Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

반갑다 conjugation

to be glad (to see someone) · bangapda · sounds like [반갑따]

Short answer: “Glad (to see someone)” in Korean is 반갑다 (bangapda). Polite present: 반가워요 (bangawoyo); past: 반가웠어요 (bangawosseoyo); future: 반가울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present반가워요[반가워요] · bangawoyo
Past반가웠어요[반가워써요] · bangawosseoyo
Future반가울 거예요[반가울 꺼예요] · bangaul geoyeyo
Negative안 반가워요[안 반가워요] · an bangawoyo

반갑다 in sentences

만나서 반가워요.Nice to meet you.
다시 보니까 정말 반가워요.It’s so good to see you again.

All forms of 반갑다

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	반가워요	[반가워요]	bangawoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	반갑습니다	[반갑씀니다]	bangapseumnida
casual-아/어	반가워	[반가워]	bangawo
plain (written)-다	반갑다	[반갑따]	bangapda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	반갑습니까?	[반갑씀니까]	bangapseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	반가웠어요	[반가워써요]	bangawosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	반가웠습니다	[반가웓씀니다]	bangawotseumnida
casual-았/었어	반가웠어	[반가워써]	bangawosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	반가웠다	[반가웓따]	bangawotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 반가워요	[안 반가워요]	an bangawoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 반가웠어요	[안 반가워써요]	an bangawosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	반갑지 않아요	[반갑찌 아나요]	bangapji 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	반가우세요	[반가우세요]	bangauseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	반가우셨어요	[반가우셔써요]	bangausyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	반가우십니다	[반가우심니다]	bangausimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	반갑고	[반갑꼬]	bangapgo
… so / and then-아/어서	반가워서	[반가워서]	bangawoseo
if …-(으)면	반가우면	[반가우면]	bangaumyeon
… but-지만	반갑지만	[반갑찌만]	bangapjiman
because …-(으)니까	반가우니까	[반가우니까]	bangaunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	반가운데	[반가운데]	bangaunde
even if …-아/어도	반가워도	[반가워도]	bangawodo
while …-(으)면서	반가우면서	[반가우면서]	bangaumyeonseo

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	반가운	[반가운]	bangaun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	반가울	[반가울]	bangaul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	반가울 수 있어요	[반가울 쑤 이써요]	bangaul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	반가울 수 없어요	[반가울 쑤 업써요]	bangaul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	반가워야 해요	[반가워야 해요]	bangawoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	반가워도 돼요	[반가워도 돼요]	bangawodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	반갑게	[반갑께]	bangapge
becomes …-아/어지다	반가워져요	[반가워저요]	bangawojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	반갑기	[반갑끼]	bangapgi

How 반갑다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 반갑 + 어 → 반가워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 반가우면, 반가울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 반갑습니다, 반갑고. 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 “glad” in Korean?

“Glad (to see someone)” is 반갑다 (bangapda), pronounced [반갑따]. In a sentence: 만나서 반가워요. — Nice to meet you.

What is the past tense of 반갑다?

반가웠어요 (bangawosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 반갑다 (“to be glad (to see someone)”). Formal: 반가웠습니다; casual: 반가웠어.

How do you say 반갑다 politely?

Everyday polite: 반가워요 (bangawoyo). Formal: 반갑습니다. Casual, with close friends: 반가워.

How do you say “not glad” in Korean?

안 반가워요 or 반갑지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 반갑다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 반갑 + 어 → 반가워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 반가우면, 반가울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 반갑습니다, 반갑고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 반갑다

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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