밝다 conjugation

to be bright · bakda · sounds like [박따]

Short answer: “Bright” in Korean is 밝다 (bakda). Polite present: 밝아요 (balgayo); past: 밝았어요 (balgasseoyo); future: 밝을 거예요. It is regular.

Present밝아요[발가요] · balgayo
Past밝았어요[발가써요] · balgasseoyo
Future밝을 거예요[발글 꺼예요] · balgeul geoyeyo
Negative안 밝아요[안 발가요] · an balgayo

Opposite: 어둡다 — to be dark

밝다 in sentences

방이 밝아요.The room is bright.
밝은 색을 좋아해요.I like bright colours.

All forms of 밝다

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	밝아요	[발가요]	balgayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	밝습니다	[박씀니다]	bakseumnida
casual-아/어	밝아	[발가]	balga
plain (written)-다	밝다	[박따]	bakda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	밝습니까?	[박씀니까]	bakseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	밝았어요	[발가써요]	balgasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	밝았습니다	[발갇씀니다]	balgatseumnida
casual-았/었어	밝았어	[발가써]	balgasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	밝았다	[발갇따]	balgatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 밝아요	[안 발가요]	an balgayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 밝았어요	[안 발가써요]	an balgasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	밝지 않아요	[박찌 아나요]	bakji 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	밝으세요	[발그세요]	balgeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	밝으셨어요	[발그셔써요]	balgeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	밝으십니다	[발그심니다]	balgeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	밝고	[발꼬]	balgo
… so / and then-아/어서	밝아서	[발가서]	balgaseo
if …-(으)면	밝으면	[발그면]	balgeumyeon
… but-지만	밝지만	[박찌만]	bakjiman
because …-(으)니까	밝으니까	[발그니까]	balgeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	밝은데	[발근데]	balgeunde
even if …-아/어도	밝아도	[발가도]	balgado
while …-(으)면서	밝으면서	[발그면서]	balgeumyeonseo

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	밝은	[발근]	balgeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	밝을	[발글]	balgeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	밝을 수 있어요	[발글 쑤 이써요]	balgeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	밝을 수 없어요	[발글 쑤 업써요]	balgeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	밝아야 해요	[발가야 해요]	balgaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	밝아도 돼요	[발가도 돼요]	balgado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	밝게	[발께]	balge
becomes …-아/어지다	밝아져요	[발가저요]	balgajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	밝기	[발끼]	balgi

How 밝다 changes

밝 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 밝아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 밝으면, 밝을. 밝다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “bright” in Korean?

“Bright” is 밝다 (bakda), pronounced [박따]. In a sentence: 방이 밝아요. — The room is bright.

What is the past tense of 밝다?

밝았어요 (balgasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 밝다 (“to be bright”). Formal: 밝았습니다; casual: 밝았어.

How do you say 밝다 politely?

Everyday polite: 밝아요 (balgayo). Formal: 밝습니다. Casual, with close friends: 밝아.

How do you say “not bright” in Korean?

안 밝아요 or 밝지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 밝다 irregular?

No. 밝 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 밝아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 밝으면, 밝을. 밝다 is regular.

More regular words like 밝다

Look up another word

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