높다 conjugation

to be high; tall · nopda · sounds like [놉따]

Short answer: “High” in Korean is 높다 (nopda), which also means tall. Polite present: 높아요 (nopayo); past: 높았어요 (nopasseoyo); future: 높을 거예요. It is regular.

Present높아요[노파요] · nopayo
Past높았어요[노파써요] · nopasseoyo
Future높을 거예요[노플 꺼예요] · nopeul geoyeyo
Negative안 높아요[안 노파요] · an nopayo

Opposite: 낮다 — to be low

높다 in sentences

이 산은 높아요.This mountain is high.
높은 건물이 많아요.There are a lot of tall buildings.

All forms of 높다

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	높아요	[노파요]	nopayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	높습니다	[놉씀니다]	nopseumnida
casual-아/어	높아	[노파]	nopa
plain (written)-다	높다	[놉따]	nopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	높습니까?	[놉씀니까]	nopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	높았어요	[노파써요]	nopasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	높았습니다	[노팓씀니다]	nopatseumnida
casual-았/었어	높았어	[노파써]	nopasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	높았다	[노팓따]	nopatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 높아요	[안 노파요]	an nopayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 높았어요	[안 노파써요]	an nopasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	높지 않아요	[놉찌 아나요]	nopji 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	높으세요	[노프세요]	nopeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	높으셨어요	[노프셔써요]	nopeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	높으십니다	[노프심니다]	nopeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	높고	[놉꼬]	nopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	높아서	[노파서]	nopaseo
if …-(으)면	높으면	[노프면]	nopeumyeon
… but-지만	높지만	[놉찌만]	nopjiman
because …-(으)니까	높으니까	[노프니까]	nopeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	높은데	[노픈데]	nopeunde
even if …-아/어도	높아도	[노파도]	nopado
while …-(으)면서	높으면서	[노프면서]	nopeumyeonseo

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	높은	[노픈]	nopeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	높을	[노플]	nopeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	높을 수 있어요	[노플 쑤 이써요]	nopeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	높을 수 없어요	[노플 쑤 업써요]	nopeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	높아야 해요	[노파야 해요]	nopaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	높아도 돼요	[노파도 돼요]	nopado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	높게	[놉께]	nopge
becomes …-아/어지다	높아져요	[노파저요]	nopajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	높기	[놉끼]	nopgi

How 높다 changes

높 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 높아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 높으면, 높을. 높다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “high” in Korean?

“High” is 높다 (nopda), pronounced [놉따]. In a sentence: 이 산은 높아요. — This mountain is high.

What is the past tense of 높다?

높았어요 (nopasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 높다 (“to be high”). Formal: 높았습니다; casual: 높았어.

How do you say 높다 politely?

Everyday polite: 높아요 (nopayo). Formal: 높습니다. Casual, with close friends: 높아.

How do you say “not high” in Korean?

안 높아요 or 높지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 높다 irregular?

No. 높 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 높아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 높으면, 높을. 높다 is regular.

More regular words like 높다

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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