슬프다 conjugation

to be sad · seulpeuda · sounds like [슬프다]

Short answer: “Sad” in Korean is 슬프다 (seulpeuda). Polite present: 슬퍼요 (seulpeoyo); past: 슬펐어요 (seulpeosseoyo); future: 슬플 거예요. It is regular, but its ㅡ drops before 아/어.

Present슬퍼요[슬퍼요] · seulpeoyo
Past슬펐어요[슬퍼써요] · seulpeosseoyo
Future슬플 거예요[슬플 꺼예요] · seulpeul geoyeyo
Negative안 슬퍼요[안 슬퍼요] · an seulpeoyo

Opposite: 기쁘다 — to be glad

슬프다 in sentences

이 노래는 슬퍼요.This song is sad.
슬픈 영화를 봤어요.I watched a sad movie.

All forms of 슬프다

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	슬퍼요	[슬퍼요]	seulpeoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	슬픕니다	[슬픔니다]	seulpeumnida
casual-아/어	슬퍼	[슬퍼]	seulpeo
plain (written)-다	슬프다	[슬프다]	seulpeuda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	슬픕니까?	[슬픔니까]	seulpeumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	슬펐어요	[슬퍼써요]	seulpeosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	슬펐습니다	[슬펃씀니다]	seulpeotseumnida
casual-았/었어	슬펐어	[슬퍼써]	seulpeosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	슬펐다	[슬펃따]	seulpeotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 슬퍼요	[안 슬퍼요]	an seulpeoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 슬펐어요	[안 슬퍼써요]	an seulpeosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	슬프지 않아요	[슬프지 아나요]	seulpeuji 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	슬프세요	[슬프세요]	seulpeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	슬프셨어요	[슬프셔써요]	seulpeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	슬프십니다	[슬프심니다]	seulpeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	슬프고	[슬프고]	seulpeugo
… so / and then-아/어서	슬퍼서	[슬퍼서]	seulpeoseo
if …-(으)면	슬프면	[슬프면]	seulpeumyeon
… but-지만	슬프지만	[슬프지만]	seulpeujiman
because …-(으)니까	슬프니까	[슬프니까]	seulpeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	슬픈데	[슬픈데]	seulpeunde
even if …-아/어도	슬퍼도	[슬퍼도]	seulpeodo
while …-(으)면서	슬프면서	[슬프면서]	seulpeumyeonseo

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	슬픈	[슬픈]	seulpeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	슬플	[슬플]	seulpeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	슬플 수 있어요	[슬플 쑤 이써요]	seulpeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	슬플 수 없어요	[슬플 쑤 업써요]	seulpeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	슬퍼야 해요	[슬퍼야 해요]	seulpeoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	슬퍼도 돼요	[슬퍼도 돼요]	seulpeodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	슬프게	[슬프게]	seulpeuge
becomes …-아/어지다	슬퍼져요	[슬퍼저요]	seulpeojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	슬프기	[슬프기]	seulpeugi

How 슬프다 changes

The ㅡ in 슬프다 drops before 아/어: 슬퍼요, 슬펐어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 슬프면, 슬픕니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “sad” in Korean?

“Sad” is 슬프다 (seulpeuda), pronounced [슬프다]. In a sentence: 이 노래는 슬퍼요. — This song is sad.

What is the past tense of 슬프다?

슬펐어요 (seulpeosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 슬프다 (“to be sad”). Formal: 슬펐습니다; casual: 슬펐어.

How do you say 슬프다 politely?

Everyday polite: 슬퍼요 (seulpeoyo). Formal: 슬픕니다. Casual, with close friends: 슬퍼.

How do you say “not sad” in Korean?

안 슬퍼요 or 슬프지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 슬프다 irregular?

No. The ㅡ in 슬프다 drops before 아/어: 슬퍼요, 슬펐어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 슬프면, 슬픕니다.

More ㅡ-stem words like 슬프다

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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