젊다 conjugation

to be young · jeomda · sounds like [점따]

Short answer: “Young” in Korean is 젊다 (jeomda). Polite present: 젊어요 (jeolmeoyo); past: 젊었어요 (jeolmeosseoyo); future: 젊을 거예요. It is regular.

Present젊어요[절머요] · jeolmeoyo
Past젊었어요[절머써요] · jeolmeosseoyo
Future젊을 거예요[절믈 꺼예요] · jeolmeul geoyeyo
Negative안 젊어요[안 절머요] · an jeolmeoyo

젊다 in sentences

그분은 생각보다 젊어요.That person is younger than I thought.
이 동네에는 젊은 사람들이 많아요.There are lots of young people in this area.

All forms of 젊다

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	젊어요	[절머요]	jeolmeoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	젊습니다	[점씀니다]	jeomseumnida
casual-아/어	젊어	[절머]	jeolmeo
plain (written)-다	젊다	[점따]	jeomda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	젊습니까?	[점씀니까]	jeomseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	젊었어요	[절머써요]	jeolmeosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	젊었습니다	[절먿씀니다]	jeolmeotseumnida
casual-았/었어	젊었어	[절머써]	jeolmeosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	젊었다	[절먿따]	jeolmeotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 젊어요	[안 절머요]	an jeolmeoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 젊었어요	[안 절머써요]	an jeolmeosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	젊지 않아요	[점찌 아나요]	jeomji 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	젊으세요	[절므세요]	jeolmeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	젊으셨어요	[절므셔써요]	jeolmeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	젊으십니다	[절므심니다]	jeolmeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	젊고	[점꼬]	jeomgo
… so / and then-아/어서	젊어서	[절머서]	jeolmeoseo
if …-(으)면	젊으면	[절므면]	jeolmeumyeon
… but-지만	젊지만	[점찌만]	jeomjiman
because …-(으)니까	젊으니까	[절므니까]	jeolmeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	젊은데	[절믄데]	jeolmeunde
even if …-아/어도	젊어도	[절머도]	jeolmeodo
while …-(으)면서	젊으면서	[절므면서]	jeolmeumyeonseo

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	젊은	[절믄]	jeolmeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	젊을	[절믈]	jeolmeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	젊을 수 있어요	[절믈 쑤 이써요]	jeolmeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	젊을 수 없어요	[절믈 쑤 업써요]	jeolmeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	젊어야 해요	[절머야 해요]	jeolmeoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	젊어도 돼요	[절머도 돼요]	jeolmeodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	젊게	[점께]	jeomge
becomes …-아/어지다	젊어져요	[절머저요]	jeolmeojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	젊기	[점끼]	jeomgi

How 젊다 changes

젊 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 젊어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 젊으면, 젊을. 젊다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “young” in Korean?

“Young” is 젊다 (jeomda), pronounced [점따]. In a sentence: 그분은 생각보다 젊어요. — That person is younger than I thought.

What is the past tense of 젊다?

젊었어요 (jeolmeosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 젊다 (“to be young”). Formal: 젊었습니다; casual: 젊었어.

How do you say 젊다 politely?

Everyday polite: 젊어요 (jeolmeoyo). Formal: 젊습니다. Casual, with close friends: 젊어.

How do you say “not young” in Korean?

안 젊어요 or 젊지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 젊다 irregular?

No. 젊 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 젊어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 젊으면, 젊을. 젊다 is regular.

More regular words like 젊다

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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