같다 conjugation

to be the same; to be like · gatda · sounds like [갇따]

Short answer: “The same” in Korean is 같다 (gatda), which also means to be like. Polite present: 같아요 (gatayo); past: 같았어요 (gatasseoyo); future: 같을 거예요. It is regular.

Present같아요[가타요] · gatayo
Past같았어요[가타써요] · gatasseoyo
Future같을 거예요[가틀 꺼예요] · gateul geoyeyo
Negative안 같아요[안 가타요] · an gatayo

Opposite: 다르다 — to be different

같다 in sentences

우리는 나이가 같아요.We’re the same age.
같은 반 친구예요.We’re in the same class.

All forms of 같다

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	같아요	[가타요]	gatayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	같습니다	[갇씀니다]	gatseumnida
casual-아/어	같아	[가타]	gata
plain (written)-다	같다	[갇따]	gatda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	같습니까?	[갇씀니까]	gatseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	같았어요	[가타써요]	gatasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	같았습니다	[가탇씀니다]	gatatseumnida
casual-았/었어	같았어	[가타써]	gatasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	같았다	[가탇따]	gatatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 같아요	[안 가타요]	an gatayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 같았어요	[안 가타써요]	an gatasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	같지 않아요	[갇찌 아나요]	gatji 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	같으세요	[가트세요]	gateuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	같으셨어요	[가트셔써요]	gateusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	같으십니다	[가트심니다]	gateusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	같고	[갇꼬]	gatgo
… so / and then-아/어서	같아서	[가타서]	gataseo
if …-(으)면	같으면	[가트면]	gateumyeon
… but-지만	같지만	[갇찌만]	gatjiman
because …-(으)니까	같으니까	[가트니까]	gateunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	같은데	[가튼데]	gateunde
even if …-아/어도	같아도	[가타도]	gatado
while …-(으)면서	같으면서	[가트면서]	gateumyeonseo

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	같은	[가튼]	gateun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	같을	[가틀]	gateul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	같을 수 있어요	[가틀 쑤 이써요]	gateul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	같을 수 없어요	[가틀 쑤 업써요]	gateul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	같아야 해요	[가타야 해요]	gataya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	같아도 돼요	[가타도 돼요]	gatado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	같게	[갇께]	gatge
becomes …-아/어지다	같아져요	[가타저요]	gatajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	같기	[갇끼]	gatgi

How 같다 changes

같 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 같아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 같으면, 같을. 같다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “the same” in Korean?

“The same” is 같다 (gatda), pronounced [갇따]. In a sentence: 우리는 나이가 같아요. — We’re the same age.

What is the past tense of 같다?

같았어요 (gatasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 같다 (“to be the same”). Formal: 같았습니다; casual: 같았어.

How do you say 같다 politely?

Everyday polite: 같아요 (gatayo). Formal: 같습니다. Casual, with close friends: 같아.

How do you say “not the same” in Korean?

안 같아요 or 같지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 같다 irregular?

No. 같 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 같아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 같으면, 같을. 같다 is regular.

More regular words like 같다

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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