Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

부럽다 conjugation

to be envious · bureopda · sounds like [부럽따]

Short answer: “Envious” in Korean is 부럽다 (bureopda). Polite present: 부러워요 (bureowoyo); past: 부러웠어요 (bureowosseoyo); future: 부러울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present부러워요[부러워요] · bureowoyo
Past부러웠어요[부러워써요] · bureowosseoyo
Future부러울 거예요[부러울 꺼예요] · bureoul geoyeyo
Negative안 부러워요[안 부러워요] · an bureowoyo

부럽다 in sentences

정말 부러워요.I’m so jealous.
한국어를 잘하는 친구가 부러워요.I envy my friend who speaks Korean well.

All forms of 부럽다

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	부러워요	[부러워요]	bureowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	부럽습니다	[부럽씀니다]	bureopseumnida
casual-아/어	부러워	[부러워]	bureowo
plain (written)-다	부럽다	[부럽따]	bureopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	부럽습니까?	[부럽씀니까]	bureopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	부러웠어요	[부러워써요]	bureowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	부러웠습니다	[부러웓씀니다]	bureowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	부러웠어	[부러워써]	bureowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	부러웠다	[부러웓따]	bureowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 부러워요	[안 부러워요]	an bureowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 부러웠어요	[안 부러워써요]	an bureowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	부럽지 않아요	[부럽찌 아나요]	bureopji 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	부러우세요	[부러우세요]	bureouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	부러우셨어요	[부러우셔써요]	bureousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	부러우십니다	[부러우심니다]	bureousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	부럽고	[부럽꼬]	bureopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	부러워서	[부러워서]	bureowoseo
if …-(으)면	부러우면	[부러우면]	bureoumyeon
… but-지만	부럽지만	[부럽찌만]	bureopjiman
because …-(으)니까	부러우니까	[부러우니까]	bureounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	부러운데	[부러운데]	bureounde
even if …-아/어도	부러워도	[부러워도]	bureowodo
while …-(으)면서	부러우면서	[부러우면서]	bureoumyeonseo

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	부러운	[부러운]	bureoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	부러울	[부러울]	bureoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	부러울 수 있어요	[부러울 쑤 이써요]	bureoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	부러울 수 없어요	[부러울 쑤 업써요]	bureoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	부러워야 해요	[부러워야 해요]	bureowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	부러워도 돼요	[부러워도 돼요]	bureowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	부럽게	[부럽께]	bureopge
becomes …-아/어지다	부러워져요	[부러워저요]	bureowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	부럽기	[부럽끼]	bureopgi

How 부럽다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 부럽 + 어 → 부러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 부러우면, 부러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 부럽습니다, 부럽고. 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 “envious” in Korean?

“Envious” is 부럽다 (bureopda), pronounced [부럽따]. In a sentence: 정말 부러워요. — I’m so jealous.

What is the past tense of 부럽다?

부러웠어요 (bureowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 부럽다 (“to be envious”). Formal: 부러웠습니다; casual: 부러웠어.

How do you say 부럽다 politely?

Everyday polite: 부러워요 (bureowoyo). Formal: 부럽습니다. Casual, with close friends: 부러워.

How do you say “not envious” in Korean?

안 부러워요 or 부럽지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 부럽다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 부럽 + 어 → 부러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 부러우면, 부러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 부럽습니다, 부럽고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 부럽다

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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