Language/Korean/Grammar/Adjectives

Korean Grammar - Adjectives

In today's lesson, we will be discussing the basics of Korean adjectives. Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence. In Korean, adjectives are usually placed before the noun they modify. We will look at how to form and use adjectives in Korean, as well as some common examples. Please feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Forming Adjectives

In Korean, adjectives are formed by adding the suffix -i (이) to the stem of the word. For example, the stem of the word "beautiful" is "beauty" (미음). To make it an adjective, we add the suffix -i (이) to the end, making it "beautiful" (미이).

Irregular Adjectives

There are some irregular adjectives in Korean. These adjectives do not follow the same pattern as regular adjectives. Some of the most common irregular adjectives are:

• 좋다 (joh-da): good
• 나쁘다 (nah-ppeu-da): bad
• 크다 (keu-da): big
• 작다 (jahk-da): small
• 많다 (mahn-da): many
• 적다 (jeok-da): few

Using Adjectives

Adjectives are usually placed before the noun they modify. For example, the phrase "a beautiful flower" would be translated as "미이 꽃" (mi-i kkot).

Adjectives can also be used to describe verbs. For example, the phrase "I am happy" would be translated as "나는 행복해요" (na-neun haeng-bok-hae-yo).

Adjectives can also be used to describe other adjectives. For example, the phrase "very beautiful" would be translated as "매우 미이" (mae-u mi-i).

Common Adjectives

Here are some common adjectives in Korean:

• 예쁘다 (yeh-ppeu-da): pretty
• 잘생긴 (jal-saeng-gin): handsome
• 재미있다 (jae-mi-it-da): interesting
• 슬프다 (seul-ppeu-da): sad
• 신나다 (shin-na-da): exciting
• 즐거워 (jeul-geo-weo): enjoyable
• 아름답다 (ah-reum-dap-da): beautiful
• 유쾌하다 (yu-kweh-ha-da): cheerful
• 지루하다 (ji-ru-ha-da): boring

Related Lessons

• Nouns
• Negation
• Conditional Mood
• Future Tense
• Questions
• Plurals
• Gender