Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

부드럽다 conjugation

to be soft; gentle · budeureopda · sounds like [부드럽따]

Short answer: “Soft” in Korean is 부드럽다 (budeureopda), which also means gentle. Polite present: 부드러워요 (budeureowoyo); past: 부드러웠어요 (budeureowosseoyo); future: 부드러울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present부드러워요[부드러워요] · budeureowoyo
Past부드러웠어요[부드러워써요] · budeureowosseoyo
Future부드러울 거예요[부드러울 꺼예요] · budeureoul geoyeyo
Negative안 부드러워요[안 부드러워요] · an budeureowoyo

Opposite: 딱딱하다 — to be hard

부드럽다 in sentences

이 빵은 부드러워요.This bread is soft.
부드러운 목소리예요.It’s a gentle voice.

All forms of 부드럽다

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	부드러워요	[부드러워요]	budeureowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	부드럽습니다	[부드럽씀니다]	budeureopseumnida
casual-아/어	부드러워	[부드러워]	budeureowo
plain (written)-다	부드럽다	[부드럽따]	budeureopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	부드럽습니까?	[부드럽씀니까]	budeureopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	부드러웠어요	[부드러워써요]	budeureowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	부드러웠습니다	[부드러웓씀니다]	budeureowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	부드러웠어	[부드러워써]	budeureowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	부드러웠다	[부드러웓따]	budeureowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 부드러워요	[안 부드러워요]	an budeureowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 부드러웠어요	[안 부드러워써요]	an budeureowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	부드럽지 않아요	[부드럽찌 아나요]	budeureopji 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	부드러우세요	[부드러우세요]	budeureouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	부드러우셨어요	[부드러우셔써요]	budeureousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	부드러우십니다	[부드러우심니다]	budeureousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	부드럽고	[부드럽꼬]	budeureopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	부드러워서	[부드러워서]	budeureowoseo
if …-(으)면	부드러우면	[부드러우면]	budeureoumyeon
… but-지만	부드럽지만	[부드럽찌만]	budeureopjiman
because …-(으)니까	부드러우니까	[부드러우니까]	budeureounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	부드러운데	[부드러운데]	budeureounde
even if …-아/어도	부드러워도	[부드러워도]	budeureowodo
while …-(으)면서	부드러우면서	[부드러우면서]	budeureoumyeonseo

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	부드러운	[부드러운]	budeureoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	부드러울	[부드러울]	budeureoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	부드러울 수 있어요	[부드러울 쑤 이써요]	budeureoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	부드러울 수 없어요	[부드러울 쑤 업써요]	budeureoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	부드러워야 해요	[부드러워야 해요]	budeureowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	부드러워도 돼요	[부드러워도 돼요]	budeureowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	부드럽게	[부드럽께]	budeureopge
becomes …-아/어지다	부드러워져요	[부드러워저요]	budeureowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	부드럽기	[부드럽끼]	budeureopgi

How 부드럽다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 부드럽 + 어 → 부드러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 부드러우면, 부드러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 부드럽습니다, 부드럽고. 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 “soft” in Korean?

“Soft” is 부드럽다 (budeureopda), pronounced [부드럽따]. In a sentence: 이 빵은 부드러워요. — This bread is soft.

What is the past tense of 부드럽다?

부드러웠어요 (budeureowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 부드럽다 (“to be soft”). Formal: 부드러웠습니다; casual: 부드러웠어.

How do you say 부드럽다 politely?

Everyday polite: 부드러워요 (budeureowoyo). Formal: 부드럽습니다. Casual, with close friends: 부드러워.

How do you say “not soft” in Korean?

안 부드러워요 or 부드럽지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 부드럽다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 부드럽 + 어 → 부드러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 부드러우면, 부드러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 부드럽습니다, 부드럽고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 부드럽다

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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