Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

외롭다 conjugation

to be lonely · oeropda · sounds like [외롭따]

Short answer: “Lonely” in Korean is 외롭다 (oeropda). Polite present: 외로워요 (oerowoyo); past: 외로웠어요 (oerowosseoyo); future: 외로울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present외로워요[외로워요] · oerowoyo
Past외로웠어요[외로워써요] · oerowosseoyo
Future외로울 거예요[외로울 꺼예요] · oeroul geoyeyo
Negative안 외로워요[안 외로워요] · an oerowoyo

외롭다 in sentences

혼자 살아서 가끔 외로워요.I live alone, so I get lonely sometimes.
외로울 때 친구에게 전화해요.When I feel lonely, I call a friend.

All forms of 외롭다

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	외로워요	[외로워요]	oerowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	외롭습니다	[외롭씀니다]	oeropseumnida
casual-아/어	외로워	[외로워]	oerowo
plain (written)-다	외롭다	[외롭따]	oeropda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	외롭습니까?	[외롭씀니까]	oeropseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	외로웠어요	[외로워써요]	oerowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	외로웠습니다	[외로웓씀니다]	oerowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	외로웠어	[외로워써]	oerowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	외로웠다	[외로웓따]	oerowotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 외로워요	[안 외로워요]	an oerowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 외로웠어요	[안 외로워써요]	an oerowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	외롭지 않아요	[외롭찌 아나요]	oeropji 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	외로우세요	[외로우세요]	oerouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	외로우셨어요	[외로우셔써요]	oerousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	외로우십니다	[외로우심니다]	oerousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	외롭고	[외롭꼬]	oeropgo
… so / and then-아/어서	외로워서	[외로워서]	oerowoseo
if …-(으)면	외로우면	[외로우면]	oeroumyeon
… but-지만	외롭지만	[외롭찌만]	oeropjiman
because …-(으)니까	외로우니까	[외로우니까]	oerounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	외로운데	[외로운데]	oerounde
even if …-아/어도	외로워도	[외로워도]	oerowodo
while …-(으)면서	외로우면서	[외로우면서]	oeroumyeonseo

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	외로운	[외로운]	oeroun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	외로울	[외로울]	oeroul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	외로울 수 있어요	[외로울 쑤 이써요]	oeroul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	외로울 수 없어요	[외로울 쑤 업써요]	oeroul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	외로워야 해요	[외로워야 해요]	oerowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	외로워도 돼요	[외로워도 돼요]	oerowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	외롭게	[외롭께]	oeropge
becomes …-아/어지다	외로워져요	[외로워저요]	oerowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	외롭기	[외롭끼]	oeropgi

How 외롭다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 외롭 + 어 → 외로워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 외로우면, 외로울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 외롭습니다, 외롭고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “lonely” in Korean?

“Lonely” is 외롭다 (oeropda), pronounced [외롭따]. In a sentence: 혼자 살아서 가끔 외로워요. — I live alone, so I get lonely sometimes.

What is the past tense of 외롭다?

외로웠어요 (oerowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 외롭다 (“to be lonely”). Formal: 외로웠습니다; casual: 외로웠어.

How do you say 외롭다 politely?

Everyday polite: 외로워요 (oerowoyo). Formal: 외롭습니다. Casual, with close friends: 외로워.

How do you say “not lonely” in Korean?

안 외로워요 or 외롭지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 외롭다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 외롭 + 어 → 외로워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 외로우면, 외로울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 외롭습니다, 외롭고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 외롭다

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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