 긴 길
• Why: 춥다 follows the ㅂ-irregular pattern, while final ㄹ drops before ㄴ in 길다 → 긴.

Treating the dictionary form as a polite form

• Wrong: 이 음식이 맛있다요.
• Right: 이 음식이 맛있어요.
• Why: Remove -다 first and attach the appropriate ending. The dictionary form 맛있다 is not made polite by simply adding 요.

Translating English word order directly

• Wrong: 큰 집이에요 살아요. for “I live in a big house.”
• Right: 큰 집에서 살아요.
• Why: Korean places the modifier before its noun, marks the place with 에서, and puts the main predicate 살아요 last. Build the Korean clause rather than replacing English words one by one.

Usage Notes

Korean often leaves out subjects and objects when listeners can recover them from context. At a restaurant, 맛있어요 naturally means “It’s delicious”; you do not need to repeat 음식이. English translations must often add “it,” “I,” or another pronoun even though no corresponding Korean word appears.

The polite 해요 style used here is neutral and widely useful in everyday interaction. In formal announcements or presentations, descriptive verbs can take -습니다: 좋습니다 “is good,” 작습니다 “is small,” and 춥습니다 “is cold.” With close friends, the final 요 may be dropped: 좋아, 예뻐, 추워. Dropping 요 changes the speech level; do not do it merely to shorten a sentence.

Some English adjectives map to Korean expressions that are not used in exactly the same situations. For example, 좋아요 can mean “It is good,” “I like it,” or an approving “Sounds good,” depending on context. Meanwhile, 좋아해요 is an action verb meaning “like”: 저는 커피를 좋아해요 “I like coffee.” Notice the particles: something can be 좋아요 with 이/가, while the object of 좋아해요 commonly takes 을/를.

Many color descriptions use descriptive verbs, such as 빨갛다 “to be red” and 파랗다 “to be blue,” but everyday Korean also uses color nouns plus -색: 빨간 가방 and 빨간색 가방 can both mean “a red bag.” The best choice depends on the color word and context, so learn common color phrases rather than forcing one pattern onto every color.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master this section at A1, but these patterns explain forms you will soon encounter.

Time in noun-modifying forms

The beginner form -(으)ㄴ usually presents a descriptive state: 조용한 방 “a quiet room.” To describe a state remembered from the past or expected in the future, Korean can use broader noun-modifying patterns:

• 조용했던 방 — the room that was quiet
• 바쁠 사람 — a person who will probably be busy / is expected to be busy
• 예뻤던 거리 — the street that used to be pretty or that the speaker remembers as pretty

These forms carry tense, expectation, or recollection and belong with the fuller A2–B1 noun-modifying system. For now, recognize that -(으)ㄴ is the normal basic form for a present quality, not a universal adjective ending for every time reference.

Descriptive verbs and commands

Descriptive verbs describe states rather than deliberate actions, so they generally do not take direct commands or suggestions in the ordinary way. Instead of trying to command “be quiet” with a simple descriptive conjugation, Korean often uses -아/어지다 “become” or an action expression:

• 조용히 하세요. — Please be quiet. (literally, “Please act quietly.”)
• 건강해지세요. — Become healthy / I hope you stay well.

The adverbial ending -게 also turns many descriptions into the manner of an action: 빠르게 걸어요 “walk quickly,” 쉽게 설명해요 “explain easily.” Some fixed adverbs use -히, as in 조용히 “quietly.” These forms should be learned with their common words rather than treated as perfectly interchangeable.

Relative-clause power

A Korean noun modifier can contain much more than one descriptive word. Everything before the final noun may form a clause:

• 마당이 아주 큰 집 — a house whose yard is very large
• 제가 좋아하는 조용한 카페 — a quiet café that I like
• 가격이 비싸지 않은 식당 — a restaurant whose prices are not expensive

English often needs “that,” “which,” or “whose,” but Korean places the modifying clause directly before the noun. This larger system is the natural next step after basic combinations such as 큰 집.

Practice Tips

1. Learn each word in three forms. Make cards such as 크다 → 커요 → 큰 집 and 춥다 → 추워요 → 추운 날. This exposes contractions and irregular forms immediately.
2. Describe one object in two ways. Look around you and pair a sentence with a noun phrase: 방이 작아요 / 작은 방, 가방이 무거워요 / 무거운 가방. Say both aloud so their different jobs become automatic.
3. Sort by pattern, not only by meaning. Keep short lists for regular forms, ㅂ irregulars, ㅎ irregulars, ㄹ-dropping words, and the 있는/없는 family. Review them in complete phrases rather than as isolated endings.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Polite Ending -아/어요 — supplies the everyday sentence-final forms used in 커요, 좋아요, and 맛있어요.
• Next step: Verb/Adj Modifying Nouns — expands 큰 집 into the full system for present, past, and future noun-modifying clauses.