Adjectives · Regular (있다 type)

맛없다 conjugation

to taste bad · maseopda · sounds like [마덥따]

Short answer: “To taste bad” in Korean is 맛없다 (maseopda). Polite present: 맛없어요 (madeopseoyo); past: 맛없었어요 (madeopseosseoyo); future: 맛없을 거예요. It is regular.

Present맛없어요[마덥써요] · madeopseoyo
Past맛없었어요[마덥써써요] · madeopseosseoyo
Future맛없을 거예요[마덥쓸 꺼예요] · madeopseul geoyeyo
Negative맛없지 않아요[마덥찌 아나요] · madeopji anayo

Opposite: 맛있다 — to be delicious

맛없다 in sentences

이 빵은 맛없어요.This bread doesn’t taste good.
어제 먹은 피자는 맛없었어요.The pizza I had yesterday wasn’t good.

All forms of 맛없다

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	맛없어요	[마덥써요]	madeopseoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	맛없습니다	[마덥씀니다]	madeopseumnida
casual-아/어	맛없어	[마덥써]	madeopseo
plain (written)-다	맛없다	[마덥따]	madeopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	맛없습니까?	[마덥씀니까]	madeopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	맛없었어요	[마덥써써요]	madeopseosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	맛없었습니다	[마덥썯씀니다]	madeopseotseumnida
casual-았/었어	맛없었어	[마덥써써]	madeopseosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	맛없었다	[마덥썯따]	madeopseotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (long)-지 않아요	맛없지 않아요	[마덥찌 아나요]	madeopji 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	맛없으세요	[마덥쓰세요]	madeopseuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	맛없으셨어요	[마덥쓰셔써요]	madeopseusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	맛없으십니다	[마덥쓰심니다]	madeopseusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	맛없고	[마덥꼬]	madeopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	맛없어서	[마덥써서]	madeopseoseo
if …-(으)면	맛없으면	[마덥쓰면]	madeopseumyeon
… but-지만	맛없지만	[마덥찌만]	madeopjiman
because …-(으)니까	맛없으니까	[마덥쓰니까]	madeopseunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	맛없는데	[마덤는데]	madeomneunde
even if …-아/어도	맛없어도	[마덥써도]	madeopseodo
while …-(으)면서	맛없으면서	[마덥쓰면서]	madeopseumyeonseo

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that) …-는	맛없는	[마덤는]	madeomneun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	맛없을	[마덥쓸]	madeopseul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	맛없을 수 있어요	[마덥쓸 쑤 이써요]	madeopseul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	맛없을 수 없어요	[마덥쓸 쑤 업써요]	madeopseul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	맛없어야 해요	[마덥써야 해요]	madeopseoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	맛없어도 돼요	[마덥써도 돼요]	madeopseodo dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	맛없기	[마덥끼]	madeopgi

How 맛없다 changes

맛없다 is built on 있다 / 없다, so like a verb it describes with -는: 맛없는, 맛없는데. Its other endings are regular: 맛없어요, 맛없으면.

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

Questions

How do you say “to taste bad” in Korean?

“To taste bad” is 맛없다 (maseopda), pronounced [마덥따]. In a sentence: 이 빵은 맛없어요. — This bread doesn’t taste good.

What is the past tense of 맛없다?

맛없었어요 (madeopseosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 맛없다 (“to taste bad”). Formal: 맛없었습니다; casual: 맛없었어.

How do you say 맛없다 politely?

Everyday polite: 맛없어요 (madeopseoyo). Formal: 맛없습니다. Casual, with close friends: 맛없어.

Is 맛없다 irregular?

No. 맛없다 is built on 있다 / 없다, so like a verb it describes with -는: 맛없는, 맛없는데. Its other endings are regular: 맛없어요, 맛없으면.

More 있다 / 없다 words like 맛없다

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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