얇다 conjugation

to be thin (paper, clothes) · yalda · sounds like [얄따]

Short answer: “Thin (paper, clothes)” in Korean is 얇다 (yalda). Polite present: 얇아요 (yalbayo); past: 얇았어요 (yalbasseoyo); future: 얇을 거예요. It is regular.

Present얇아요[얄바요] · yalbayo
Past얇았어요[얄바써요] · yalbasseoyo
Future얇을 거예요[얄블 꺼예요] · yalbeul geoyeyo
Negative안 얇아요[안 얄바요] · an yalbayo

Opposite: 두껍다 — to be thick

얇다 in sentences

이 옷은 얇아요.These clothes are thin.
얇은 이불이 필요해요.I need a thin blanket.

All forms of 얇다

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	얇아요	[얄바요]	yalbayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	얇습니다	[얄씀니다]	yalseumnida
casual-아/어	얇아	[얄바]	yalba
plain (written)-다	얇다	[얄따]	yalda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	얇습니까?	[얄씀니까]	yalseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	얇았어요	[얄바써요]	yalbasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	얇았습니다	[얄받씀니다]	yalbatseumnida
casual-았/었어	얇았어	[얄바써]	yalbasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	얇았다	[얄받따]	yalbatda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 얇아요	[안 얄바요]	an yalbayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 얇았어요	[안 얄바써요]	an yalbasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	얇지 않아요	[얄찌 아나요]	yalji 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	얇으세요	[얄브세요]	yalbeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	얇으셨어요	[얄브셔써요]	yalbeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	얇으십니다	[얄브심니다]	yalbeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	얇고	[얄꼬]	yalgo
… so / and then-아/어서	얇아서	[얄바서]	yalbaseo
if …-(으)면	얇으면	[얄브면]	yalbeumyeon
… but-지만	얇지만	[얄찌만]	yaljiman
because …-(으)니까	얇으니까	[얄브니까]	yalbeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	얇은데	[얄븐데]	yalbeunde
even if …-아/어도	얇아도	[얄바도]	yalbado
while …-(으)면서	얇으면서	[얄브면서]	yalbeumyeonseo

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	얇은	[얄븐]	yalbeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	얇을	[얄블]	yalbeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	얇을 수 있어요	[얄블 쑤 이써요]	yalbeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	얇을 수 없어요	[얄블 쑤 업써요]	yalbeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	얇아야 해요	[얄바야 해요]	yalbaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	얇아도 돼요	[얄바도 돼요]	yalbado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	얇게	[얄께]	yalge
becomes …-아/어지다	얇아져요	[얄바저요]	yalbajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	얇기	[얄끼]	yalgi

How 얇다 changes

얇 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 얇아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 얇으면, 얇을. 얇다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “thin” in Korean?

“Thin (paper, clothes)” is 얇다 (yalda), pronounced [얄따]. In a sentence: 이 옷은 얇아요. — These clothes are thin.

What is the past tense of 얇다?

얇았어요 (yalbasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 얇다 (“to be thin (paper, clothes)”). Formal: 얇았습니다; casual: 얇았어.

How do you say 얇다 politely?

Everyday polite: 얇아요 (yalbayo). Formal: 얇습니다. Casual, with close friends: 얇아.

How do you say “not thin” in Korean?

안 얇아요 or 얇지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 얇다 irregular?

No. 얇 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 얇아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 얇으면, 얇을. 얇다 is regular.

More regular words like 얇다

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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