Adjectives · ㅎ irregular

노랗다 conjugation

to be yellow · norata · sounds like [노라타]

Short answer: “Yellow” in Korean is 노랗다 (norata). Polite present: 노래요 (noraeyo); past: 노랬어요 (noraesseoyo); future: 노랄 거예요. It is a ㅎ irregular adjective.

Present노래요[노래요] · noraeyo
Past노랬어요[노래써요] · noraesseoyo
Future노랄 거예요[노랄 꺼예요] · noral geoyeyo
Negative안 노래요[안 노래요] · an noraeyo

노랗다 in sentences

바나나가 노래요.The banana is yellow.
노란 우산을 쓰고 있어요.I’m holding a yellow umbrella.

All forms of 노랗다

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	노래요	[노래요]	noraeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	노랗습니다	[노라씀니다]	noraseumnida
casual-아/어	노래	[노래]	norae
plain (written)-다	노랗다	[노라타]	norata
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	노랗습니까?	[노라씀니까]	noraseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	노랬어요	[노래써요]	noraesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	노랬습니다	[노랟씀니다]	noraetseumnida
casual-았/었어	노랬어	[노래써]	noraesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	노랬다	[노랟따]	noraetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 노래요	[안 노래요]	an noraeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 노랬어요	[안 노래써요]	an noraesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	노랗지 않아요	[노라치 아나요]	norachi 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	노라세요	[노라세요]	noraseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	노라셨어요	[노라셔써요]	norasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	노라십니다	[노라심니다]	norasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	노랗고	[노라코]	norako
… so / and then-아/어서	노래서	[노래서]	noraeseo
if …-(으)면	노라면	[노라면]	noramyeon
… but-지만	노랗지만	[노라치만]	norachiman
because …-(으)니까	노라니까	[노라니까]	noranikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	노란데	[노란데]	norande
even if …-아/어도	노래도	[노래도]	noraedo
while …-(으)면서	노라면서	[노라면서]	noramyeonseo

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	노란	[노란]	noran
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	노랄	[노랄]	noral

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	노랄 수 있어요	[노랄 쑤 이써요]	noral su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	노랄 수 없어요	[노랄 쑤 업써요]	noral su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	노래야 해요	[노래야 해요]	noraeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	노래도 돼요	[노래도 돼요]	noraedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	노랗게	[노라케]	norake
becomes …-아/어지다	노래져요	[노래저요]	noraejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	노랗기	[노라키]	noraki

How 노랗다 changes

ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 노래요, 노랬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 노란, 노라면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 노랗습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

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

Questions

How do you say “yellow” in Korean?

“Yellow” is 노랗다 (norata), pronounced [노라타]. In a sentence: 바나나가 노래요. — The banana is yellow.

What is the past tense of 노랗다?

노랬어요 (noraesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 노랗다 (“to be yellow”). Formal: 노랬습니다; casual: 노랬어.

How do you say 노랗다 politely?

Everyday polite: 노래요 (noraeyo). Formal: 노랗습니다. Casual, with close friends: 노래.

How do you say “not yellow” in Korean?

안 노래요 or 노랗지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 노랗다 irregular?

Yes — ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 노래요, 노랬어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 노란, 노라면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 노랗습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

More ㅎ irregular words like 노랗다

Look up another word

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