Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

어둡다 conjugation

to be dark · eodupda · sounds like [어둡따]

Short answer: “Dark” in Korean is 어둡다 (eodupda). Polite present: 어두워요 (eoduwoyo); past: 어두웠어요 (eoduwosseoyo); future: 어두울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present어두워요[어두워요] · eoduwoyo
Past어두웠어요[어두워써요] · eoduwosseoyo
Future어두울 거예요[어두울 꺼예요] · eoduul geoyeyo
Negative안 어두워요[안 어두워요] · an eoduwoyo

Opposite: 밝다 — to be bright

어둡다 in sentences

밖이 벌써 어두워요.It’s already dark outside.
어두운 길은 위험해요.Dark streets are dangerous.

All forms of 어둡다

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	어두워요	[어두워요]	eoduwoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	어둡습니다	[어둡씀니다]	eodupseumnida
casual-아/어	어두워	[어두워]	eoduwo
plain (written)-다	어둡다	[어둡따]	eodupda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	어둡습니까?	[어둡씀니까]	eodupseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	어두웠어요	[어두워써요]	eoduwosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	어두웠습니다	[어두웓씀니다]	eoduwotseumnida
casual-았/었어	어두웠어	[어두워써]	eoduwosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	어두웠다	[어두웓따]	eoduwotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 어두워요	[안 어두워요]	an eoduwoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 어두웠어요	[안 어두워써요]	an eoduwosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	어둡지 않아요	[어둡찌 아나요]	eodupji 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	어두우세요	[어두우세요]	eoduuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	어두우셨어요	[어두우셔써요]	eoduusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	어두우십니다	[어두우심니다]	eoduusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	어둡고	[어둡꼬]	eodupgo
… so / and then-아/어서	어두워서	[어두워서]	eoduwoseo
if …-(으)면	어두우면	[어두우면]	eoduumyeon
… but-지만	어둡지만	[어둡찌만]	eodupjiman
because …-(으)니까	어두우니까	[어두우니까]	eoduunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	어두운데	[어두운데]	eoduunde
even if …-아/어도	어두워도	[어두워도]	eoduwodo
while …-(으)면서	어두우면서	[어두우면서]	eoduumyeonseo

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	어두운	[어두운]	eoduun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	어두울	[어두울]	eoduul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	어두울 수 있어요	[어두울 쑤 이써요]	eoduul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	어두울 수 없어요	[어두울 쑤 업써요]	eoduul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	어두워야 해요	[어두워야 해요]	eoduwoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	어두워도 돼요	[어두워도 돼요]	eoduwodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	어둡게	[어둡께]	eodupge
becomes …-아/어지다	어두워져요	[어두워저요]	eoduwojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	어둡기	[어둡끼]	eodupgi

How 어둡다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 어둡 + 어 → 어두워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 어두우면, 어두울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 어둡습니다, 어둡고. 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 “dark” in Korean?

“Dark” is 어둡다 (eodupda), pronounced [어둡따]. In a sentence: 밖이 벌써 어두워요. — It’s already dark outside.

What is the past tense of 어둡다?

어두웠어요 (eoduwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 어둡다 (“to be dark”). Formal: 어두웠습니다; casual: 어두웠어.

How do you say 어둡다 politely?

Everyday polite: 어두워요 (eoduwoyo). Formal: 어둡습니다. Casual, with close friends: 어두워.

How do you say “not dark” in Korean?

안 어두워요 or 어둡지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 어둡다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 어둡 + 어 → 어두워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 어두우면, 어두울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 어둡습니다, 어둡고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 어둡다

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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