Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

아름답다 conjugation

to be beautiful · areumdapda · sounds like [아름답따]

Short answer: “Beautiful” in Korean is 아름답다 (areumdapda). Polite present: 아름다워요 (areumdawoyo); past: 아름다웠어요 (areumdawosseoyo); future: 아름다울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present아름다워요[아름다워요] · areumdawoyo
Past아름다웠어요[아름다워써요] · areumdawosseoyo
Future아름다울 거예요[아름다울 꺼예요] · areumdaul geoyeyo
Negative안 아름다워요[안 아름다워요] · an areumdawoyo

아름답다 in sentences

제주도는 정말 아름다워요.Jeju Island is really beautiful.
아름다운 노래예요.It’s a beautiful song.

All forms of 아름답다

Present
Polite (해요) is the everyday safe choice; formal (합니다) is for news, announcements and work; casual (반말) is for close friends and younger people.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-아/어요	아름다워요	[아름다워요]	areumdawoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	아름답습니다	[아름답씀니다]	areumdapseumnida
casual-아/어	아름다워	[아름다워]	areumdawo
plain (written)-다	아름답다	[아름답따]	areumdapda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	아름답습니까?	[아름답씀니까]	areumdapseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	아름다웠어요	[아름다워써요]	areumdawosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	아름다웠습니다	[아름다웓씀니다]	areumdawotseumnida
casual-았/었어	아름다웠어	[아름다워써]	areumdawosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	아름다웠다	[아름다웓따]	areumdawotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will probably be-(으)ㄹ 거예요	아름다울 거예요	[아름다울 꺼예요]	areumdaul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	아름다울 겁니다	[아름다울 껌니다]	areumdaul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	아름다울 거야	[아름다울 꺼야]	areumdaul geoya

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 아름다워요	[안 아름다워요]	an areumdawoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 아름다웠어요	[안 아름다워써요]	an areumdawosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	아름답지 않아요	[아름답찌 아나요]	areumdapji anayo

Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
honorific — present-(으)세요	아름다우세요	[아름다우세요]	areumdauseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	아름다우셨어요	[아름다우셔써요]	areumdausyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	아름다우십니다	[아름다우심니다]	areumdausimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	아름답고	[아름답꼬]	areumdapgo
… so / and then-아/어서	아름다워서	[아름다워서]	areumdawoseo
if …-(으)면	아름다우면	[아름다우면]	areumdaumyeon
… but-지만	아름답지만	[아름답찌만]	areumdapjiman
because …-(으)니까	아름다우니까	[아름다우니까]	areumdaunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	아름다운데	[아름다운데]	areumdaunde
even if …-아/어도	아름다워도	[아름다워도]	areumdawodo
while …-(으)면서	아름다우면서	[아름다우면서]	areumdaumyeonseo

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that is) …-(으)ㄴ	아름다운	[아름다운]	areumdaun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	아름다울	[아름다울]	areumdaul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	아름다울 수 있어요	[아름다울 쑤 이써요]	areumdaul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	아름다울 수 없어요	[아름다울 쑤 업써요]	areumdaul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	아름다워야 해요	[아름다워야 해요]	areumdawoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	아름다워도 돼요	[아름다워도 돼요]	areumdawodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	아름답게	[아름답께]	areumdapge
becomes …-아/어지다	아름다워져요	[아름다워저요]	areumdawojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	아름답기	[아름답끼]	areumdapgi

How 아름답다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 아름답 + 어 → 아름다워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 아름다우면, 아름다울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 아름답습니다, 아름답고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

How every verb type works → · Why it sounds like that →

Questions

How do you say “beautiful” in Korean?

“Beautiful” is 아름답다 (areumdapda), pronounced [아름답따]. In a sentence: 제주도는 정말 아름다워요. — Jeju Island is really beautiful.

What is the past tense of 아름답다?

아름다웠어요 (areumdawosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 아름답다 (“to be beautiful”). Formal: 아름다웠습니다; casual: 아름다웠어.

How do you say 아름답다 politely?

Everyday polite: 아름다워요 (areumdawoyo). Formal: 아름답습니다. Casual, with close friends: 아름다워.

How do you say “not beautiful” in Korean?

안 아름다워요 or 아름답지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 아름답다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 아름답 + 어 → 아름다워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 아름다우면, 아름다울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 아름답습니다, 아름답고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 아름답다

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Forms follow 한글 맞춤법 (Korean spelling rules); pronunciation follows 표준 발음법 and romanization follows 국어의 로마자 표기법 (Revised Romanization). Last updated October 16, 2026. How we check