Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

차갑다 conjugation

to be cold (to the touch) · chagapda · sounds like [차갑따]

Short answer: “Cold (to the touch)” in Korean is 차갑다 (chagapda). Polite present: 차가워요 (chagawoyo); past: 차가웠어요 (chagawosseoyo); future: 차가울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present차가워요[차가워요] · chagawoyo
Past차가웠어요[차가워써요] · chagawosseoyo
Future차가울 거예요[차가울 꺼예요] · chagaul geoyeyo
Negative안 차가워요[안 차가워요] · an chagawoyo

Opposite: 뜨겁다 — to be hot (to the touch)

차갑다 in sentences

물이 차가워요.The water is cold.
차가운 음료 주세요.A cold drink, please.

All forms of 차갑다

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	차가워요	[차가워요]	chagawoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	차갑습니다	[차갑씀니다]	chagapseumnida
casual-아/어	차가워	[차가워]	chagawo
plain (written)-다	차갑다	[차갑따]	chagapda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	차갑습니까?	[차갑씀니까]	chagapseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	차가웠어요	[차가워써요]	chagawosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	차가웠습니다	[차가웓씀니다]	chagawotseumnida
casual-았/었어	차가웠어	[차가워써]	chagawosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	차가웠다	[차가웓따]	chagawotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 차가워요	[안 차가워요]	an chagawoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 차가웠어요	[안 차가워써요]	an chagawosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	차갑지 않아요	[차갑찌 아나요]	chagapji 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	차가우세요	[차가우세요]	chagauseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	차가우셨어요	[차가우셔써요]	chagausyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	차가우십니다	[차가우심니다]	chagausimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	차갑고	[차갑꼬]	chagapgo
… so / and then-아/어서	차가워서	[차가워서]	chagawoseo
if …-(으)면	차가우면	[차가우면]	chagaumyeon
… but-지만	차갑지만	[차갑찌만]	chagapjiman
because …-(으)니까	차가우니까	[차가우니까]	chagaunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	차가운데	[차가운데]	chagaunde
even if …-아/어도	차가워도	[차가워도]	chagawodo
while …-(으)면서	차가우면서	[차가우면서]	chagaumyeonseo

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	차가운	[차가운]	chagaun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	차가울	[차가울]	chagaul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	차가울 수 있어요	[차가울 쑤 이써요]	chagaul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	차가울 수 없어요	[차가울 쑤 업써요]	chagaul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	차가워야 해요	[차가워야 해요]	chagawoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	차가워도 돼요	[차가워도 돼요]	chagawodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	차갑게	[차갑께]	chagapge
becomes …-아/어지다	차가워져요	[차가워저요]	chagawojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	차갑기	[차갑끼]	chagapgi

How 차갑다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 차갑 + 어 → 차가워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 차가우면, 차가울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 차갑습니다, 차갑고. 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 “cold” in Korean?

“Cold (to the touch)” is 차갑다 (chagapda), pronounced [차갑따]. In a sentence: 물이 차가워요. — The water is cold.

What is the past tense of 차갑다?

차가웠어요 (chagawosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 차갑다 (“to be cold (to the touch)”). Formal: 차가웠습니다; casual: 차가웠어.

How do you say 차갑다 politely?

Everyday polite: 차가워요 (chagawoyo). Formal: 차갑습니다. Casual, with close friends: 차가워.

How do you say “not cold” in Korean?

안 차가워요 or 차갑지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 차갑다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 차갑 + 어 → 차가워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 차가우면, 차가울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 차갑습니다, 차갑고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 차갑다

Look up another word

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