Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

가깝다 conjugation

to be near; close · gakkapda · sounds like [가깝따]

Short answer: “Near” in Korean is 가깝다 (gakkapda), which also means close. Polite present: 가까워요 (gakkawoyo); past: 가까웠어요 (gakkawosseoyo); future: 가까울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present가까워요[가까워요] · gakkawoyo
Past가까웠어요[가까워써요] · gakkawosseoyo
Future가까울 거예요[가까울 꺼예요] · gakkaul geoyeyo
Negative안 가까워요[안 가까워요] · an gakkawoyo

Opposite: 멀다 — to be far

가깝다 in sentences

역이 가까워요.The station is close.
가까운 편의점이 어디예요?Where is the nearest convenience store?

All forms of 가깝다

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	가까워요	[가까워요]	gakkawoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	가깝습니다	[가깝씀니다]	gakkapseumnida
casual-아/어	가까워	[가까워]	gakkawo
plain (written)-다	가깝다	[가깝따]	gakkapda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	가깝습니까?	[가깝씀니까]	gakkapseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	가까웠어요	[가까워써요]	gakkawosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	가까웠습니다	[가까웓씀니다]	gakkawotseumnida
casual-았/었어	가까웠어	[가까워써]	gakkawosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	가까웠다	[가까웓따]	gakkawotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 가까워요	[안 가까워요]	an gakkawoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 가까웠어요	[안 가까워써요]	an gakkawosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	가깝지 않아요	[가깝찌 아나요]	gakkapji 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	가까우세요	[가까우세요]	gakkauseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	가까우셨어요	[가까우셔써요]	gakkausyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	가까우십니다	[가까우심니다]	gakkausimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	가깝고	[가깝꼬]	gakkapgo
… so / and then-아/어서	가까워서	[가까워서]	gakkawoseo
if …-(으)면	가까우면	[가까우면]	gakkaumyeon
… but-지만	가깝지만	[가깝찌만]	gakkapjiman
because …-(으)니까	가까우니까	[가까우니까]	gakkaunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	가까운데	[가까운데]	gakkaunde
even if …-아/어도	가까워도	[가까워도]	gakkawodo
while …-(으)면서	가까우면서	[가까우면서]	gakkaumyeonseo

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	가까운	[가까운]	gakkaun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	가까울	[가까울]	gakkaul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	가까울 수 있어요	[가까울 쑤 이써요]	gakkaul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	가까울 수 없어요	[가까울 쑤 업써요]	gakkaul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	가까워야 해요	[가까워야 해요]	gakkawoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	가까워도 돼요	[가까워도 돼요]	gakkawodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	가깝게	[가깝께]	gakkapge
becomes …-아/어지다	가까워져요	[가까워저요]	gakkawojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	가깝기	[가깝끼]	gakkapgi

How 가깝다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 가깝 + 어 → 가까워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 가까우면, 가까울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 가깝습니다, 가깝고. 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 “near” in Korean?

“Near” is 가깝다 (gakkapda), pronounced [가깝따]. In a sentence: 역이 가까워요. — The station is close.

What is the past tense of 가깝다?

가까웠어요 (gakkawosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 가깝다 (“to be near”). Formal: 가까웠습니다; casual: 가까웠어.

How do you say 가깝다 politely?

Everyday polite: 가까워요 (gakkawoyo). Formal: 가깝습니다. Casual, with close friends: 가까워.

How do you say “not near” in Korean?

안 가까워요 or 가깝지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 가깝다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 가깝 + 어 → 가까워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 가까우면, 가까울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 가깝습니다, 가깝고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 가깝다

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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