짜다 conjugation

to be salty · jjada · sounds like [짜다]

Short answer: “Salty” in Korean is 짜다 (jjada). Polite present: 짜요 (jjayo); past: 짰어요 (jjasseoyo); future: 짤 거예요. It is regular.

Present짜요[짜요] · jjayo
Past짰어요[짜써요] · jjasseoyo
Future짤 거예요[짤 꺼예요] · jjal geoyeyo
Negative안 짜요[안 짜요] · an jjayo

짜다 in sentences

국이 좀 짜요.The soup is a bit salty.
너무 짠 음식은 몸에 안 좋아요.Food that is too salty is bad for you.

All forms of 짜다

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	짜요	[짜요]	jjayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	짭니다	[짬니다]	jjamnida
casual-아/어	짜	[짜]	jja
plain (written)-다	짜다	[짜다]	jjada
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	짭니까?	[짬니까]	jjamnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	짰어요	[짜써요]	jjasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	짰습니다	[짣씀니다]	jjatseumnida
casual-았/었어	짰어	[짜써]	jjasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	짰다	[짣따]	jjatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 짜요	[안 짜요]	an jjayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 짰어요	[안 짜써요]	an jjasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	짜지 않아요	[짜지 아나요]	jjaji 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	짜세요	[짜세요]	jjaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	짜셨어요	[짜셔써요]	jjasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	짜십니다	[짜심니다]	jjasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	짜고	[짜고]	jjago
… so / and then-아/어서	짜서	[짜서]	jjaseo
if …-(으)면	짜면	[짜면]	jjamyeon
… but-지만	짜지만	[짜지만]	jjajiman
because …-(으)니까	짜니까	[짜니까]	jjanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	짠데	[짠데]	jjande
even if …-아/어도	짜도	[짜도]	jjado
while …-(으)면서	짜면서	[짜면서]	jjamyeonseo

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	짠	[짠]	jjan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	짤	[짤]	jjal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	짤 수 있어요	[짤 쑤 이써요]	jjal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	짤 수 없어요	[짤 쑤 업써요]	jjal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	짜야 해요	[짜야 해요]	jjaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	짜도 돼요	[짜도 돼요]	jjado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	짜게	[짜게]	jjage
becomes …-아/어지다	짜져요	[짜저요]	jjajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	짜기	[짜기]	jjagi

How 짜다 changes

짜 ends in a vowel, so 짜 + 아/어 becomes 짜 → 짜요, 짰어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 짜면, 짤. 짜다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “salty” in Korean?

“Salty” is 짜다 (jjada), pronounced [짜다]. In a sentence: 국이 좀 짜요. — The soup is a bit salty.

What is the past tense of 짜다?

짰어요 (jjasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 짜다 (“to be salty”). Formal: 짰습니다; casual: 짰어.

How do you say 짜다 politely?

Everyday polite: 짜요 (jjayo). Formal: 짭니다. Casual, with close friends: 짜.

How do you say “not salty” in Korean?

안 짜요 or 짜지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 짜다 irregular?

No. 짜 ends in a vowel, so 짜 + 아/어 becomes 짜 → 짜요, 짰어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 짜면, 짤. 짜다 is regular.

More regular words like 짜다

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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