Korean Adjectives

Korean adjectives make story-telling and daily conversations easier and more
fun. They help us describe and give a clear picture of nouns.

Korean adjectives are called 형용사 (hyeongyongsa) in Korean. They usually

take the 하다 (hada) form.

For example:

 시원하다 (siwonhada) → to be cool

 따뜻하다 (ttatteutada) → to be warm
 깨끗하다 (kkaekkeutada) → to be clean
 유명하다 (yumyeonghada) → to be famous
 똑똑하다 (ttokttokada) → to be smart
 착하다 (chakada) → to be nice
 건강하다 (geonganghada) → to be healthy
But it’s important to note that not all words ending with 하다 (hada) are
adjectives.

For example:

 많다 (manta) → to be much
 적다 (jeokda) → to be a little
 작다 (jakda) → to be small
 크다 (keuda) → to be big
 멀다 (meolda) → to be far
 싸다 (ssada) → to be cheap
 비싸다 (bissada) → to be expensive
 가깝다 (gakkapda) → to be near
 나쁘다 (nappeuda) → to be bad
When describing nouns with Korean adjectives, they usually take the Korean
adjective + Korean noun form. This is similar to how we describe nouns in
English.

For example:

 비싼 시계 (bissan sigye) → an expensive watch

 착한 남자 (chakan namja) → a nice guy
 따뜻한 사람 (ttatteutan saram) → a warmhearted person
Korean adjectives are also like verbs. They are descriptive verbs and go at the
end of a Korean sentence. And because they go at the end of a sentence, they
also use the same verb endings when conjugated.

For example:

오늘은 날씨가 더워요. (oneureun nalssiga deowoyo.)

Today’s weather is hot.

이 시계는 비싸요. (i sigyeneun bissayo.)

This watch is expensive.

To learn more about Korean adjectives here’s a resource for you called Korean
Adjectives – Descriptive verbs and how to conjugate them.