Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

가볍다 conjugation

to be light (weight) · gabyeopda · sounds like [가볍따]

Short answer: “Light (weight)” in Korean is 가볍다 (gabyeopda). Polite present: 가벼워요 (gabyeowoyo); past: 가벼웠어요 (gabyeowosseoyo); future: 가벼울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present가벼워요[가벼워요] · gabyeowoyo
Past가벼웠어요[가벼워써요] · gabyeowosseoyo
Future가벼울 거예요[가벼울 꺼예요] · gabyeoul geoyeyo
Negative안 가벼워요[안 가벼워요] · an gabyeowoyo

Opposite: 무겁다 — to be heavy

가볍다 in sentences

이 노트북은 가벼워요.This laptop is light.
여행에는 가벼운 가방이 좋아요.A light bag is best for travelling.

All forms of 가볍다

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	가벼워요	[가벼워요]	gabyeowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	가볍습니다	[가볍씀니다]	gabyeopseumnida
casual-아/어	가벼워	[가벼워]	gabyeowo
plain (written)-다	가볍다	[가볍따]	gabyeopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	가볍습니까?	[가볍씀니까]	gabyeopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	가벼웠어요	[가벼워써요]	gabyeowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	가벼웠습니다	[가벼웓씀니다]	gabyeowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	가벼웠어	[가벼워써]	gabyeowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	가벼웠다	[가벼웓따]	gabyeowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 가벼워요	[안 가벼워요]	an gabyeowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 가벼웠어요	[안 가벼워써요]	an gabyeowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	가볍지 않아요	[가볍찌 아나요]	gabyeopji 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	가벼우세요	[가벼우세요]	gabyeouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	가벼우셨어요	[가벼우셔써요]	gabyeousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	가벼우십니다	[가벼우심니다]	gabyeousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	가볍고	[가볍꼬]	gabyeopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	가벼워서	[가벼워서]	gabyeowoseo
if …-(으)면	가벼우면	[가벼우면]	gabyeoumyeon
… but-지만	가볍지만	[가볍찌만]	gabyeopjiman
because …-(으)니까	가벼우니까	[가벼우니까]	gabyeounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	가벼운데	[가벼운데]	gabyeounde
even if …-아/어도	가벼워도	[가벼워도]	gabyeowodo
while …-(으)면서	가벼우면서	[가벼우면서]	gabyeoumyeonseo

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	가벼운	[가벼운]	gabyeoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	가벼울	[가벼울]	gabyeoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	가벼울 수 있어요	[가벼울 쑤 이써요]	gabyeoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	가벼울 수 없어요	[가벼울 쑤 업써요]	gabyeoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	가벼워야 해요	[가벼워야 해요]	gabyeowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	가벼워도 돼요	[가벼워도 돼요]	gabyeowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	가볍게	[가볍께]	gabyeopge
becomes …-아/어지다	가벼워져요	[가벼워저요]	gabyeowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	가볍기	[가볍끼]	gabyeopgi

How 가볍다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 가볍 + 어 → 가벼워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 가벼우면, 가벼울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 가볍습니다, 가볍고. 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 “light” in Korean?

“Light (weight)” is 가볍다 (gabyeopda), pronounced [가볍따]. In a sentence: 이 노트북은 가벼워요. — This laptop is light.

What is the past tense of 가볍다?

가벼웠어요 (gabyeowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 가볍다 (“to be light (weight)”). Formal: 가벼웠습니다; casual: 가벼웠어.

How do you say 가볍다 politely?

Everyday polite: 가벼워요 (gabyeowoyo). Formal: 가볍습니다. Casual, with close friends: 가벼워.

How do you say “not light” in Korean?

안 가벼워요 or 가볍지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 가볍다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 가볍 + 어 → 가벼워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 가벼우면, 가벼울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 가볍습니다, 가볍고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 가볍다

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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