Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

쉽다 conjugation

to be easy · swipda · sounds like [쉽따]

Short answer: “Easy” in Korean is 쉽다 (swipda). Polite present: 쉬워요 (swiwoyo); past: 쉬웠어요 (swiwosseoyo); future: 쉬울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present쉬워요[쉬워요] · swiwoyo
Past쉬웠어요[쉬워써요] · swiwosseoyo
Future쉬울 거예요[쉬울 꺼예요] · swiul geoyeyo
Negative안 쉬워요[안 쉬워요] · an swiwoyo

Opposite: 어렵다 — to be difficult

쉽다 in sentences

이 문제는 쉬워요.This question is easy.
쉬운 단어부터 배워요.I learn the easy words first.

All forms of 쉽다

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	쉬워요	[쉬워요]	swiwoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	쉽습니다	[쉽씀니다]	swipseumnida
casual-아/어	쉬워	[쉬워]	swiwo
plain (written)-다	쉽다	[쉽따]	swipda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	쉽습니까?	[쉽씀니까]	swipseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	쉬웠어요	[쉬워써요]	swiwosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	쉬웠습니다	[쉬웓씀니다]	swiwotseumnida
casual-았/었어	쉬웠어	[쉬워써]	swiwosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	쉬웠다	[쉬웓따]	swiwotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 쉬워요	[안 쉬워요]	an swiwoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 쉬웠어요	[안 쉬워써요]	an swiwosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	쉽지 않아요	[쉽찌 아나요]	swipji 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	쉬우세요	[쉬우세요]	swiuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	쉬우셨어요	[쉬우셔써요]	swiusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	쉬우십니다	[쉬우심니다]	swiusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	쉽고	[쉽꼬]	swipgo
… so / and then-아/어서	쉬워서	[쉬워서]	swiwoseo
if …-(으)면	쉬우면	[쉬우면]	swiumyeon
… but-지만	쉽지만	[쉽찌만]	swipjiman
because …-(으)니까	쉬우니까	[쉬우니까]	swiunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	쉬운데	[쉬운데]	swiunde
even if …-아/어도	쉬워도	[쉬워도]	swiwodo
while …-(으)면서	쉬우면서	[쉬우면서]	swiumyeonseo

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	쉬운	[쉬운]	swiun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	쉬울	[쉬울]	swiul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	쉬울 수 있어요	[쉬울 쑤 이써요]	swiul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	쉬울 수 없어요	[쉬울 쑤 업써요]	swiul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	쉬워야 해요	[쉬워야 해요]	swiwoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	쉬워도 돼요	[쉬워도 돼요]	swiwodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	쉽게	[쉽께]	swipge
becomes …-아/어지다	쉬워져요	[쉬워저요]	swiwojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	쉽기	[쉽끼]	swipgi

How 쉽다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 쉽 + 어 → 쉬워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 쉬우면, 쉬울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 쉽습니다, 쉽고. 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 “easy” in Korean?

“Easy” is 쉽다 (swipda), pronounced [쉽따]. In a sentence: 이 문제는 쉬워요. — This question is easy.

What is the past tense of 쉽다?

쉬웠어요 (swiwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 쉽다 (“to be easy”). Formal: 쉬웠습니다; casual: 쉬웠어.

How do you say 쉽다 politely?

Everyday polite: 쉬워요 (swiwoyo). Formal: 쉽습니다. Casual, with close friends: 쉬워.

How do you say “not easy” in Korean?

안 쉬워요 or 쉽지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 쉽다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 쉽 + 어 → 쉬워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 쉬우면, 쉬울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 쉽습니다, 쉽고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 쉽다

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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