맑다 conjugation

to be clear; sunny · makda · sounds like [막따]

Short answer: “Clear” in Korean is 맑다 (makda), which also means sunny. Polite present: 맑아요 (malgayo); past: 맑았어요 (malgasseoyo); future: 맑을 거예요. It is regular.

Present맑아요[말가요] · malgayo
Past맑았어요[말가써요] · malgasseoyo
Future맑을 거예요[말글 꺼예요] · malgeul geoyeyo
Negative안 맑아요[안 말가요] · an malgayo

Opposite: 흐리다 — to be cloudy

맑다 in sentences

오늘은 하늘이 맑아요.The sky is clear today.
맑은 날에는 산책해요.On sunny days I go for a walk.

All forms of 맑다

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	맑아요	[말가요]	malgayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	맑습니다	[막씀니다]	makseumnida
casual-아/어	맑아	[말가]	malga
plain (written)-다	맑다	[막따]	makda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	맑습니까?	[막씀니까]	makseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	맑았어요	[말가써요]	malgasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	맑았습니다	[말갇씀니다]	malgatseumnida
casual-았/었어	맑았어	[말가써]	malgasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	맑았다	[말갇따]	malgatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 맑아요	[안 말가요]	an malgayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 맑았어요	[안 말가써요]	an malgasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	맑지 않아요	[막찌 아나요]	makji 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	맑으세요	[말그세요]	malgeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	맑으셨어요	[말그셔써요]	malgeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	맑으십니다	[말그심니다]	malgeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	맑고	[말꼬]	malgo
… so / and then-아/어서	맑아서	[말가서]	malgaseo
if …-(으)면	맑으면	[말그면]	malgeumyeon
… but-지만	맑지만	[막찌만]	makjiman
because …-(으)니까	맑으니까	[말그니까]	malgeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	맑은데	[말근데]	malgeunde
even if …-아/어도	맑아도	[말가도]	malgado
while …-(으)면서	맑으면서	[말그면서]	malgeumyeonseo

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	맑은	[말근]	malgeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	맑을	[말글]	malgeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	맑을 수 있어요	[말글 쑤 이써요]	malgeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	맑을 수 없어요	[말글 쑤 업써요]	malgeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	맑아야 해요	[말가야 해요]	malgaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	맑아도 돼요	[말가도 돼요]	malgado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	맑게	[말께]	malge
becomes …-아/어지다	맑아져요	[말가저요]	malgajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	맑기	[말끼]	malgi

How 맑다 changes

맑 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 맑아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 맑으면, 맑을. 맑다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “clear” in Korean?

“Clear” is 맑다 (makda), pronounced [막따]. In a sentence: 오늘은 하늘이 맑아요. — The sky is clear today.

What is the past tense of 맑다?

맑았어요 (malgasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 맑다 (“to be clear”). Formal: 맑았습니다; casual: 맑았어.

How do you say 맑다 politely?

Everyday polite: 맑아요 (malgayo). Formal: 맑습니다. Casual, with close friends: 맑아.

How do you say “not clear” in Korean?

안 맑아요 or 맑지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 맑다 irregular?

No. 맑 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 맑아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 맑으면, 맑을. 맑다 is regular.

More regular words like 맑다

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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