Adjectives · 하다 word

궁금하다 conjugation

to be curious; to wonder · gunggeumhada · sounds like [궁금하다]

Short answer: “Curious” in Korean is 궁금하다 (gunggeumhada), which also means to wonder. Polite present: 궁금해요 (gunggeumhaeyo); past: 궁금했어요 (gunggeumhaesseoyo); future: 궁금할 거예요. It is a 하다 adjective: 하 + 아/어 always becomes 해.

Present궁금해요[궁금해요] · gunggeumhaeyo
Past궁금했어요[궁금해써요] · gunggeumhaesseoyo
Future궁금할 거예요[궁금할 꺼예요] · gunggeumhal geoyeyo
Negative안 궁금해요[안 궁금해요] · an gunggeumhaeyo

궁금하다 in sentences

결과가 궁금해요.I’m curious about the result.
궁금한 게 있어요.I have a question.

All forms of 궁금하다

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	궁금해요	[궁금해요]	gunggeumhaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	궁금합니다	[궁금함니다]	gunggeumhamnida
casual-아/어	궁금해	[궁금해]	gunggeumhae
plain (written)-다	궁금하다	[궁금하다]	gunggeumhada
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	궁금합니까?	[궁금함니까]	gunggeumhamnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	궁금했어요	[궁금해써요]	gunggeumhaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	궁금했습니다	[궁금핻씀니다]	gunggeumhaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	궁금했어	[궁금해써]	gunggeumhaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	궁금했다	[궁금핻따]	gunggeumhaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 궁금해요	[안 궁금해요]	an gunggeumhaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 궁금했어요	[안 궁금해써요]	an gunggeumhaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	궁금하지 않아요	[궁금하지 아나요]	gunggeumhaji 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	궁금하세요	[궁금하세요]	gunggeumhaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	궁금하셨어요	[궁금하셔써요]	gunggeumhasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	궁금하십니다	[궁금하심니다]	gunggeumhasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	궁금하고	[궁금하고]	gunggeumhago
… so / and then-아/어서	궁금해서	[궁금해서]	gunggeumhaeseo
if …-(으)면	궁금하면	[궁금하면]	gunggeumhamyeon
… but-지만	궁금하지만	[궁금하지만]	gunggeumhajiman
because …-(으)니까	궁금하니까	[궁금하니까]	gunggeumhanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	궁금한데	[궁금한데]	gunggeumhande
even if …-아/어도	궁금해도	[궁금해도]	gunggeumhaedo
while …-(으)면서	궁금하면서	[궁금하면서]	gunggeumhamyeonseo

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	궁금한	[궁금한]	gunggeumhan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	궁금할	[궁금할]	gunggeumhal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	궁금할 수 있어요	[궁금할 쑤 이써요]	gunggeumhal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	궁금할 수 없어요	[궁금할 쑤 업써요]	gunggeumhal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	궁금해야 해요	[궁금해야 해요]	gunggeumhaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	궁금해도 돼요	[궁금해도 돼요]	gunggeumhaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	궁금하게	[궁금하게]	gunggeumhage
becomes …-아/어지다	궁금해져요	[궁금해저요]	gunggeumhaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	궁금하기	[궁금하기]	gunggeumhagi

How 궁금하다 changes

Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 궁금해요, 궁금했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 궁금합니다, 궁금하면.

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

Questions

How do you say “curious” in Korean?

“Curious” is 궁금하다 (gunggeumhada), pronounced [궁금하다]. In a sentence: 결과가 궁금해요. — I’m curious about the result.

What is the past tense of 궁금하다?

궁금했어요 (gunggeumhaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 궁금하다 (“to be curious”). Formal: 궁금했습니다; casual: 궁금했어.

How do you say 궁금하다 politely?

Everyday polite: 궁금해요 (gunggeumhaeyo). Formal: 궁금합니다. Casual, with close friends: 궁금해.

How do you say “not curious” in Korean?

안 궁금해요 or 궁금하지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 궁금하다 irregular?

No. Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 궁금해요, 궁금했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 궁금합니다, 궁금하면.

More 하다 words like 궁금하다

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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