Adjectives · ㅎ irregular

그렇다 conjugation

to be so; to be like that · geureota · sounds like [그러타]

Short answer: “So” in Korean is 그렇다 (geureota), which also means to be like that. Polite present: 그래요 (geuraeyo); past: 그랬어요 (geuraesseoyo); future: 그럴 거예요. It is a ㅎ irregular adjective.

Present그래요[그래요] · geuraeyo
Past그랬어요[그래써요] · geuraesseoyo
Future그럴 거예요[그럴 꺼예요] · geureol geoyeyo
Negative안 그래요[안 그래요] · an geuraeyo

그렇다 in sentences

그래요?Really?
저도 그렇게 생각해요.I think so too.

All forms of 그렇다

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	그래요	[그래요]	geuraeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	그렇습니다	[그러씀니다]	geureoseumnida
casual-아/어	그래	[그래]	geurae
plain (written)-다	그렇다	[그러타]	geureota
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	그렇습니까?	[그러씀니까]	geureoseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	그랬어요	[그래써요]	geuraesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	그랬습니다	[그랟씀니다]	geuraetseumnida
casual-았/었어	그랬어	[그래써]	geuraesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	그랬다	[그랟따]	geuraetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 그래요	[안 그래요]	an geuraeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 그랬어요	[안 그래써요]	an geuraesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	그렇지 않아요	[그러치 아나요]	geureochi 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	그러세요	[그러세요]	geureoseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	그러셨어요	[그러셔써요]	geureosyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	그러십니다	[그러심니다]	geureosimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	그렇고	[그러코]	geureoko
… so / and then-아/어서	그래서	[그래서]	geuraeseo
if …-(으)면	그러면	[그러면]	geureomyeon
… but-지만	그렇지만	[그러치만]	geureochiman
because …-(으)니까	그러니까	[그러니까]	geureonikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	그런데	[그런데]	geureonde
even if …-아/어도	그래도	[그래도]	geuraedo
while …-(으)면서	그러면서	[그러면서]	geureomyeonseo

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	그런	[그런]	geureon
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	그럴	[그럴]	geureol

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	그럴 수 있어요	[그럴 쑤 이써요]	geureol su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	그럴 수 없어요	[그럴 쑤 업써요]	geureol su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	그래야 해요	[그래야 해요]	geuraeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	그래도 돼요	[그래도 돼요]	geuraedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	그렇게	[그러케]	geureoke
becomes …-아/어지다	그래져요	[그래저요]	geuraejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	그렇기	[그러키]	geureoki

How 그렇다 changes

ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 그래요, 그랬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 그런, 그러면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 그렇습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

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

Questions

How do you say “so” in Korean?

“So” is 그렇다 (geureota), pronounced [그러타]. In a sentence: 그래요? — Really?

What is the past tense of 그렇다?

그랬어요 (geuraesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 그렇다 (“to be so”). Formal: 그랬습니다; casual: 그랬어.

How do you say 그렇다 politely?

Everyday polite: 그래요 (geuraeyo). Formal: 그렇습니다. Casual, with close friends: 그래.

How do you say “not so” in Korean?

안 그래요 or 그렇지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 그렇다 irregular?

Yes — ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 그래요, 그랬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 그런, 그러면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 그렇습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

More ㅎ irregular words like 그렇다

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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