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Adjectives · 하다 word

특별하다 conjugation

to be special · teukbyeolhada · sounds like [특뼐하다]

Short answer: “Special” in Korean is 특별하다 (teukbyeolhada). Polite present: 특별해요 (teukbyeolhaeyo); past: 특별했어요 (teukbyeolhaesseoyo); future: 특별할 거예요. It is a 하다 adjective: 하 + 아/어 always becomes 해.

특별하다 in sentences

All forms of 특별하다

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.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-아/어요특별해요[특뼐해요]teukbyeolhaeyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다특별합니다[특뼐함니다]teukbyeolhamnida
casual-아/어특별해[특뼐해]teukbyeolhae
plain (written)-다특별하다[특뼐하다]teukbyeolhada
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?특별합니까?[특뼐함니까]teukbyeolhamnikka?
Past
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite-았/었어요특별했어요[특뼐해써요]teukbyeolhaesseoyo
formal-았/었습니다특별했습니다[특뼐핻씀니다]teukbyeolhaetseumnida
casual-았/었어특별했어[특뼐해써]teukbyeolhaesseo
plain (written)-았/었다특별했다[특뼐핻따]teukbyeolhaetda
Future
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
polite — will probably be-(으)ㄹ 거예요특별할 거예요[특뼐할 꺼예요]teukbyeolhal geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다특별할 겁니다[특뼐할 껌니다]teukbyeolhal geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야특별할 거야[특뼐할 꺼야]teukbyeolhal geoya
Negative
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
not (short)안 …안 특별해요[안 특뼐해요]an teukbyeolhaeyo
did not안 …았/었어요안 특별했어요[안 특뼐해써요]an teukbyeolhaesseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요특별하지 않아요[특뼐하지 아나요]teukbyeolhaji anayo
Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
honorific — present-(으)세요특별하세요[특뼐하세요]teukbyeolhaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요특별하셨어요[특뼐하셔써요]teukbyeolhasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다특별하십니다[특뼐하심니다]teukbyeolhasimnida
Connecting
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
… and-고특별하고[특뼐하고]teukbyeolhago
… so / and then-아/어서특별해서[특뼐해서]teukbyeolhaeseo
if …-(으)면특별하면[특뼐하면]teukbyeolhamyeon
… but-지만특별하지만[특뼐하지만]teukbyeolhajiman
because …-(으)니까특별하니까[특뼐하니까]teukbyeolhanikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데특별한데[특뼐한데]teukbyeolhande
even if …-아/어도특별해도[특뼐해도]teukbyeolhaedo
while …-(으)면서특별하면서[특뼐하면서]teukbyeolhamyeonseo
Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
(that is) …-(으)ㄴ특별한[특뼐한]teukbyeolhan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ특별할[특뼐할]teukbyeolhal
Useful patterns
FormKoreanSounds likeRomanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요특별할 수 있어요[특뼐할 쑤 이써요]teukbyeolhal su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요특별할 수 없어요[특뼐할 쑤 업써요]teukbyeolhal su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요특별해야 해요[특뼐해야 해요]teukbyeolhaeya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요특별해도 돼요[특뼐해도 돼요]teukbyeolhaedo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게특별하게[특뼐하게]teukbyeolhage
becomes …-아/어지다특별해져요[특뼐해저요]teukbyeolhaejeoyo
…ing (noun)-기특별하기[특뼐하기]teukbyeolhagi

How 특별하다 changes

Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 특별해요, 특별했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 특별합니다, 특별하면.

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

Questions

How do you say “special” in Korean?

“Special” is 특별하다 (teukbyeolhada), pronounced [특뼐하다]. In a sentence: 오늘은 특별한 날이에요. — Today is a special day.

What is the past tense of 특별하다?

특별했어요 (teukbyeolhaesseoyo) is the polite past tense of 특별하다 (“to be special”). Formal: 특별했습니다; casual: 특별했어.

How do you say 특별하다 politely?

Everyday polite: 특별해요 (teukbyeolhaeyo). Formal: 특별합니다. Casual, with close friends: 특별해.

How do you say “not special” in Korean?

안 특별해요 or 특별하지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 특별하다 irregular?

No. Every 하다 word works the same way: 하 + 여 becomes 해 → 특별해요, 특별했어요. With other endings 하 stays as it is: 특별합니다, 특별하면.

More 하다 words like 특별하다

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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