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Adjectives (Describing Words) and their Endings +(아/어), +(아/어)요, +{으}세요
Unlike in English where adjectives are used with the ‘be’ verb (am/are/is),
adjectives in Korean are used by themselves and come where the verb would go in a sentence. They are formed according to the same rules for verbs and
also have three main speech styles:
1) casual form, 2) polite form, and 3)
honorific form.
Adjective Stem +(아/어) (Casual)
Adjective Stem +(아/어)요 (Polite)
Adjective Stem +{으}세요 (Honorific)�
1) Casual form
• If the last vowel of the stem is ㅏ or ㅗ: +아
맑 + 아 ➡ 맑아 fine (weather)
싸 + 아 ➡ 싸 cheap, inexpensive (싸
already has ㅏ and no
final consonant, so no
need to add 아)
나쁘 + 아 ➡나빠 bad (When the stem
ends in the
vowel ‘ㅡ’, it is
dropped. This makes
아 in 나ㅃ the last vowel.)
• If the last vowel is not ㅏor ㅗ: +어
재미있 + 어 ➡재미있어 interesting;
fun
맛있 + 어 ➡ 맛있어 delicious; tasty
크 + 어 ➡커 big (When the
stem ends in the
vowel ‘ㅡ’, it is
dropped.) �
When there is no final consonant, the vowels are usually combined into
one syllable:
흐리 + 어 ➡흐려 cloudy
느리 + 어 ➡느려 slow
• If the stem ends in 하: 하 ➡ 해
깨끗하 ➡깨끗해 clean
똑똑하 ➡ 똑똑해 smart; clever
So far, the rule is the exactly same as that for verbs. However, here you will
learn an irregular ending used more frequently for adjectives, which is used
when the stem ends in ㅂ.
• If the last vowel of the stem is ㅗ and stem ends in ㅂ: delete ㅂ +와
곱 ➡delete ㅂ+와 ➡고와 (an old fashioned
word for pretty
like ‘fair’)
• If the last vowel of the stem is not ㅗ and stem ends in ㅂ: delete ㅂ +워
덥 ➡ deleteㅂ+워 ➡더워 hot (weather or
temperature)
어렵 ➡deleteㅂ+워 ➡ 어려워 difficult
Note: +워 is much more common than +와, so at this stage you only need to focus on +워.
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KEY TO KOREAN (키 투 코리얀)
RandomWelcome to KEY TO KOREAN! Your story of reliable korean lessons. This book will help you learn, speak, and write useful Korean words. Together, Let's Learn Korean! Some lessons are from my notes and others are come from different sources. I only co...
