멀다 conjugation

to be far · meolda · sounds like [멀다]

Short answer: “Far” in Korean is 멀다 (meolda). Polite present: 멀어요 (meoreoyo); past: 멀었어요 (meoreosseoyo); future: 멀 거예요. It is regular, but its ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.

Present멀어요[머러요] · meoreoyo
Past멀었어요[머러써요] · meoreosseoyo
Future멀 거예요[멀 꺼예요] · meol geoyeyo
Negative안 멀어요[안 머러요] · an meoreoyo

Opposite: 가깝다 — to be near

멀다 in sentences

집이 회사에서 멀어요.My home is far from work.
여기에서 멀어요?Is it far from here?

All forms of 멀다

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	멀어요	[머러요]	meoreoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	멉니다	[멈니다]	meomnida
casual-아/어	멀어	[머러]	meoreo
plain (written)-다	멀다	[멀다]	meolda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	멉니까?	[멈니까]	meomnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	멀었어요	[머러써요]	meoreosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	멀었습니다	[머럳씀니다]	meoreotseumnida
casual-았/었어	멀었어	[머러써]	meoreosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	멀었다	[머럳따]	meoreotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 멀어요	[안 머러요]	an meoreoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 멀었어요	[안 머러써요]	an meoreosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	멀지 않아요	[멀지 아나요]	meolji 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	머세요	[머세요]	meoseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	머셨어요	[머셔써요]	meosyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	머십니다	[머심니다]	meosimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	멀고	[멀고]	meolgo
… so / and then-아/어서	멀어서	[머러서]	meoreoseo
if …-(으)면	멀면	[멀면]	meolmyeon
… but-지만	멀지만	[멀지만]	meoljiman
because …-(으)니까	머니까	[머니까]	meonikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	먼데	[먼데]	meonde
even if …-아/어도	멀어도	[머러도]	meoreodo
while …-(으)면서	멀면서	[멀면서]	meolmyeonseo

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	먼	[먼]	meon
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	멀	[멀]	meol

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	멀 수 있어요	[멀 쑤 이써요]	meol su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	멀 수 없어요	[멀 쑤 업써요]	meol su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	멀어야 해요	[머러야 해요]	meoreoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	멀어도 돼요	[머러도 돼요]	meoreodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	멀게	[멀게]	meolge
becomes …-아/어지다	멀어져요	[머러저요]	meoreojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	멀기	[멀기]	meolgi

How 멀다 changes

멀다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 먼, 멉니다, 머세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 멀면, 멀. Everything else is regular: 멀어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

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

Questions

How do you say “far” in Korean?

“Far” is 멀다 (meolda), pronounced [멀다]. In a sentence: 집이 회사에서 멀어요. — My home is far from work.

What is the past tense of 멀다?

멀었어요 (meoreosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 멀다 (“to be far”). Formal: 멀었습니다; casual: 멀었어.

How do you say 멀다 politely?

Everyday polite: 멀어요 (meoreoyo). Formal: 멉니다. Casual, with close friends: 멀어.

How do you say “not far” in Korean?

안 멀어요 or 멀지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 멀다 irregular?

No. 멀다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 먼, 멉니다, 머세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 멀면, 멀. Everything else is regular: 멀어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

More ㄹ-stem words like 멀다

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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