Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

춥다 conjugation

to be cold (weather) · chupda · sounds like [춥따]

Short answer: “Cold (weather)” in Korean is 춥다 (chupda). Polite present: 추워요 (chuwoyo); past: 추웠어요 (chuwosseoyo); future: 추울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present추워요[추워요] · chuwoyo
Past추웠어요[추워써요] · chuwosseoyo
Future추울 거예요[추울 꺼예요] · chuul geoyeyo
Negative안 추워요[안 추워요] · an chuwoyo

Opposite: 덥다 — to be hot (weather)

춥다 in sentences

밖에 추워요.It’s cold outside.
어제는 정말 추웠어요.It was really cold yesterday.

All forms of 춥다

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	추워요	[추워요]	chuwoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	춥습니다	[춥씀니다]	chupseumnida
casual-아/어	추워	[추워]	chuwo
plain (written)-다	춥다	[춥따]	chupda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	춥습니까?	[춥씀니까]	chupseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	추웠어요	[추워써요]	chuwosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	추웠습니다	[추웓씀니다]	chuwotseumnida
casual-았/었어	추웠어	[추워써]	chuwosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	추웠다	[추웓따]	chuwotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 추워요	[안 추워요]	an chuwoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 추웠어요	[안 추워써요]	an chuwosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	춥지 않아요	[춥찌 아나요]	chupji 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	추우세요	[추우세요]	chuuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	추우셨어요	[추우셔써요]	chuusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	추우십니다	[추우심니다]	chuusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	춥고	[춥꼬]	chupgo
… so / and then-아/어서	추워서	[추워서]	chuwoseo
if …-(으)면	추우면	[추우면]	chuumyeon
… but-지만	춥지만	[춥찌만]	chupjiman
because …-(으)니까	추우니까	[추우니까]	chuunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	추운데	[추운데]	chuunde
even if …-아/어도	추워도	[추워도]	chuwodo
while …-(으)면서	추우면서	[추우면서]	chuumyeonseo

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	추운	[추운]	chuun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	추울	[추울]	chuul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	추울 수 있어요	[추울 쑤 이써요]	chuul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	추울 수 없어요	[추울 쑤 업써요]	chuul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	추워야 해요	[추워야 해요]	chuwoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	추워도 돼요	[추워도 돼요]	chuwodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	춥게	[춥께]	chupge
becomes …-아/어지다	추워져요	[추워저요]	chuwojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	춥기	[춥끼]	chupgi

How 춥다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 춥 + 어 → 추워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 추우면, 추울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 춥습니다, 춥고. 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 (weather)” is 춥다 (chupda), pronounced [춥따]. In a sentence: 밖에 추워요. — It’s cold outside.

What is the past tense of 춥다?

추웠어요 (chuwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 춥다 (“to be cold (weather)”). Formal: 추웠습니다; casual: 추웠어.

How do you say 춥다 politely?

Everyday polite: 추워요 (chuwoyo). Formal: 춥습니다. Casual, with close friends: 추워.

How do you say “not cold” in Korean?

안 추워요 or 춥지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 춥다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 춥 + 어 → 추워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 추우면, 추울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 춥습니다, 춥고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 춥다

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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