Adjectives · ㅎ irregular

빨갛다 conjugation

to be red · ppalgata · sounds like [빨가타]

Short answer: “Red” in Korean is 빨갛다 (ppalgata). Polite present: 빨개요 (ppalgaeyo); past: 빨갰어요 (ppalgaesseoyo); future: 빨갈 거예요. It is a ㅎ irregular adjective.

Present빨개요[빨개요] · ppalgaeyo
Past빨갰어요[빨개써요] · ppalgaesseoyo
Future빨갈 거예요[빨갈 꺼예요] · ppalgal geoyeyo
Negative안 빨개요[안 빨개요] · an ppalgaeyo

빨갛다 in sentences

사과가 빨개요.The apple is red.
빨간 모자를 샀어요.I bought a red hat.

All forms of 빨갛다

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	빨개요	[빨개요]	ppalgaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	빨갛습니다	[빨가씀니다]	ppalgaseumnida
casual-아/어	빨개	[빨개]	ppalgae
plain (written)-다	빨갛다	[빨가타]	ppalgata
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	빨갛습니까?	[빨가씀니까]	ppalgaseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	빨갰어요	[빨개써요]	ppalgaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	빨갰습니다	[빨갣씀니다]	ppalgaetseumnida
casual-았/었어	빨갰어	[빨개써]	ppalgaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다	빨갰다	[빨갣따]	ppalgaetda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 빨개요	[안 빨개요]	an ppalgaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 빨갰어요	[안 빨개써요]	an ppalgaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	빨갛지 않아요	[빨가치 아나요]	ppalgachi 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	빨가세요	[빨가세요]	ppalgaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	빨가셨어요	[빨가셔써요]	ppalgasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	빨가십니다	[빨가심니다]	ppalgasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	빨갛고	[빨가코]	ppalgako
… so / and then-아/어서	빨개서	[빨개서]	ppalgaeseo
if …-(으)면	빨가면	[빨가면]	ppalgamyeon
… but-지만	빨갛지만	[빨가치만]	ppalgachiman
because …-(으)니까	빨가니까	[빨가니까]	ppalganikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	빨간데	[빨간데]	ppalgande
even if …-아/어도	빨개도	[빨개도]	ppalgaedo
while …-(으)면서	빨가면서	[빨가면서]	ppalgamyeonseo

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	빨간	[빨간]	ppalgan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	빨갈	[빨갈]	ppalgal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	빨갈 수 있어요	[빨갈 쑤 이써요]	ppalgal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	빨갈 수 없어요	[빨갈 쑤 업써요]	ppalgal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	빨개야 해요	[빨개야 해요]	ppalgaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	빨개도 돼요	[빨개도 돼요]	ppalgaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	빨갛게	[빨가케]	ppalgake
becomes …-아/어지다	빨개져요	[빨개저요]	ppalgaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	빨갛기	[빨가키]	ppalgaki

How 빨갛다 changes

ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 빨개요, 빨갰어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 빨간, 빨가면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 빨갛습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

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

Questions

How do you say “red” in Korean?

“Red” is 빨갛다 (ppalgata), pronounced [빨가타]. In a sentence: 사과가 빨개요. — The apple is red.

What is the past tense of 빨갛다?

빨갰어요 (ppalgaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 빨갛다 (“to be red”). Formal: 빨갰습니다; casual: 빨갰어.

How do you say 빨갛다 politely?

Everyday polite: 빨개요 (ppalgaeyo). Formal: 빨갛습니다. Casual, with close friends: 빨개.

How do you say “not red” in Korean?

안 빨개요 or 빨갛지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 빨갛다 irregular?

Yes — ㅎ irregular: the ㅎ drops. With 아/어 the vowel turns into ㅐ → 빨개요, 빨갰어요; with -(으) endings no 으 is added → 빨간, 빨가면. Before a consonant ㅎ stays: 빨갛습니다. (좋다 is regular: 좋아요, 좋은.)

More ㅎ irregular words like 빨갛다

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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