ㄴ/은: adjectives before nouns
By Daniel Buckley · 10 minute read · TOPIK 1
Vocabulary
- 크다 - to be big
- 작다 - to be small
- 맛있다 - to be delicious
- 깨끗하다 - to be clean
- 길다 - to be long
- 빨갛다 - to be red
- 가방 - bag
- 음식 - food
- 날씨 - weather
- 머리 - hair, head
예뻐요 is a whole sentence: "It's pretty". So how do you say "a pretty flower"? You can't put 예뻐요 in front of 꽃, because 요 ends a sentence and nothing can follow it.
Lesson 5 showed that a Korean adjective is a kind of verb: 예쁘다 means "to be pretty". To sit in front of a noun it needs its own ending, ㄴ or 은. That gives you 예쁜 꽃.
At the end of a sentence
This is where you've been using adjectives since lesson 5. The thing you're describing usually takes 이/가, and the adjective does the rest.
날씨가 추워요.
Weather is cold.
이 가방이 비싸요.
This bag is expensive.
한국어가 재미있어요.
Korean is fun.
Korean grammar calls these words 형용사, adjectives. Textbooks in English often say "descriptive verbs", because they conjugate and can end a sentence alone. Every form you've built so far works on them, and lesson 9 matters more here than for verbs, since most adjectives ending in ㅂ are irregular.
춥다 in every form so far
- Present: 추워요, it's cold.
- Past: 추웠어요, it was cold.
- Future: 추울 거예요, it will be cold.
- Negative: 안 추워요, it's not cold. That's lesson 11.
- Formal: 춥습니다, it's cold.
Before a noun
To describe a noun directly, the adjective goes first and takes the modifier ending. Which ending depends on how the stem finishes. After a vowel, ㄴ lands under the last syllable, and after a consonant you add 은. The rest of the box is the patterns you already know.
Making the modifier
- Stem ends in a vowel: add ㄴ.크다 → 큰 가방예쁘다 → 예쁜 꽃
- Stem ends in a consonant: add 은.작다 → 작은 집좋다 → 좋은 친구
- 하다: becomes 한.깨끗하다 → 깨끗한 방
- 있다 and 없다: add 는.맛있다 → 맛있는 음식재미없다 → 재미없는 영화
- ㅂ irregular: ㅂ becomes 운.춥다 → 추운 날씨
- ㄹ stem: ㄹ gives way to ㄴ.길다 → 긴 머리
- ㅎ irregular: ㅎ gives way to ㄴ.빨갛다 → 빨간 사과
Pick a verb
크다크큰
큰 가방을 샀어요.
(I) bought big bag.
좋은 친구가 있어요.
(I) have good friend.
깨끗한 방이 있어요?
Clean room exists?
맛있는 음식을 먹었어요.
(I) ate delicious food.
추운 날씨를 싫어해요.
(I) dislike cold weather.
긴 머리가 예뻐요.
Long hair is pretty.
The 있다 and 없다 row is the one that catches people out. Every adjective built on them takes 는, the ending action verbs use, so it's 맛있는 and 재미없는, never 맛있은. It's the one place adjectives borrow from verbs.
※ Action verbs have this kind of form too: 먹는 사람, the person who eats. That belongs to lesson 32, so keep to adjectives for now.
Fill each gap.
___ 음식을 좋아해요.
I like spicy food.
___ 영화를 봤어요.
I saw a fun movie.
___ 집을 샀어요.
I bought a small house.
___ 머리가 예뻐요.
Long hair is pretty.
Listen and type
1 / 3
Play it as often as you like.
Two kinds of hot and cold
English "hot" and "cold" split into two pairs. 덥다 and 춥다 are for the weather and how you feel in it. 뜨겁다 and 차갑다 are for things you touch, like coffee or water.
오늘은 더워요.
Today (it) is hot.
추운 날씨를 싫어해요.
(I) dislike cold weather.
뜨거운 커피를 마셨어요.
(I) drank hot coffee.
차가운 물을 마셨어요.
(I) drank cold water.
There are too many adjectives to teach one by one. The list at the end of this lesson has 82 common ones grouped by meaning, each with both forms and audio.
Colours
The five colour words you'll use most are adjectives, and all of them are ㅎ irregular. 빨갛다 gives 빨개요 at the end of a sentence and 빨간 before a noun.
Each one also has a noun form ending in 색, colour, and that's what you use to name the colour itself: 빨간색이에요, it's red. The usual words for green and purple are nouns only, 초록색 and 보라색.
Five colour adjectives
- Red빨갛다 → 빨개요 → 빨간 → 빨간색
- Yellow노랗다 → 노래요 → 노란 → 노란색
- Blue파랗다 → 파래요 → 파란 → 파란색
- White하얗다 → 하얘요 → 하얀 → 하얀색
- Black까맣다 → 까매요 → 까만 → 까만색
빨간 사과를 샀어요.
(I) bought red apple.
파란 하늘이 예뻐요.
Blue sky is pretty.
이 가방은 까만색이에요.
This bag is black colour.
Very, more and most
Korean adjectives don't change form to compare. You put a word in front: 더 for more, and 제일 or 가장 for most. Lesson 21 covers those properly.
For "very", use 아주 or 정말. 너무 means "too", but in everyday speech it's also a very common way to say "very".
이 가방이 더 커요.
This bag is more big.
이 가방이 제일 커요.
This bag is most big.
너무 맛있어요!
(It) is very delicious!
아주 좋은 친구가 있어요.
(I) have very good friend.
Common mistakes
꽃이 예뻐이에요.
꽃이 예뻐요.
The adjective already contains "is". 이에요 belongs after nouns.
맛있은 음식을 먹었어요.
맛있는 음식을 먹었어요.
Adjectives built on 있다 and 없다 take 는.
