좁다 conjugation

to be narrow; small (space) · jopda · sounds like [좁따]

Short answer: “Narrow” in Korean is 좁다 (jopda), which also means small (space). Polite present: 좁아요 (jobayo); past: 좁았어요 (jobasseoyo); future: 좁을 거예요. It is regular.

Present좁아요[조바요] · jobayo
Past좁았어요[조바써요] · jobasseoyo
Future좁을 거예요[조블 꺼예요] · jobeul geoyeyo
Negative안 좁아요[안 조바요] · an jobayo

Opposite: 넓다 — to be wide

좁다 in sentences

길이 좁아요.The road is narrow.
좁은 방에 살아요.I live in a small room.

All forms of 좁다

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	좁아요	[조바요]	jobayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	좁습니다	[좁씀니다]	jopseumnida
casual-아/어	좁아	[조바]	joba
plain (written)-다	좁다	[좁따]	jopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	좁습니까?	[좁씀니까]	jopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	좁았어요	[조바써요]	jobasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	좁았습니다	[조받씀니다]	jobatseumnida
casual-았/었어	좁았어	[조바써]	jobasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	좁았다	[조받따]	jobatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 좁아요	[안 조바요]	an jobayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 좁았어요	[안 조바써요]	an jobasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	좁지 않아요	[좁찌 아나요]	jopji 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	좁으세요	[조브세요]	jobeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	좁으셨어요	[조브셔써요]	jobeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	좁으십니다	[조브심니다]	jobeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	좁고	[좁꼬]	jopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	좁아서	[조바서]	jobaseo
if …-(으)면	좁으면	[조브면]	jobeumyeon
… but-지만	좁지만	[좁찌만]	jopjiman
because …-(으)니까	좁으니까	[조브니까]	jobeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	좁은데	[조븐데]	jobeunde
even if …-아/어도	좁아도	[조바도]	jobado
while …-(으)면서	좁으면서	[조브면서]	jobeumyeonseo

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	좁은	[조븐]	jobeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	좁을	[조블]	jobeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	좁을 수 있어요	[조블 쑤 이써요]	jobeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	좁을 수 없어요	[조블 쑤 업써요]	jobeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	좁아야 해요	[조바야 해요]	jobaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	좁아도 돼요	[조바도 돼요]	jobado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	좁게	[좁께]	jopge
becomes …-아/어지다	좁아져요	[조바저요]	jobajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	좁기	[좁끼]	jopgi

How 좁다 changes

좁 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 좁아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 좁으면, 좁을. 좁다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “narrow” in Korean?

“Narrow” is 좁다 (jopda), pronounced [좁따]. In a sentence: 길이 좁아요. — The road is narrow.

What is the past tense of 좁다?

좁았어요 (jobasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 좁다 (“to be narrow”). Formal: 좁았습니다; casual: 좁았어.

How do you say 좁다 politely?

Everyday polite: 좁아요 (jobayo). Formal: 좁습니다. Casual, with close friends: 좁아.

How do you say “not narrow” in Korean?

안 좁아요 or 좁지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 좁다 irregular?

No. 좁 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 좁아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 좁으면, 좁을. 좁다 is regular.

More regular words like 좁다

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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