Adjectives · ㅎ irregular

어떻다 conjugation

to be how; what … like · eotteota · sounds like [어떠타]

Short answer: “How” in Korean is 어떻다 (eotteota), which also means what … like. Polite present: 어때요 (eottaeyo); past: 어땠어요 (eottaesseoyo); future: 어떨 거예요. It is a ㅎ irregular adjective.

Present어때요[어때요] · eottaeyo
Past어땠어요[어때써요] · eottaesseoyo
Future어떨 거예요[어떨 꺼예요] · eotteol geoyeyo
Negative안 어때요[안 어때요] · an eottaeyo

어떻다 in sentences

날씨가 어때요?How’s the weather?
어떤 음식을 좋아해요?What kind of food do you like?

All forms of 어떻다

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	어때요	[어때요]	eottaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	어떻습니다	[어떠씀니다]	eotteoseumnida
casual-아/어	어때	[어때]	eottae
plain (written)-다	어떻다	[어떠타]	eotteota
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	어떻습니까?	[어떠씀니까]	eotteoseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	어땠어요	[어때써요]	eottaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	어땠습니다	[어땓씀니다]	eottaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	어땠어	[어때써]	eottaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	어땠다	[어땓따]	eottaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 어때요	[안 어때요]	an eottaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 어땠어요	[안 어때써요]	an eottaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	어떻지 않아요	[어떠치 아나요]	eotteochi 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	어떠세요	[어떠세요]	eotteoseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	어떠셨어요	[어떠셔써요]	eotteosyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	어떠십니다	[어떠심니다]	eotteosimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	어떻고	[어떠코]	eotteoko
… so / and then-아/어서	어때서	[어때서]	eottaeseo
if …-(으)면	어떠면	[어떠면]	eotteomyeon
… but-지만	어떻지만	[어떠치만]	eotteochiman
because …-(으)니까	어떠니까	[어떠니까]	eotteonikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	어떤데	[어떤데]	eotteonde
even if …-아/어도	어때도	[어때도]	eottaedo
while …-(으)면서	어떠면서	[어떠면서]	eotteomyeonseo

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	어떤	[어떤]	eotteon
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	어떨	[어떨]	eotteol

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	어떨 수 있어요	[어떨 쑤 이써요]	eotteol su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	어떨 수 없어요	[어떨 쑤 업써요]	eotteol su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	어때야 해요	[어때야 해요]	eottaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	어때도 돼요	[어때도 돼요]	eottaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	어떻게	[어떠케]	eotteoke
becomes …-아/어지다	어때져요	[어때저요]	eottaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	어떻기	[어떠키]	eotteoki

How 어떻다 changes

ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 어때요, 어땠어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 어떤, 어떠면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 어떻습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

How every verb type works → · Why it sounds like that →

Questions

How do you say “how” in Korean?

“How” is 어떻다 (eotteota), pronounced [어떠타]. In a sentence: 날씨가 어때요? — How’s the weather?

What is the past tense of 어떻다?

어땠어요 (eottaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 어떻다 (“to be how”). Formal: 어땠습니다; casual: 어땠어.

How do you say 어떻다 politely?

Everyday polite: 어때요 (eottaeyo). Formal: 어떻습니다. Casual, with close friends: 어때.

How do you say “not how” in Korean?

안 어때요 or 어떻지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 어떻다 irregular?

Yes — ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 어때요, 어땠어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 어떤, 어떠면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 어떻습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

More ㅎ irregular words like 어떻다

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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