Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

덥다 conjugation

to be hot (weather) · deopda · sounds like [덥따]

Short answer: “Hot (weather)” in Korean is 덥다 (deopda). Polite present: 더워요 (deowoyo); past: 더웠어요 (deowosseoyo); future: 더울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present더워요[더워요] · deowoyo
Past더웠어요[더워써요] · deowosseoyo
Future더울 거예요[더울 꺼예요] · deoul geoyeyo
Negative안 더워요[안 더워요] · an deowoyo

Opposite: 춥다 — to be cold (weather)

덥다 in sentences

오늘 너무 더워요.It’s really hot today.
더운 날에는 냉면을 먹어요.On hot days I eat naengmyeon.

All forms of 덥다

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	더워요	[더워요]	deowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	덥습니다	[덥씀니다]	deopseumnida
casual-아/어	더워	[더워]	deowo
plain (written)-다	덥다	[덥따]	deopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	덥습니까?	[덥씀니까]	deopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	더웠어요	[더워써요]	deowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	더웠습니다	[더웓씀니다]	deowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	더웠어	[더워써]	deowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	더웠다	[더웓따]	deowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 더워요	[안 더워요]	an deowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 더웠어요	[안 더워써요]	an deowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	덥지 않아요	[덥찌 아나요]	deopji 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	더우세요	[더우세요]	deouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	더우셨어요	[더우셔써요]	deousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	더우십니다	[더우심니다]	deousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	덥고	[덥꼬]	deopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	더워서	[더워서]	deowoseo
if …-(으)면	더우면	[더우면]	deoumyeon
… but-지만	덥지만	[덥찌만]	deopjiman
because …-(으)니까	더우니까	[더우니까]	deounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	더운데	[더운데]	deounde
even if …-아/어도	더워도	[더워도]	deowodo
while …-(으)면서	더우면서	[더우면서]	deoumyeonseo

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	더운	[더운]	deoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	더울	[더울]	deoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	더울 수 있어요	[더울 쑤 이써요]	deoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	더울 수 없어요	[더울 쑤 업써요]	deoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	더워야 해요	[더워야 해요]	deowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	더워도 돼요	[더워도 돼요]	deowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	덥게	[덥께]	deopge
becomes …-아/어지다	더워져요	[더워저요]	deowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	덥기	[덥끼]	deopgi

How 덥다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 덥 + 어 → 더워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 더우면, 더울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 덥습니다, 덥고. 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 “hot” in Korean?

“Hot (weather)” is 덥다 (deopda), pronounced [덥따]. In a sentence: 오늘 너무 더워요. — It’s really hot today.

What is the past tense of 덥다?

더웠어요 (deowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 덥다 (“to be hot (weather)”). Formal: 더웠습니다; casual: 더웠어.

How do you say 덥다 politely?

Everyday polite: 더워요 (deowoyo). Formal: 덥습니다. Casual, with close friends: 더워.

How do you say “not hot” in Korean?

안 더워요 or 덥지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 덥다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 덥 + 어 → 더워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 더우면, 더울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 덥습니다, 덥고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 덥다

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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