Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

부끄럽다 conjugation

to be shy; embarrassed · bukkeureopda · sounds like [부끄럽따]

Short answer: “Shy” in Korean is 부끄럽다 (bukkeureopda), which also means embarrassed. Polite present: 부끄러워요 (bukkeureowoyo); past: 부끄러웠어요 (bukkeureowosseoyo); future: 부끄러울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present부끄러워요[부끄러워요] · bukkeureowoyo
Past부끄러웠어요[부끄러워써요] · bukkeureowosseoyo
Future부끄러울 거예요[부끄러울 꺼예요] · bukkeureoul geoyeyo
Negative안 부끄러워요[안 부끄러워요] · an bukkeureowoyo

부끄럽다 in sentences

실수해서 부끄러웠어요.I was embarrassed because I made a mistake.
부끄러워하지 마세요.Don’t be shy.

All forms of 부끄럽다

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	부끄러워요	[부끄러워요]	bukkeureowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	부끄럽습니다	[부끄럽씀니다]	bukkeureopseumnida
casual-아/어	부끄러워	[부끄러워]	bukkeureowo
plain (written)-다	부끄럽다	[부끄럽따]	bukkeureopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	부끄럽습니까?	[부끄럽씀니까]	bukkeureopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	부끄러웠어요	[부끄러워써요]	bukkeureowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	부끄러웠습니다	[부끄러웓씀니다]	bukkeureowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	부끄러웠어	[부끄러워써]	bukkeureowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	부끄러웠다	[부끄러웓따]	bukkeureowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 부끄러워요	[안 부끄러워요]	an bukkeureowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 부끄러웠어요	[안 부끄러워써요]	an bukkeureowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	부끄럽지 않아요	[부끄럽찌 아나요]	bukkeureopji 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	부끄러우세요	[부끄러우세요]	bukkeureouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	부끄러우셨어요	[부끄러우셔써요]	bukkeureousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	부끄러우십니다	[부끄러우심니다]	bukkeureousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	부끄럽고	[부끄럽꼬]	bukkeureopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	부끄러워서	[부끄러워서]	bukkeureowoseo
if …-(으)면	부끄러우면	[부끄러우면]	bukkeureoumyeon
… but-지만	부끄럽지만	[부끄럽찌만]	bukkeureopjiman
because …-(으)니까	부끄러우니까	[부끄러우니까]	bukkeureounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	부끄러운데	[부끄러운데]	bukkeureounde
even if …-아/어도	부끄러워도	[부끄러워도]	bukkeureowodo
while …-(으)면서	부끄러우면서	[부끄러우면서]	bukkeureoumyeonseo

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	부끄러운	[부끄러운]	bukkeureoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	부끄러울	[부끄러울]	bukkeureoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	부끄러울 수 있어요	[부끄러울 쑤 이써요]	bukkeureoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	부끄러울 수 없어요	[부끄러울 쑤 업써요]	bukkeureoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	부끄러워야 해요	[부끄러워야 해요]	bukkeureowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	부끄러워도 돼요	[부끄러워도 돼요]	bukkeureowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	부끄럽게	[부끄럽께]	bukkeureopge
becomes …-아/어지다	부끄러워져요	[부끄러워저요]	bukkeureowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	부끄럽기	[부끄럽끼]	bukkeureopgi

How 부끄럽다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 부끄럽 + 어 → 부끄러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 부끄러우면, 부끄러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 부끄럽습니다, 부끄럽고. 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 “shy” in Korean?

“Shy” is 부끄럽다 (bukkeureopda), pronounced [부끄럽따]. In a sentence: 실수해서 부끄러웠어요. — I was embarrassed because I made a mistake.

What is the past tense of 부끄럽다?

부끄러웠어요 (bukkeureowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 부끄럽다 (“to be shy”). Formal: 부끄러웠습니다; casual: 부끄러웠어.

How do you say 부끄럽다 politely?

Everyday polite: 부끄러워요 (bukkeureowoyo). Formal: 부끄럽습니다. Casual, with close friends: 부끄러워.

How do you say “not shy” in Korean?

안 부끄러워요 or 부끄럽지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 부끄럽다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 부끄럽 + 어 → 부끄러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 부끄러우면, 부끄러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 부끄럽습니다, 부끄럽고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 부끄럽다

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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