길다 conjugation

to be long · gilda · sounds like [길다]

Short answer: “Long” in Korean is 길다 (gilda). Polite present: 길어요 (gireoyo); past: 길었어요 (gireosseoyo); future: 길 거예요. It is regular, but its ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.

Present길어요[기러요] · gireoyo
Past길었어요[기러써요] · gireosseoyo
Future길 거예요[길 꺼예요] · gil geoyeyo
Negative안 길어요[안 기러요] · an gireoyo

Opposite: 짧다 — to be short (length)

길다 in sentences

머리가 길어요.My hair is long.
줄이 너무 길었어요.The queue was too long.

All forms of 길다

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	길어요	[기러요]	gireoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	깁니다	[김니다]	gimnida
casual-아/어	길어	[기러]	gireo
plain (written)-다	길다	[길다]	gilda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	깁니까?	[김니까]	gimnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	길었어요	[기러써요]	gireosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	길었습니다	[기럳씀니다]	gireotseumnida
casual-았/었어	길었어	[기러써]	gireosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	길었다	[기럳따]	gireotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 길어요	[안 기러요]	an gireoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 길었어요	[안 기러써요]	an gireosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	길지 않아요	[길지 아나요]	gilji 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	기세요	[기세요]	giseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	기셨어요	[기셔써요]	gisyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	기십니다	[기심니다]	gisimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	길고	[길고]	gilgo
… so / and then-아/어서	길어서	[기러서]	gireoseo
if …-(으)면	길면	[길면]	gilmyeon
… but-지만	길지만	[길지만]	giljiman
because …-(으)니까	기니까	[기니까]	ginikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	긴데	[긴데]	ginde
even if …-아/어도	길어도	[기러도]	gireodo
while …-(으)면서	길면서	[길면서]	gilmyeonseo

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	긴	[긴]	gin
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	길	[길]	gil

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	길 수 있어요	[길 쑤 이써요]	gil su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	길 수 없어요	[길 쑤 업써요]	gil su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	길어야 해요	[기러야 해요]	gireoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	길어도 돼요	[기러도 돼요]	gireodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	길게	[길게]	gilge
becomes …-아/어지다	길어져요	[기러저요]	gireojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	길기	[길기]	gilgi

How 길다 changes

길다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 긴, 깁니다, 기세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 길면, 길. Everything else is regular: 길어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

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

Questions

How do you say “long” in Korean?

“Long” is 길다 (gilda), pronounced [길다]. In a sentence: 머리가 길어요. — My hair is long.

What is the past tense of 길다?

길었어요 (gireosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 길다 (“to be long”). Formal: 길었습니다; casual: 길었어.

How do you say 길다 politely?

Everyday polite: 길어요 (gireoyo). Formal: 깁니다. Casual, with close friends: 길어.

How do you say “not long” in Korean?

안 길어요 or 길지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 길다 irregular?

No. 길다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 긴, 깁니다, 기세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 길면, 길. Everything else is regular: 길어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

More ㄹ-stem words like 길다

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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