짧다 conjugation

to be short (length) · jjalda · sounds like [짤따]

Short answer: “Short (length)” in Korean is 짧다 (jjalda). Polite present: 짧아요 (jjalbayo); past: 짧았어요 (jjalbasseoyo); future: 짧을 거예요. It is regular.

Present짧아요[짤바요] · jjalbayo
Past짧았어요[짤바써요] · jjalbasseoyo
Future짧을 거예요[짤블 꺼예요] · jjalbeul geoyeyo
Negative안 짧아요[안 짤바요] · an jjalbayo

Opposite: 길다 — to be long

짧다 in sentences

방학이 너무 짧아요.The holidays are too short.
머리를 짧게 잘랐어요.I had my hair cut short.

All forms of 짧다

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	짧아요	[짤바요]	jjalbayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	짧습니다	[짤씀니다]	jjalseumnida
casual-아/어	짧아	[짤바]	jjalba
plain (written)-다	짧다	[짤따]	jjalda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	짧습니까?	[짤씀니까]	jjalseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	짧았어요	[짤바써요]	jjalbasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	짧았습니다	[짤받씀니다]	jjalbatseumnida
casual-았/었어	짧았어	[짤바써]	jjalbasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	짧았다	[짤받따]	jjalbatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 짧아요	[안 짤바요]	an jjalbayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 짧았어요	[안 짤바써요]	an jjalbasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	짧지 않아요	[짤찌 아나요]	jjalji 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	짧으세요	[짤브세요]	jjalbeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	짧으셨어요	[짤브셔써요]	jjalbeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	짧으십니다	[짤브심니다]	jjalbeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	짧고	[짤꼬]	jjalgo
… so / and then-아/어서	짧아서	[짤바서]	jjalbaseo
if …-(으)면	짧으면	[짤브면]	jjalbeumyeon
… but-지만	짧지만	[짤찌만]	jjaljiman
because …-(으)니까	짧으니까	[짤브니까]	jjalbeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	짧은데	[짤븐데]	jjalbeunde
even if …-아/어도	짧아도	[짤바도]	jjalbado
while …-(으)면서	짧으면서	[짤브면서]	jjalbeumyeonseo

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	짧은	[짤븐]	jjalbeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	짧을	[짤블]	jjalbeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	짧을 수 있어요	[짤블 쑤 이써요]	jjalbeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	짧을 수 없어요	[짤블 쑤 업써요]	jjalbeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	짧아야 해요	[짤바야 해요]	jjalbaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	짧아도 돼요	[짤바도 돼요]	jjalbado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	짧게	[짤께]	jjalge
becomes …-아/어지다	짧아져요	[짤바저요]	jjalbajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	짧기	[짤끼]	jjalgi

How 짧다 changes

짧 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 짧아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 짧으면, 짧을. 짧다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “short” in Korean?

“Short (length)” is 짧다 (jjalda), pronounced [짤따]. In a sentence: 방학이 너무 짧아요. — The holidays are too short.

What is the past tense of 짧다?

짧았어요 (jjalbasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 짧다 (“to be short (length)”). Formal: 짧았습니다; casual: 짧았어.

How do you say 짧다 politely?

Everyday polite: 짧아요 (jjalbayo). Formal: 짧습니다. Casual, with close friends: 짧아.

How do you say “not short” in Korean?

안 짧아요 or 짧지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 짧다 irregular?

No. 짧 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 짧아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 짧으면, 짧을. 짧다 is regular.

More regular words like 짧다

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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