좋다 conjugation

to be good; nice · jota · sounds like [조타]

Short answer: “Good” in Korean is 좋다 (jota), which also means nice. Polite present: 좋아요 (joayo); past: 좋았어요 (joasseoyo); future: 좋을 거예요. It is regular.

Present좋아요[조아요] · joayo
Past좋았어요[조아써요] · joasseoyo
Future좋을 거예요[조을 꺼예요] · joeul geoyeyo
Negative안 좋아요[안 조아요] · an joayo

Opposite: 나쁘다 — to be bad

좋다 in sentences

날씨가 좋아요.The weather is nice.
좋은 하루 보내세요!Have a nice day!

All forms of 좋다

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	좋아요	[조아요]	joayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	좋습니다	[조씀니다]	joseumnida
casual-아/어	좋아	[조아]	joa
plain (written)-다	좋다	[조타]	jota
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	좋습니까?	[조씀니까]	joseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	좋았어요	[조아써요]	joasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	좋았습니다	[조앋씀니다]	joatseumnida
casual-았/었어	좋았어	[조아써]	joasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	좋았다	[조앋따]	joatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 좋아요	[안 조아요]	an joayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 좋았어요	[안 조아써요]	an joasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	좋지 않아요	[조치 아나요]	jochi 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	좋으세요	[조으세요]	joeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	좋으셨어요	[조으셔써요]	joeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	좋으십니다	[조으심니다]	joeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	좋고	[조코]	joko
… so / and then-아/어서	좋아서	[조아서]	joaseo
if …-(으)면	좋으면	[조으면]	joeumyeon
… but-지만	좋지만	[조치만]	jochiman
because …-(으)니까	좋으니까	[조으니까]	joeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	좋은데	[조은데]	joeunde
even if …-아/어도	좋아도	[조아도]	joado
while …-(으)면서	좋으면서	[조으면서]	joeumyeonseo

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	좋은	[조은]	joeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	좋을	[조을]	joeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	좋을 수 있어요	[조을 쑤 이써요]	joeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	좋을 수 없어요	[조을 쑤 업써요]	joeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	좋아야 해요	[조아야 해요]	joaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	좋아도 돼요	[조아도 돼요]	joado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	좋게	[조케]	joke
becomes …-아/어지다	좋아져요	[조아저요]	joajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	좋기	[조키]	joki

How 좋다 changes

좋 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 좋아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 좋으면, 좋을. 좋다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “good” in Korean?

“Good” is 좋다 (jota), pronounced [조타]. In a sentence: 날씨가 좋아요. — The weather is nice.

What is the past tense of 좋다?

좋았어요 (joasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 좋다 (“to be good”). Formal: 좋았습니다; casual: 좋았어.

How do you say 좋다 politely?

Everyday polite: 좋아요 (joayo). Formal: 좋습니다. Casual, with close friends: 좋아.

How do you say “not good” in Korean?

안 좋아요 or 좋지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 좋다 irregular?

No. 좋 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 좋아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 좋으면, 좋을. 좋다 is regular.

More regular words like 좋다

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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