이 가방은 큰.
이 가방은 커요.
큰 only goes before a noun. To end the sentence, use the 해요 form.
One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.
Check yourself
Quick check
1 / 6
Type "a big bag" (크다, 가방)
크 ends in a vowel, so it takes ㄴ.
Summary
| Dictionary | Stem | Before a noun |
|---|---|---|
| 크다 | 크 | 큰 |
| 작다 | 작 | 작은 |
| 좋다 | 좋 | 좋은 |
| 깨끗하다 | 깨끗하 | 깨끗한 |
| 맛있다 | 맛있 | 맛있는 |
| 재미없다 | 재미없 | 재미없는 |
| 춥다 | 춥 | 추운 |
| 길다 | 길 | 긴 |
| 빨갛다 | 빨갛 | 빨간 |
Now you can say
맛있는 음식을 먹었어요.
(I) ate delicious food.
좋은 친구가 있어요.
(I) have good friend.
너무 맛있어요!
(It) is very delicious!
A list of common Korean adjectives
These are 82 common adjectives, the ones most learners need in their first year, each with the form that ends a sentence and the form that goes before a noun. Where the HanGeul course teaches the word, it links to a page with the full conjugation table.
Size and shape (12)
Looks and quality (14)
| Adjective | Ends a sentence | Before a noun |
|---|---|---|
| 좋다good | 좋아요 | 좋은 |
| 나쁘다bad | 나빠요 | 나쁜 |
| 예쁘다pretty | 예뻐요 | 예쁜 |
| 아름답다beautiful | 아름다워요 | 아름다운 |
| 멋있다stylish, cool | 멋있어요 | 멋있는 |
| 귀엽다cute | 귀여워요 | 귀여운 |
| 깨끗하다clean | 깨끗해요 | 깨끗한 |
| 더럽다dirty | 더러워요 | 더러운 |
| 재미있다fun, interesting | 재미있어요 | 재미있는 |
| 재미없다boring | 재미없어요 | 재미없는 |
| 이상하다strange | 이상해요 | 이상한 |
| 특별하다special | 특별해요 | 특별한 |
| 중요하다important | 중요해요 | 중요한 |
| 유명하다famous | 유명해요 | 유명한 |
Feelings and the body (14)
| Adjective | Ends a sentence | Before a noun |
|---|---|---|
| 기쁘다glad | 기뻐요 | 기쁜 |
| 슬프다sad | 슬퍼요 | 슬픈 |
| 행복하다happy | 행복해요 | 행복한 |
| 외롭다lonely | 외로워요 | 외로운 |
| 무섭다scary, afraid | 무서워요 | 무서운 |
| 피곤하다tired | 피곤해요 | 피곤한 |
| 심심하다bored | 심심해요 | 심심한 |
| 궁금하다curious | 궁금해요 | 궁금한 |
| 부럽다envious | 부러워요 | 부러운 |
| 괜찮다okay, fine | 괜찮아요 | 괜찮은 |
| 아프다sick, sore | 아파요 | 아픈 |
| 배고프다hungry | 배고파요 | 배고픈 |
| 배부르다full | 배불러요 | 배부른 |
| 바쁘다busy | 바빠요 | 바쁜 |
Taste (7)
Weather and temperature (8)
Ease, speed and place (10)
Price and quantity (4)
People (8)
Colours (5)
| Adjective | Ends a sentence | Before a noun | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| 빨갛다red | 빨개요 | 빨간 | 빨간색 |
| 노랗다yellow | 노래요 | 노란 | 노란색 |
| 파랗다blue | 파래요 | 파란 | 파란색 |
| 하얗다white | 하얘요 | 하얀 | 하얀색 |
| 까맣다black | 까매요 | 까만 | 까만색 |
Frequently asked questions
- Does Korean have adjectives?
- Yes, but they behave like verbs. Korean grammar calls them 형용사, adjectives, and English-language textbooks often say "descriptive verbs", because they conjugate and can end a sentence alone: 예뻐요 means "it's pretty".
- Where do adjectives go in Korean?
- Before the noun they describe, as in English: 작은 집 is a small house. The twist is that Korean adjectives are really verbs, so when one is the main statement it conjugates and goes at the end of the sentence instead: 집이 작아요.
- How do you conjugate Korean adjectives?
- The same way as verbs. Take off 다 and add 아요 or 어요 for the polite present (작다 → 작아요, 크다 → 커요), 았어요 or 었어요 for the past, and put 안 in front for the negative (안 비싸요). The irregular patterns apply too, so 춥다 becomes 추워요.
- How do you put an adjective before a noun in Korean?
- Use the modifier form: add ㄴ to a stem ending in a vowel (크다 → 큰 가방) and 은 to one ending in a consonant (작다 → 작은 집). Adjectives built on 있다 or 없다 take 는 instead (맛있는 음식), and the irregular ones follow their pattern (추운, 긴, 빨간).
- Why is it 맛있는 and not 맛있은?
- 있다 and 없다 take 는 before a noun, and every adjective built on them follows: 맛있는, 재미있는, 맛없는, 재미없는. It's the one place adjectives borrow the ending action verbs use.
- What is the difference between 좋다 and 좋아하다?
- 좋다 is an adjective, to be good, so 커피가 좋아요 says coffee is good, or that you like it. 좋아하다 is the verb "to like", and it takes an object: 커피를 좋아해요, I like coffee.
- How do you say "very", "bigger" or "biggest" in Korean?
- Put a word in front of the adjective. 아주 and 정말 mean "very", and 너무 means "too", though in speech it often just means "very". 더 makes a comparison (더 커요, it's bigger) and 제일 or 가장 makes a superlative (제일 커요, it's the biggest).
Sign in to keep track of the lessons you've finished.