Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

어렵다 conjugation

to be difficult · eoryeopda · sounds like [어렵따]

Short answer: “Difficult” in Korean is 어렵다 (eoryeopda). Polite present: 어려워요 (eoryeowoyo); past: 어려웠어요 (eoryeowosseoyo); future: 어려울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present어려워요[어려워요] · eoryeowoyo
Past어려웠어요[어려워써요] · eoryeowosseoyo
Future어려울 거예요[어려울 꺼예요] · eoryeoul geoyeyo
Negative안 어려워요[안 어려워요] · an eoryeowoyo

Opposite: 쉽다 — to be easy

어렵다 in sentences

한국어 문법이 어려워요.Korean grammar is difficult.
시험이 어려웠어요.The exam was hard.

All forms of 어렵다

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	어려워요	[어려워요]	eoryeowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	어렵습니다	[어렵씀니다]	eoryeopseumnida
casual-아/어	어려워	[어려워]	eoryeowo
plain (written)-다	어렵다	[어렵따]	eoryeopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	어렵습니까?	[어렵씀니까]	eoryeopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	어려웠어요	[어려워써요]	eoryeowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	어려웠습니다	[어려웓씀니다]	eoryeowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	어려웠어	[어려워써]	eoryeowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	어려웠다	[어려웓따]	eoryeowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 어려워요	[안 어려워요]	an eoryeowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 어려웠어요	[안 어려워써요]	an eoryeowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	어렵지 않아요	[어렵찌 아나요]	eoryeopji 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	어려우세요	[어려우세요]	eoryeouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	어려우셨어요	[어려우셔써요]	eoryeousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	어려우십니다	[어려우심니다]	eoryeousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	어렵고	[어렵꼬]	eoryeopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	어려워서	[어려워서]	eoryeowoseo
if …-(으)면	어려우면	[어려우면]	eoryeoumyeon
… but-지만	어렵지만	[어렵찌만]	eoryeopjiman
because …-(으)니까	어려우니까	[어려우니까]	eoryeounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	어려운데	[어려운데]	eoryeounde
even if …-아/어도	어려워도	[어려워도]	eoryeowodo
while …-(으)면서	어려우면서	[어려우면서]	eoryeoumyeonseo

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	어려운	[어려운]	eoryeoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	어려울	[어려울]	eoryeoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	어려울 수 있어요	[어려울 쑤 이써요]	eoryeoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	어려울 수 없어요	[어려울 쑤 업써요]	eoryeoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	어려워야 해요	[어려워야 해요]	eoryeowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	어려워도 돼요	[어려워도 돼요]	eoryeowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	어렵게	[어렵께]	eoryeopge
becomes …-아/어지다	어려워져요	[어려워저요]	eoryeowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	어렵기	[어렵끼]	eoryeopgi

How 어렵다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 어렵 + 어 → 어려워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 어려우면, 어려울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 어렵습니다, 어렵고. 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 “difficult” in Korean?

“Difficult” is 어렵다 (eoryeopda), pronounced [어렵따]. In a sentence: 한국어 문법이 어려워요. — Korean grammar is difficult.

What is the past tense of 어렵다?

어려웠어요 (eoryeowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 어렵다 (“to be difficult”). Formal: 어려웠습니다; casual: 어려웠어.

How do you say 어렵다 politely?

Everyday polite: 어려워요 (eoryeowoyo). Formal: 어렵습니다. Casual, with close friends: 어려워.

How do you say “not difficult” in Korean?

안 어려워요 or 어렵지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 어렵다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 어렵 + 어 → 어려워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 어려우면, 어려울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 어렵습니다, 어렵고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 어렵다

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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