바쁘다 conjugation

to be busy · bappeuda · sounds like [바쁘다]

Short answer: “Busy” in Korean is 바쁘다 (bappeuda). Polite present: 바빠요 (bappayo); past: 바빴어요 (bappasseoyo); future: 바쁠 거예요. It is regular, but its ㅡ drops before 아/어.

Present바빠요[바빠요] · bappayo
Past바빴어요[바빠써요] · bappasseoyo
Future바쁠 거예요[바쁠 꺼예요] · bappeul geoyeyo
Negative안 바빠요[안 바빠요] · an bappayo

바쁘다 in sentences

요즘 너무 바빠요.I’m really busy these days.
바쁘면 다음에 만나요.If you’re busy, let’s meet another time.

All forms of 바쁘다

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	바빠요	[바빠요]	bappayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	바쁩니다	[바쁨니다]	bappeumnida
casual-아/어	바빠	[바빠]	bappa
plain (written)-다	바쁘다	[바쁘다]	bappeuda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	바쁩니까?	[바쁨니까]	bappeumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	바빴어요	[바빠써요]	bappasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	바빴습니다	[바빧씀니다]	bappatseumnida
casual-았/었어	바빴어	[바빠써]	bappasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	바빴다	[바빧따]	bappatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 바빠요	[안 바빠요]	an bappayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 바빴어요	[안 바빠써요]	an bappasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	바쁘지 않아요	[바쁘지 아나요]	bappeuji 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	바쁘세요	[바쁘세요]	bappeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	바쁘셨어요	[바쁘셔써요]	bappeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	바쁘십니다	[바쁘심니다]	bappeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	바쁘고	[바쁘고]	bappeugo
… so / and then-아/어서	바빠서	[바빠서]	bappaseo
if …-(으)면	바쁘면	[바쁘면]	bappeumyeon
… but-지만	바쁘지만	[바쁘지만]	bappeujiman
because …-(으)니까	바쁘니까	[바쁘니까]	bappeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	바쁜데	[바쁜데]	bappeunde
even if …-아/어도	바빠도	[바빠도]	bappado
while …-(으)면서	바쁘면서	[바쁘면서]	bappeumyeonseo

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	바쁜	[바쁜]	bappeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	바쁠	[바쁠]	bappeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	바쁠 수 있어요	[바쁠 쑤 이써요]	bappeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	바쁠 수 없어요	[바쁠 쑤 업써요]	bappeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	바빠야 해요	[바빠야 해요]	bappaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	바빠도 돼요	[바빠도 돼요]	bappado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	바쁘게	[바쁘게]	bappeuge
becomes …-아/어지다	바빠져요	[바빠저요]	bappajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	바쁘기	[바쁘기]	bappeugi

How 바쁘다 changes

The ㅡ in 바쁘다 drops before 아/어: 바빠요, 바빴어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 바쁘면, 바쁩니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “busy” in Korean?

“Busy” is 바쁘다 (bappeuda), pronounced [바쁘다]. In a sentence: 요즘 너무 바빠요. — I’m really busy these days.

What is the past tense of 바쁘다?

바빴어요 (bappasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 바쁘다 (“to be busy”). Formal: 바빴습니다; casual: 바빴어.

How do you say 바쁘다 politely?

Everyday polite: 바빠요 (bappayo). Formal: 바쁩니다. Casual, with close friends: 바빠.

How do you say “not busy” in Korean?

안 바빠요 or 바쁘지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 바쁘다 irregular?

No. The ㅡ in 바쁘다 drops before 아/어: 바빠요, 바빴어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 바쁘면, 바쁩니다.

More ㅡ-stem words like 바쁘다

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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