Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

더럽다 conjugation

to be dirty · deoreopda · sounds like [더럽따]

Short answer: “Dirty” in Korean is 더럽다 (deoreopda). Polite present: 더러워요 (deoreowoyo); past: 더러웠어요 (deoreowosseoyo); future: 더러울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present더러워요[더러워요] · deoreowoyo
Past더러웠어요[더러워써요] · deoreowosseoyo
Future더러울 거예요[더러울 꺼예요] · deoreoul geoyeyo
Negative안 더러워요[안 더러워요] · an deoreowoyo

Opposite: 깨끗하다 — to be clean

더럽다 in sentences

신발이 더러워요.My shoes are dirty.
더러운 옷은 여기에 넣으세요.Put dirty clothes in here.

All forms of 더럽다

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	더러워요	[더러워요]	deoreowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	더럽습니다	[더럽씀니다]	deoreopseumnida
casual-아/어	더러워	[더러워]	deoreowo
plain (written)-다	더럽다	[더럽따]	deoreopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	더럽습니까?	[더럽씀니까]	deoreopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	더러웠어요	[더러워써요]	deoreowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	더러웠습니다	[더러웓씀니다]	deoreowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	더러웠어	[더러워써]	deoreowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	더러웠다	[더러웓따]	deoreowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 더러워요	[안 더러워요]	an deoreowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 더러웠어요	[안 더러워써요]	an deoreowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	더럽지 않아요	[더럽찌 아나요]	deoreopji 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	더러우세요	[더러우세요]	deoreouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	더러우셨어요	[더러우셔써요]	deoreousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	더러우십니다	[더러우심니다]	deoreousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	더럽고	[더럽꼬]	deoreopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	더러워서	[더러워서]	deoreowoseo
if …-(으)면	더러우면	[더러우면]	deoreoumyeon
… but-지만	더럽지만	[더럽찌만]	deoreopjiman
because …-(으)니까	더러우니까	[더러우니까]	deoreounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	더러운데	[더러운데]	deoreounde
even if …-아/어도	더러워도	[더러워도]	deoreowodo
while …-(으)면서	더러우면서	[더러우면서]	deoreoumyeonseo

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	더러운	[더러운]	deoreoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	더러울	[더러울]	deoreoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	더러울 수 있어요	[더러울 쑤 이써요]	deoreoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	더러울 수 없어요	[더러울 쑤 업써요]	deoreoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	더러워야 해요	[더러워야 해요]	deoreowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	더러워도 돼요	[더러워도 돼요]	deoreowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	더럽게	[더럽께]	deoreopge
becomes …-아/어지다	더러워져요	[더러워저요]	deoreowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	더럽기	[더럽끼]	deoreopgi

How 더럽다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 더럽 + 어 → 더러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 더러우면, 더러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 더럽습니다, 더럽고. 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 “dirty” in Korean?

“Dirty” is 더럽다 (deoreopda), pronounced [더럽따]. In a sentence: 신발이 더러워요. — My shoes are dirty.

What is the past tense of 더럽다?

더러웠어요 (deoreowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 더럽다 (“to be dirty”). Formal: 더러웠습니다; casual: 더러웠어.

How do you say 더럽다 politely?

Everyday polite: 더러워요 (deoreowoyo). Formal: 더럽습니다. Casual, with close friends: 더러워.

How do you say “not dirty” in Korean?

안 더러워요 or 더럽지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 더럽다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 더럽 + 어 → 더러워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 더러우면, 더러울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 더럽습니다, 더럽고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 더럽다

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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