Adjectives · 하다 word

행복하다 conjugation

to be happy · haengbokada · sounds like [행보카다]

Short answer: “Happy” in Korean is 행복하다 (haengbokada). Polite present: 행복해요 (haengbokaeyo); past: 행복했어요 (haengbokaesseoyo); future: 행복할 거예요. It is a 하다 adjective: 하 + 아/어 always becomes 해.

Present행복해요[행보캐요] · haengbokaeyo
Past행복했어요[행보캐써요] · haengbokaesseoyo
Future행복할 거예요[행보칼 꺼예요] · haengbokal geoyeyo
Negative안 행복해요[안 행보캐요] · an haengbokaeyo

행복하다 in sentences

지금 정말 행복해요.I’m really happy right now.
행복한 하루 보내세요.Have a happy day.

All forms of 행복하다

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	행복해요	[행보캐요]	haengbokaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	행복합니다	[행보캄니다]	haengbokamnida
casual-아/어	행복해	[행보캐]	haengbokae
plain (written)-다	행복하다	[행보카다]	haengbokada
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	행복합니까?	[행보캄니까]	haengbokamnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	행복했어요	[행보캐써요]	haengbokaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	행복했습니다	[행보캗씀니다]	haengbokaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	행복했어	[행보캐써]	haengbokaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	행복했다	[행보캗따]	haengbokaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 행복해요	[안 행보캐요]	an haengbokaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 행복했어요	[안 행보캐써요]	an haengbokaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	행복하지 않아요	[행보카지 아나요]	haengbokaji 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	행복하세요	[행보카세요]	haengbokaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	행복하셨어요	[행보카셔써요]	haengbokasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	행복하십니다	[행보카심니다]	haengbokasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	행복하고	[행보카고]	haengbokago
… so / and then-아/어서	행복해서	[행보캐서]	haengbokaeseo
if …-(으)면	행복하면	[행보카면]	haengbokamyeon
… but-지만	행복하지만	[행보카지만]	haengbokajiman
because …-(으)니까	행복하니까	[행보카니까]	haengbokanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	행복한데	[행보칸데]	haengbokande
even if …-아/어도	행복해도	[행보캐도]	haengbokaedo
while …-(으)면서	행복하면서	[행보카면서]	haengbokamyeonseo

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	행복한	[행보칸]	haengbokan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	행복할	[행보칼]	haengbokal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	행복할 수 있어요	[행보칼 쑤 이써요]	haengbokal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	행복할 수 없어요	[행보칼 쑤 업써요]	haengbokal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	행복해야 해요	[행보캐야 해요]	haengbokaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	행복해도 돼요	[행보캐도 돼요]	haengbokaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	행복하게	[행보카게]	haengbokage
becomes …-아/어지다	행복해져요	[행보캐저요]	haengbokaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	행복하기	[행보카기]	haengbokagi

How 행복하다 changes

Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 행복해요, 행복했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 행복합니다, 행복하면.

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

Questions

How do you say “happy” in Korean?

“Happy” is 행복하다 (haengbokada), pronounced [행보카다]. In a sentence: 지금 정말 행복해요. — I’m really happy right now.

What is the past tense of 행복하다?

행복했어요 (haengbokaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 행복하다 (“to be happy”). Formal: 행복했습니다; casual: 행복했어.

How do you say 행복하다 politely?

Everyday polite: 행복해요 (haengbokaeyo). Formal: 행복합니다. Casual, with close friends: 행복해.

How do you say “not happy” in Korean?

안 행복해요 or 행복하지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 행복하다 irregular?

No. Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 행복해요, 행복했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 행복합니다, 행복하면.

More 하다 words like 행복하다

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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