적다 conjugation

to be few; little · jeokda · sounds like [적따]

Short answer: “Few” in Korean is 적다 (jeokda), which also means little. Polite present: 적어요 (jeogeoyo); past: 적었어요 (jeogeosseoyo); future: 적을 거예요. It is regular.

Present적어요[저거요] · jeogeoyo
Past적었어요[저거써요] · jeogeosseoyo
Future적을 거예요[저글 꺼예요] · jeogeul geoyeyo
Negative안 적어요[안 저거요] · an jeogeoyo

Opposite: 많다 — to be many

적다 in sentences

월급이 적어요.My salary is low.
오늘은 손님이 적었어요.There were few customers today.

All forms of 적다

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	적어요	[저거요]	jeogeoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	적습니다	[적씀니다]	jeokseumnida
casual-아/어	적어	[저거]	jeogeo
plain (written)-다	적다	[적따]	jeokda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	적습니까?	[적씀니까]	jeokseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	적었어요	[저거써요]	jeogeosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	적었습니다	[저걷씀니다]	jeogeotseumnida
casual-았/었어	적었어	[저거써]	jeogeosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	적었다	[저걷따]	jeogeotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 적어요	[안 저거요]	an jeogeoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 적었어요	[안 저거써요]	an jeogeosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	적지 않아요	[적찌 아나요]	jeokji 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	적으세요	[저그세요]	jeogeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	적으셨어요	[저그셔써요]	jeogeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	적으십니다	[저그심니다]	jeogeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	적고	[적꼬]	jeokgo
… so / and then-아/어서	적어서	[저거서]	jeogeoseo
if …-(으)면	적으면	[저그면]	jeogeumyeon
… but-지만	적지만	[적찌만]	jeokjiman
because …-(으)니까	적으니까	[저그니까]	jeogeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	적은데	[저근데]	jeogeunde
even if …-아/어도	적어도	[저거도]	jeogeodo
while …-(으)면서	적으면서	[저그면서]	jeogeumyeonseo

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	적은	[저근]	jeogeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	적을	[저글]	jeogeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	적을 수 있어요	[저글 쑤 이써요]	jeogeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	적을 수 없어요	[저글 쑤 업써요]	jeogeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	적어야 해요	[저거야 해요]	jeogeoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	적어도 돼요	[저거도 돼요]	jeogeodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	적게	[적께]	jeokge
becomes …-아/어지다	적어져요	[저거저요]	jeogeojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	적기	[적끼]	jeokgi

How 적다 changes

적 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 적어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 적으면, 적을. 적다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “few” in Korean?

“Few” is 적다 (jeokda), pronounced [적따]. In a sentence: 월급이 적어요. — My salary is low.

What is the past tense of 적다?

적었어요 (jeogeosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 적다 (“to be few”). Formal: 적었습니다; casual: 적었어.

How do you say 적다 politely?

Everyday polite: 적어요 (jeogeoyo). Formal: 적습니다. Casual, with close friends: 적어.

How do you say “not few” in Korean?

안 적어요 or 적지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 적다 irregular?

No. 적 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 적어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 적으면, 적을. 적다 is regular.

More regular words like 적다

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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