Adjectives · 르 irregular

게으르다 conjugation

to be lazy · geeureuda · sounds like [게으르다]

Short answer: “Lazy” in Korean is 게으르다 (geeureuda). Polite present: 게을러요 (geeulleoyo); past: 게을렀어요 (geeulleosseoyo); future: 게으를 거예요. It is a 르 irregular adjective.

Present게을러요[게을러요] · geeulleoyo
Past게을렀어요[게을러써요] · geeulleosseoyo
Future게으를 거예요[게으를 꺼예요] · geeureul geoyeyo
Negative안 게을러요[안 게을러요] · an geeulleoyo

Opposite: 부지런하다 — to be hard-working

게으르다 in sentences

주말에는 게을러요.I’m lazy at the weekend.
게으른 고양이예요.It’s a lazy cat.

All forms of 게으르다

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	게을러요	[게을러요]	geeulleoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	게으릅니다	[게으름니다]	geeureumnida
casual-아/어	게을러	[게을러]	geeulleo
plain (written)-다	게으르다	[게으르다]	geeureuda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	게으릅니까?	[게으름니까]	geeureumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	게을렀어요	[게을러써요]	geeulleosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	게을렀습니다	[게을럳씀니다]	geeulleotseumnida
casual-았/었어	게을렀어	[게을러써]	geeulleosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	게을렀다	[게을럳따]	geeulleotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 게을러요	[안 게을러요]	an geeulleoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 게을렀어요	[안 게을러써요]	an geeulleosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	게으르지 않아요	[게으르지 아나요]	geeureuji 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	게으르세요	[게으르세요]	geeureuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	게으르셨어요	[게으르셔써요]	geeureusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	게으르십니다	[게으르심니다]	geeureusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	게으르고	[게으르고]	geeureugo
… so / and then-아/어서	게을러서	[게을러서]	geeulleoseo
if …-(으)면	게으르면	[게으르면]	geeureumyeon
… but-지만	게으르지만	[게으르지만]	geeureujiman
because …-(으)니까	게으르니까	[게으르니까]	geeureunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	게으른데	[게으른데]	geeureunde
even if …-아/어도	게을러도	[게을러도]	geeulleodo
while …-(으)면서	게으르면서	[게으르면서]	geeureumyeonseo

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	게으른	[게으른]	geeureun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	게으를	[게으를]	geeureul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	게으를 수 있어요	[게으를 쑤 이써요]	geeureul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	게으를 수 없어요	[게으를 쑤 업써요]	geeureul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	게을러야 해요	[게을러야 해요]	geeulleoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	게을러도 돼요	[게을러도 돼요]	geeulleodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	게으르게	[게으르게]	geeureuge
becomes …-아/어지다	게을러져요	[게을러저요]	geeulleojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	게으르기	[게으르기]	geeureugi

How 게으르다 changes

르 irregular: before 아/어, 르 loses its vowel and an extra ㄹ appears → 게을러요, 게을렀어요. Other endings are regular: 게으르면, 게으릅니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “lazy” in Korean?

“Lazy” is 게으르다 (geeureuda), pronounced [게으르다]. In a sentence: 주말에는 게을러요. — I’m lazy at the weekend.

What is the past tense of 게으르다?

게을렀어요 (geeulleosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 게으르다 (“to be lazy”). Formal: 게을렀습니다; casual: 게을렀어.

How do you say 게으르다 politely?

Everyday polite: 게을러요 (geeulleoyo). Formal: 게으릅니다. Casual, with close friends: 게을러.

How do you say “not lazy” in Korean?

안 게을러요 or 게으르지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 게으르다 irregular?

Yes — 르 irregular: before 아/어, 르 loses its vowel and an extra ㄹ appears → 게을러요, 게을렀어요. Other endings are regular: 게으르면, 게으릅니다.

More 르 irregular words like 게으르다

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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