Adjectives · 하다 word

복잡하다 conjugation

to be complicated; crowded · bokjapada · sounds like [복짜파다]

Short answer: “Complicated” in Korean is 복잡하다 (bokjapada), which also means crowded. Polite present: 복잡해요 (bokjapaeyo); past: 복잡했어요 (bokjapaesseoyo); future: 복잡할 거예요. It is a 하다 adjective: 하 + 아/어 always becomes 해.

Present복잡해요[복짜패요] · bokjapaeyo
Past복잡했어요[복짜패써요] · bokjapaesseoyo
Future복잡할 거예요[복짜팔 꺼예요] · bokjapal geoyeyo
Negative안 복잡해요[안 복짜패요] · an bokjapaeyo

Opposite: 간단하다 — to be simple

복잡하다 in sentences

출근 시간에는 지하철이 복잡해요.The subway is crowded at rush hour.
복잡한 서류를 작성했어요.I filled in a complicated form.

All forms of 복잡하다

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	복잡해요	[복짜패요]	bokjapaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	복잡합니다	[복짜팜니다]	bokjapamnida
casual-아/어	복잡해	[복짜패]	bokjapae
plain (written)-다	복잡하다	[복짜파다]	bokjapada
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	복잡합니까?	[복짜팜니까]	bokjapamnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	복잡했어요	[복짜패써요]	bokjapaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	복잡했습니다	[복짜팯씀니다]	bokjapaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	복잡했어	[복짜패써]	bokjapaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	복잡했다	[복짜팯따]	bokjapaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 복잡해요	[안 복짜패요]	an bokjapaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 복잡했어요	[안 복짜패써요]	an bokjapaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	복잡하지 않아요	[복짜파지 아나요]	bokjapaji 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	복잡하세요	[복짜파세요]	bokjapaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	복잡하셨어요	[복짜파셔써요]	bokjapasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	복잡하십니다	[복짜파심니다]	bokjapasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	복잡하고	[복짜파고]	bokjapago
… so / and then-아/어서	복잡해서	[복짜패서]	bokjapaeseo
if …-(으)면	복잡하면	[복짜파면]	bokjapamyeon
… but-지만	복잡하지만	[복짜파지만]	bokjapajiman
because …-(으)니까	복잡하니까	[복짜파니까]	bokjapanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	복잡한데	[복짜판데]	bokjapande
even if …-아/어도	복잡해도	[복짜패도]	bokjapaedo
while …-(으)면서	복잡하면서	[복짜파면서]	bokjapamyeonseo

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	복잡한	[복짜판]	bokjapan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	복잡할	[복짜팔]	bokjapal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	복잡할 수 있어요	[복짜팔 쑤 이써요]	bokjapal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	복잡할 수 없어요	[복짜팔 쑤 업써요]	bokjapal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	복잡해야 해요	[복짜패야 해요]	bokjapaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	복잡해도 돼요	[복짜패도 돼요]	bokjapaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	복잡하게	[복짜파게]	bokjapage
becomes …-아/어지다	복잡해져요	[복짜패저요]	bokjapaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	복잡하기	[복짜파기]	bokjapagi

How 복잡하다 changes

Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 복잡해요, 복잡했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 복잡합니다, 복잡하면.

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

Questions

How do you say “complicated” in Korean?

“Complicated” is 복잡하다 (bokjapada), pronounced [복짜파다]. In a sentence: 출근 시간에는 지하철이 복잡해요. — The subway is crowded at rush hour.

What is the past tense of 복잡하다?

복잡했어요 (bokjapaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 복잡하다 (“to be complicated”). Formal: 복잡했습니다; casual: 복잡했어.

How do you say 복잡하다 politely?

Everyday polite: 복잡해요 (bokjapaeyo). Formal: 복잡합니다. Casual, with close friends: 복잡해.

How do you say “not complicated” in Korean?

안 복잡해요 or 복잡하지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 복잡하다 irregular?

No. Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 복잡해요, 복잡했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 복잡합니다, 복잡하면.

More 하다 words like 복잡하다

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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