Korean AdjectivesEssential adjectives with romanization — free list

Korean adjectives are really "descriptive verbs" — they end in 다 and conjugate like verbs. 좋다 (to be good), 크다 (to be big), 맛있다 (to be delicious). This free list covers the most useful adjectives with romanization, often as opposite pairs.

KoreanRomanizationMeaning
좋다 jota to be good
나쁘다 nappeuda to be bad
크다 keuda to be big
작다 jakda to be small
많다 manta to be many / a lot
적다 jeokda to be few
비싸다 bissada to be expensive
싸다 ssada to be cheap
덥다 deopda to be hot (weather)
춥다 chupda to be cold (weather)
맛있다 masitda to be delicious
맛없다 madeopda to taste bad
예쁘다 yeppeuda to be pretty
멋있다 meositda to be cool / good-looking
재미있다 jaemiitda to be fun / interesting
재미없다 jaemieopda to be boring
쉽다 swipda to be easy
어렵다 eoryeopda to be difficult
빠르다 ppareuda to be fast
느리다 neurida to be slow
높다 nopda to be high
낮다 natda to be low
길다 gilda to be long
짧다 jjalbda to be short
바쁘다 bappeuda to be busy
새롭다 saeropda to be new

💡 Good to know

Because adjectives conjugate like verbs, they take the same 해요 ending: 좋다 → 좋아요, 크다 → 커요, 맛있다 → 맛있어요. Note that 덥다 (hot), 춥다 (cold), 쉽다 (easy) and 어렵다 (hard) are ㅂ-irregular: 더워요, 추워요, 쉬워요.

Lesson: The 해요 polite form →Lesson: Introduce yourself →

FAQ

Are Korean adjectives like English adjectives?
Not quite — Korean adjectives are "descriptive verbs". They end in 다 and conjugate like verbs, so 좋다 (to be good) becomes 좋아요, with no separate "to be" needed.
How do you conjugate Korean adjectives?
Drop 다 and add the 해요 ending, just like verbs: 크다 → 커요 (it’s big), 맛있다 → 맛있어요 (it’s delicious). Some, like 덥다, are ㅂ-irregular → 더워요.
What are common Korean adjectives?
좋다 good, 크다 big, 작다 small, 비싸다 expensive, 맛있다 delicious, 쉽다 easy, 어렵다 difficult — often learned in opposite pairs, as in the list above.
A

Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)