Adjectives · 하다 word

중요하다 conjugation

to be important · jungyohada · sounds like [중요하다]

Short answer: “Important” in Korean is 중요하다 (jungyohada). Polite present: 중요해요 (jungyohaeyo); past: 중요했어요 (jungyohaesseoyo); future: 중요할 거예요. It is a 하다 adjective: 하 + 아/어 always becomes 해.

Present중요해요[중요해요] · jungyohaeyo
Past중요했어요[중요해써요] · jungyohaesseoyo
Future중요할 거예요[중요할 꺼예요] · jungyohal geoyeyo
Negative안 중요해요[안 중요해요] · an jungyohaeyo

중요하다 in sentences

건강이 제일 중요해요.Health is the most important thing.
오늘 중요한 회의가 있어요.I have an important meeting today.

All forms of 중요하다

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	중요해요	[중요해요]	jungyohaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	중요합니다	[중요함니다]	jungyohamnida
casual-아/어	중요해	[중요해]	jungyohae
plain (written)-다	중요하다	[중요하다]	jungyohada
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	중요합니까?	[중요함니까]	jungyohamnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	중요했어요	[중요해써요]	jungyohaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	중요했습니다	[중요핻씀니다]	jungyohaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	중요했어	[중요해써]	jungyohaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	중요했다	[중요핻따]	jungyohaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 중요해요	[안 중요해요]	an jungyohaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 중요했어요	[안 중요해써요]	an jungyohaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	중요하지 않아요	[중요하지 아나요]	jungyohaji 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	중요하세요	[중요하세요]	jungyohaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	중요하셨어요	[중요하셔써요]	jungyohasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	중요하십니다	[중요하심니다]	jungyohasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	중요하고	[중요하고]	jungyohago
… so / and then-아/어서	중요해서	[중요해서]	jungyohaeseo
if …-(으)면	중요하면	[중요하면]	jungyohamyeon
… but-지만	중요하지만	[중요하지만]	jungyohajiman
because …-(으)니까	중요하니까	[중요하니까]	jungyohanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	중요한데	[중요한데]	jungyohande
even if …-아/어도	중요해도	[중요해도]	jungyohaedo
while …-(으)면서	중요하면서	[중요하면서]	jungyohamyeonseo

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	중요한	[중요한]	jungyohan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	중요할	[중요할]	jungyohal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	중요할 수 있어요	[중요할 쑤 이써요]	jungyohal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	중요할 수 없어요	[중요할 쑤 업써요]	jungyohal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	중요해야 해요	[중요해야 해요]	jungyohaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	중요해도 돼요	[중요해도 돼요]	jungyohaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	중요하게	[중요하게]	jungyohage
becomes …-아/어지다	중요해져요	[중요해저요]	jungyohaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	중요하기	[중요하기]	jungyohagi

How 중요하다 changes

Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 중요해요, 중요했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 중요합니다, 중요하면.

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

Questions

How do you say “important” in Korean?

“Important” is 중요하다 (jungyohada), pronounced [중요하다]. In a sentence: 건강이 제일 중요해요. — Health is the most important thing.

What is the past tense of 중요하다?

중요했어요 (jungyohaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 중요하다 (“to be important”). Formal: 중요했습니다; casual: 중요했어.

How do you say 중요하다 politely?

Everyday polite: 중요해요 (jungyohaeyo). Formal: 중요합니다. Casual, with close friends: 중요해.

How do you say “not important” in Korean?

안 중요해요 or 중요하지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 중요하다 irregular?

No. Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 중요해요, 중요했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 중요합니다, 중요하면.

More 하다 words like 중요하다

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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