Adjectives · ㅎ irregular

까맣다 conjugation

to be black · kkamata · sounds like [까마타]

Short answer: “Black” in Korean is 까맣다 (kkamata). Polite present: 까매요 (kkamaeyo); past: 까맸어요 (kkamaesseoyo); future: 까말 거예요. It is a ㅎ irregular adjective.

Present까매요[까매요] · kkamaeyo
Past까맸어요[까매써요] · kkamaesseoyo
Future까말 거예요[까말 꺼예요] · kkamal geoyeyo
Negative안 까매요[안 까매요] · an kkamaeyo

Opposite: 하얗다 — to be white

까맣다 in sentences

고양이가 까매요.The cat is black.
까만 구두를 신었어요.I wore black shoes.

All forms of 까맣다

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	까매요	[까매요]	kkamaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	까맣습니다	[까마씀니다]	kkamaseumnida
casual-아/어	까매	[까매]	kkamae
plain (written)-다	까맣다	[까마타]	kkamata
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	까맣습니까?	[까마씀니까]	kkamaseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	까맸어요	[까매써요]	kkamaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	까맸습니다	[까맫씀니다]	kkamaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	까맸어	[까매써]	kkamaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	까맸다	[까맫따]	kkamaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 까매요	[안 까매요]	an kkamaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 까맸어요	[안 까매써요]	an kkamaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	까맣지 않아요	[까마치 아나요]	kkamachi 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	까마세요	[까마세요]	kkamaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	까마셨어요	[까마셔써요]	kkamasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	까마십니다	[까마심니다]	kkamasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	까맣고	[까마코]	kkamako
… so / and then-아/어서	까매서	[까매서]	kkamaeseo
if …-(으)면	까마면	[까마면]	kkamamyeon
… but-지만	까맣지만	[까마치만]	kkamachiman
because …-(으)니까	까마니까	[까마니까]	kkamanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	까만데	[까만데]	kkamande
even if …-아/어도	까매도	[까매도]	kkamaedo
while …-(으)면서	까마면서	[까마면서]	kkamamyeonseo

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	까만	[까만]	kkaman
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	까말	[까말]	kkamal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	까말 수 있어요	[까말 쑤 이써요]	kkamal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	까말 수 없어요	[까말 쑤 업써요]	kkamal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	까매야 해요	[까매야 해요]	kkamaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	까매도 돼요	[까매도 돼요]	kkamaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	까맣게	[까마케]	kkamake
becomes …-아/어지다	까매져요	[까매저요]	kkamaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	까맣기	[까마키]	kkamaki

How 까맣다 changes

ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 까매요, 까맸어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 까만, 까마면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 까맣습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

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

Questions

How do you say “black” in Korean?

“Black” is 까맣다 (kkamata), pronounced [까마타]. In a sentence: 고양이가 까매요. — The cat is black.

What is the past tense of 까맣다?

까맸어요 (kkamaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 까맣다 (“to be black”). Formal: 까맸습니다; casual: 까맸어.

How do you say 까맣다 politely?

Everyday polite: 까매요 (kkamaeyo). Formal: 까맣습니다. Casual, with close friends: 까매.

How do you say “not black” in Korean?

안 까매요 or 까맣지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 까맣다 irregular?

Yes — ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 까매요, 까맸어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 까만, 까마면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 까맣습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

More ㅎ irregular words like 까맣다

Look up another word

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