Adjectives · Regular (있다 type)

있다 conjugation

to be (somewhere); to have; there is · itda · sounds like [읻따]

Short answer: “(somewhere)” in Korean is 있다 (itda), which also means to have; there is. Polite present: 있어요 (isseoyo); past: 있었어요 (isseosseoyo); future: 있을 거예요. It is regular.

Present있어요[이써요] · isseoyo
Past있었어요[이써써요] · isseosseoyo
Future있을 거예요[이쓸 꺼예요] · isseul geoyeyo
Negative있지 않아요[읻찌 아나요] · itji anayo

Opposite: 없다 — to not be (somewhere)

Respect form: 계시다 — “to be (somewhere)” said about someone you respect; 있으시다 — “to have”

Note: the negative of 있다 is the separate word 없다 (없어요), and the other way round.

있다 in sentences

지금 집에 있어요.I’m at home now.
혹시 펜 있어요?Do you have a pen, by any chance?

All forms of 있다

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	있어요	[이써요]	isseoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	있습니다	[읻씀니다]	itseumnida
casual-아/어	있어	[이써]	isseo
plain (written)-다	있다	[읻따]	itda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	있습니까?	[읻씀니까]	itseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	있었어요	[이써써요]	isseosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	있었습니다	[이썯씀니다]	isseotseumnida
casual-았/었어	있었어	[이써써]	isseosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	있었다	[이썯따]	isseotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (long)-지 않아요	있지 않아요	[읻찌 아나요]	itji 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	있으세요	[이쓰세요]	isseuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	있으셨어요	[이쓰셔써요]	isseusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	있으십니다	[이쓰심니다]	isseusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	있고	[읻꼬]	itgo
… so / and then-아/어서	있어서	[이써서]	isseoseo
if …-(으)면	있으면	[이쓰면]	isseumyeon
… but-지만	있지만	[읻찌만]	itjiman
because …-(으)니까	있으니까	[이쓰니까]	isseunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	있는데	[인는데]	inneunde
even if …-아/어도	있어도	[이써도]	isseodo
while …-(으)면서	있으면서	[이쓰면서]	isseumyeonseo

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that) …-는	있는	[인는]	inneun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	있을	[이쓸]	isseul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	있을 수 있어요	[이쓸 쑤 이써요]	isseul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	있을 수 없어요	[이쓸 쑤 업써요]	isseul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	있어야 해요	[이써야 해요]	isseoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	있어도 돼요	[이써도 돼요]	isseodo dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	있기	[읻끼]	itgi

How 있다 changes

있다 is built on 있다 / 없다, so like a verb it describes with -는: 있는, 있는데. Its other endings are regular: 있어요, 있으면.

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

Questions

How do you say “to be” in Korean?

“(somewhere)” is 있다 (itda), pronounced [읻따]. In a sentence: 지금 집에 있어요. — I’m at home now.

What is the past tense of 있다?

있었어요 (isseosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 있다 (“to be (somewhere)”). Formal: 있었습니다; casual: 있었어.

How do you say 있다 politely?

Everyday polite: 있어요 (isseoyo). Formal: 있습니다. Casual, with close friends: 있어.

Is 있다 irregular?

No. 있다 is built on 있다 / 없다, so like a verb it describes with -는: 있는, 있는데. Its other endings are regular: 있어요, 있으면.

More 있다 / 없다 words like 있다

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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