Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

고맙다 conjugation

to be thankful · gomapda · sounds like [고맙따]

Short answer: “Thankful” in Korean is 고맙다 (gomapda). Polite present: 고마워요 (gomawoyo); past: 고마웠어요 (gomawosseoyo); future: 고마울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present고마워요[고마워요] · gomawoyo
Past고마웠어요[고마워써요] · gomawosseoyo
Future고마울 거예요[고마울 꺼예요] · gomaul geoyeyo
Negative안 고마워요[안 고마워요] · an gomawoyo

고맙다 in sentences

도와줘서 고마워요.Thanks for helping me.
정말 고맙습니다.Thank you very much.

All forms of 고맙다

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	고마워요	[고마워요]	gomawoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	고맙습니다	[고맙씀니다]	gomapseumnida
casual-아/어	고마워	[고마워]	gomawo
plain (written)-다	고맙다	[고맙따]	gomapda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	고맙습니까?	[고맙씀니까]	gomapseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	고마웠어요	[고마워써요]	gomawosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	고마웠습니다	[고마웓씀니다]	gomawotseumnida
casual-았/었어	고마웠어	[고마워써]	gomawosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	고마웠다	[고마웓따]	gomawotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 고마워요	[안 고마워요]	an gomawoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 고마웠어요	[안 고마워써요]	an gomawosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	고맙지 않아요	[고맙찌 아나요]	gomapji 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	고마우세요	[고마우세요]	gomauseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	고마우셨어요	[고마우셔써요]	gomausyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	고마우십니다	[고마우심니다]	gomausimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	고맙고	[고맙꼬]	gomapgo
… so / and then-아/어서	고마워서	[고마워서]	gomawoseo
if …-(으)면	고마우면	[고마우면]	gomaumyeon
… but-지만	고맙지만	[고맙찌만]	gomapjiman
because …-(으)니까	고마우니까	[고마우니까]	gomaunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	고마운데	[고마운데]	gomaunde
even if …-아/어도	고마워도	[고마워도]	gomawodo
while …-(으)면서	고마우면서	[고마우면서]	gomaumyeonseo

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	고마운	[고마운]	gomaun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	고마울	[고마울]	gomaul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	고마울 수 있어요	[고마울 쑤 이써요]	gomaul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	고마울 수 없어요	[고마울 쑤 업써요]	gomaul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	고마워야 해요	[고마워야 해요]	gomawoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	고마워도 돼요	[고마워도 돼요]	gomawodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	고맙게	[고맙께]	gomapge
becomes …-아/어지다	고마워져요	[고마워저요]	gomawojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	고맙기	[고맙끼]	gomapgi

How 고맙다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 고맙 + 어 → 고마워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 고마우면, 고마울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 고맙습니다, 고맙고. 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 “thankful” in Korean?

“Thankful” is 고맙다 (gomapda), pronounced [고맙따]. In a sentence: 도와줘서 고마워요. — Thanks for helping me.

What is the past tense of 고맙다?

고마웠어요 (gomawosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 고맙다 (“to be thankful”). Formal: 고마웠습니다; casual: 고마웠어.

How do you say 고맙다 politely?

Everyday polite: 고마워요 (gomawoyo). Formal: 고맙습니다. Casual, with close friends: 고마워.

How do you say “not thankful” in Korean?

안 고마워요 or 고맙지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 고맙다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 고맙 + 어 → 고마워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 고마우면, 고마울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 고맙습니다, 고맙고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 고맙다

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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