넓다 conjugation

to be wide; spacious · neolda · sounds like [널따]

Short answer: “Wide” in Korean is 넓다 (neolda), which also means spacious. Polite present: 넓어요 (neolbeoyo); past: 넓었어요 (neolbeosseoyo); future: 넓을 거예요. It is regular.

Present넓어요[널버요] · neolbeoyo
Past넓었어요[널버써요] · neolbeosseoyo
Future넓을 거예요[널블 꺼예요] · neolbeul geoyeyo
Negative안 넓어요[안 널버요] · an neolbeoyo

Opposite: 좁다 — to be narrow

넓다 in sentences

방이 넓어요.The room is spacious.
넓은 집으로 이사하고 싶어요.I want to move to a bigger place.

All forms of 넓다

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	넓어요	[널버요]	neolbeoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	넓습니다	[널씀니다]	neolseumnida
casual-아/어	넓어	[널버]	neolbeo
plain (written)-다	넓다	[널따]	neolda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	넓습니까?	[널씀니까]	neolseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	넓었어요	[널버써요]	neolbeosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	넓었습니다	[널벋씀니다]	neolbeotseumnida
casual-았/었어	넓었어	[널버써]	neolbeosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	넓었다	[널벋따]	neolbeotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 넓어요	[안 널버요]	an neolbeoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 넓었어요	[안 널버써요]	an neolbeosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	넓지 않아요	[널찌 아나요]	neolji 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	넓으세요	[널브세요]	neolbeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	넓으셨어요	[널브셔써요]	neolbeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	넓으십니다	[널브심니다]	neolbeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	넓고	[널꼬]	neolgo
… so / and then-아/어서	넓어서	[널버서]	neolbeoseo
if …-(으)면	넓으면	[널브면]	neolbeumyeon
… but-지만	넓지만	[널찌만]	neoljiman
because …-(으)니까	넓으니까	[널브니까]	neolbeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	넓은데	[널븐데]	neolbeunde
even if …-아/어도	넓어도	[널버도]	neolbeodo
while …-(으)면서	넓으면서	[널브면서]	neolbeumyeonseo

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	넓은	[널븐]	neolbeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	넓을	[널블]	neolbeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	넓을 수 있어요	[널블 쑤 이써요]	neolbeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	넓을 수 없어요	[널블 쑤 업써요]	neolbeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	넓어야 해요	[널버야 해요]	neolbeoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	넓어도 돼요	[널버도 돼요]	neolbeodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	넓게	[널께]	neolge
becomes …-아/어지다	넓어져요	[널버저요]	neolbeojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	넓기	[널끼]	neolgi

How 넓다 changes

넓 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 넓어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 넓으면, 넓을. 넓다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “wide” in Korean?

“Wide” is 넓다 (neolda), pronounced [널따]. In a sentence: 방이 넓어요. — The room is spacious.

What is the past tense of 넓다?

넓었어요 (neolbeosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 넓다 (“to be wide”). Formal: 넓었습니다; casual: 넓었어.

How do you say 넓다 politely?

Everyday polite: 넓어요 (neolbeoyo). Formal: 넓습니다. Casual, with close friends: 넓어.

How do you say “not wide” in Korean?

안 넓어요 or 넓지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 넓다 irregular?

No. 넓 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 넓어요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 넓으면, 넓을. 넓다 is regular.

More regular words like 넓다

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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