배고프다 conjugation

to be hungry · baegopeuda · sounds like [배고프다]

Short answer: “Hungry” in Korean is 배고프다 (baegopeuda). Polite present: 배고파요 (baegopayo); past: 배고팠어요 (baegopasseoyo); future: 배고플 거예요. It is regular, but its ㅡ drops before 아/어.

Present배고파요[배고파요] · baegopayo
Past배고팠어요[배고파써요] · baegopasseoyo
Future배고플 거예요[배고플 꺼예요] · baegopeul geoyeyo
Negative안 배고파요[안 배고파요] · an baegopayo

Opposite: 배부르다 — to be full (after eating)

배고프다 in sentences

배고파요.I’m hungry.
배고프면 먼저 드세요.If you’re hungry, go ahead and eat.

All forms of 배고프다

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	배고파요	[배고파요]	baegopayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	배고픕니다	[배고픔니다]	baegopeumnida
casual-아/어	배고파	[배고파]	baegopa
plain (written)-다	배고프다	[배고프다]	baegopeuda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	배고픕니까?	[배고픔니까]	baegopeumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	배고팠어요	[배고파써요]	baegopasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	배고팠습니다	[배고팓씀니다]	baegopatseumnida
casual-았/었어	배고팠어	[배고파써]	baegopasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	배고팠다	[배고팓따]	baegopatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 배고파요	[안 배고파요]	an baegopayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 배고팠어요	[안 배고파써요]	an baegopasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	배고프지 않아요	[배고프지 아나요]	baegopeuji 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	배고프세요	[배고프세요]	baegopeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	배고프셨어요	[배고프셔써요]	baegopeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	배고프십니다	[배고프심니다]	baegopeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	배고프고	[배고프고]	baegopeugo
… so / and then-아/어서	배고파서	[배고파서]	baegopaseo
if …-(으)면	배고프면	[배고프면]	baegopeumyeon
… but-지만	배고프지만	[배고프지만]	baegopeujiman
because …-(으)니까	배고프니까	[배고프니까]	baegopeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	배고픈데	[배고픈데]	baegopeunde
even if …-아/어도	배고파도	[배고파도]	baegopado
while …-(으)면서	배고프면서	[배고프면서]	baegopeumyeonseo

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	배고픈	[배고픈]	baegopeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	배고플	[배고플]	baegopeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	배고플 수 있어요	[배고플 쑤 이써요]	baegopeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	배고플 수 없어요	[배고플 쑤 업써요]	baegopeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	배고파야 해요	[배고파야 해요]	baegopaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	배고파도 돼요	[배고파도 돼요]	baegopado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	배고프게	[배고프게]	baegopeuge
becomes …-아/어지다	배고파져요	[배고파저요]	baegopajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	배고프기	[배고프기]	baegopeugi

How 배고프다 changes

The ㅡ in 배고프다 drops before 아/어: 배고파요, 배고팠어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 배고프면, 배고픕니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “hungry” in Korean?

“Hungry” is 배고프다 (baegopeuda), pronounced [배고프다]. In a sentence: 배고파요. — I’m hungry.

What is the past tense of 배고프다?

배고팠어요 (baegopasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 배고프다 (“to be hungry”). Formal: 배고팠습니다; casual: 배고팠어.

How do you say 배고프다 politely?

Everyday polite: 배고파요 (baegopayo). Formal: 배고픕니다. Casual, with close friends: 배고파.

How do you say “not hungry” in Korean?

안 배고파요 or 배고프지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 배고프다 irregular?

No. The ㅡ in 배고프다 drops before 아/어: 배고파요, 배고팠어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 배고프면, 배고픕니다.

More ㅡ-stem words like 배고프다

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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