KoreanSum

Adjectives · ㅎ irregular

이렇다 conjugation

to be like this · ireota · sounds like [이러타]

Short answer: “Like this” in Korean is 이렇다 (ireota). Polite present: 이래요 (iraeyo); past: 이랬어요 (iraesseoyo); future: 이럴 거예요. It is a ㅎ irregular adjective.

이렇다 in sentences

All forms of 이렇다

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.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-아/어요이래요[이래요]iraeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다이렇습니다[이러씀니다]ireoseumnida
casual-아/어이래[이래]irae
plain (written)-다이렇다[이러타]ireota
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?이렇습니까?[이러씀니까]ireoseumnikka?
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요이랬어요[이래써요]iraesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다이랬습니다[이랟씀니다]iraetseumnida
casual-았/었어이랬어[이래써]iraesseo
plain (written)-았/었다이랬다[이랟따]iraetda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will probably be-(으)ㄹ 거예요이럴 거예요[이럴 꺼예요]ireol geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다이럴 겁니다[이럴 껌니다]ireol geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야이럴 거야[이럴 꺼야]ireol geoya
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …안 이래요[안 이래요]an iraeyo
did not안 …았/었어요안 이랬어요[안 이래써요]an iraesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요이렇지 않아요[이러치 아나요]ireochi anayo
Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
honorific — present-(으)세요이러세요[이러세요]ireoseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요이러셨어요[이러셔써요]ireosyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다이러십니다[이러심니다]ireosimnida
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고이렇고[이러코]ireoko
… so / and then-아/어서이래서[이래서]iraeseo
if …-(으)면이러면[이러면]ireomyeon
… but-지만이렇지만[이러치만]ireochiman
because …-(으)니까이러니까[이러니까]ireonikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데이런데[이런데]ireonde
even if …-아/어도이래도[이래도]iraedo
while …-(으)면서이러면서[이러면서]ireomyeonseo
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that is) …-(으)ㄴ이런[이런]ireon
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ이럴[이럴]ireol
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요이럴 수 있어요[이럴 쑤 이써요]ireol su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요이럴 수 없어요[이럴 쑤 업써요]ireol su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요이래야 해요[이래야 해요]iraeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요이래도 돼요[이래도 돼요]iraedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게이렇게[이러케]ireoke
becomes …-아/어지다이래져요[이래저요]iraejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기이렇기[이러키]ireoki

How 이렇다 changes

ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 이래요, 이랬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 이런, 이러면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 이렇습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

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

Questions

How do you say “like this” in Korean?

“Like this” is 이렇다 (ireota), pronounced [이러타]. In a sentence: 이렇게 하면 돼요. — You can do it like this.

What is the past tense of 이렇다?

이랬어요 (iraesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 이렇다 (“to be like this”). Formal: 이랬습니다; casual: 이랬어.

How do you say 이렇다 politely?

Everyday polite: 이래요 (iraeyo). Formal: 이렇습니다. Casual, with close friends: 이래.

How do you say “not like this” in Korean?

안 이래요 or 이렇지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 이렇다 irregular?

Yes — ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 이래요, 이랬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 이런, 이러면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 이렇습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

More ㅎ irregular words like 이렇다

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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