Adjectives · ㅎ irregular

하얗다 conjugation

to be white · hayata · sounds like [하야타]

Short answer: “White” in Korean is 하얗다 (hayata). Polite present: 하얘요 (hayaeyo); past: 하얬어요 (hayaesseoyo); future: 하얄 거예요. It is a ㅎ irregular adjective.

Present하얘요[하얘요] · hayaeyo
Past하얬어요[하얘써요] · hayaesseoyo
Future하얄 거예요[하얄 꺼예요] · hayal geoyeyo
Negative안 하얘요[안 하얘요] · an hayaeyo

Opposite: 까맣다 — to be black

하얗다 in sentences

눈이 와서 길이 하얘요.It snowed, so the streets are white.
하얀 셔츠를 입었어요.I wore a white shirt.

All forms of 하얗다

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	하얘요	[하얘요]	hayaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	하얗습니다	[하야씀니다]	hayaseumnida
casual-아/어	하얘	[하얘]	hayae
plain (written)-다	하얗다	[하야타]	hayata
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	하얗습니까?	[하야씀니까]	hayaseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	하얬어요	[하얘써요]	hayaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	하얬습니다	[하얟씀니다]	hayaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	하얬어	[하얘써]	hayaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	하얬다	[하얟따]	hayaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 하얘요	[안 하얘요]	an hayaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 하얬어요	[안 하얘써요]	an hayaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	하얗지 않아요	[하야치 아나요]	hayachi 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	하야세요	[하야세요]	hayaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	하야셨어요	[하야셔써요]	hayasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	하야십니다	[하야심니다]	hayasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	하얗고	[하야코]	hayako
… so / and then-아/어서	하얘서	[하얘서]	hayaeseo
if …-(으)면	하야면	[하야면]	hayamyeon
… but-지만	하얗지만	[하야치만]	hayachiman
because …-(으)니까	하야니까	[하야니까]	hayanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	하얀데	[하얀데]	hayande
even if …-아/어도	하얘도	[하얘도]	hayaedo
while …-(으)면서	하야면서	[하야면서]	hayamyeonseo

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	하얀	[하얀]	hayan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	하얄	[하얄]	hayal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	하얄 수 있어요	[하얄 쑤 이써요]	hayal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	하얄 수 없어요	[하얄 쑤 업써요]	hayal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	하얘야 해요	[하얘야 해요]	hayaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	하얘도 돼요	[하얘도 돼요]	hayaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	하얗게	[하야케]	hayake
becomes …-아/어지다	하얘져요	[하얘저요]	hayaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	하얗기	[하야키]	hayaki

How 하얗다 changes

ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 하얘요, 하얬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 하얀, 하야면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 하얗습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

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

Questions

How do you say “white” in Korean?

“White” is 하얗다 (hayata), pronounced [하야타]. In a sentence: 눈이 와서 길이 하얘요. — It snowed, so the streets are white.

What is the past tense of 하얗다?

하얬어요 (hayaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 하얗다 (“to be white”). Formal: 하얬습니다; casual: 하얬어.

How do you say 하얗다 politely?

Everyday polite: 하얘요 (hayaeyo). Formal: 하얗습니다. Casual, with close friends: 하얘.

How do you say “not white” in Korean?

안 하얘요 or 하얗지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 하얗다 irregular?

Yes — ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 하얘요, 하얬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 하얀, 하야면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 하얗습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

More ㅎ irregular words like 하얗다

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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