예쁘다 conjugation

to be pretty · yeppeuda · sounds like [예쁘다]

Short answer: “Pretty” in Korean is 예쁘다 (yeppeuda). Polite present: 예뻐요 (yeppeoyo); past: 예뻤어요 (yeppeosseoyo); future: 예쁠 거예요. It is regular, but its ㅡ drops before 아/어.

Present예뻐요[예뻐요] · yeppeoyo
Past예뻤어요[예뻐써요] · yeppeosseoyo
Future예쁠 거예요[예쁠 꺼예요] · yeppeul geoyeyo
Negative안 예뻐요[안 예뻐요] · an yeppeoyo

예쁘다 in sentences

꽃이 예뻐요.The flowers are pretty.
예쁜 카페에 갔어요.I went to a pretty café.

All forms of 예쁘다

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	예뻐요	[예뻐요]	yeppeoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	예쁩니다	[예쁨니다]	yeppeumnida
casual-아/어	예뻐	[예뻐]	yeppeo
plain (written)-다	예쁘다	[예쁘다]	yeppeuda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	예쁩니까?	[예쁨니까]	yeppeumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	예뻤어요	[예뻐써요]	yeppeosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	예뻤습니다	[예뻗씀니다]	yeppeotseumnida
casual-았/었어	예뻤어	[예뻐써]	yeppeosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	예뻤다	[예뻗따]	yeppeotda

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

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 예뻐요	[안 예뻐요]	an yeppeoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 예뻤어요	[안 예뻐써요]	an yeppeosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	예쁘지 않아요	[예쁘지 아나요]	yeppeuji 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	예쁘세요	[예쁘세요]	yeppeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	예쁘셨어요	[예쁘셔써요]	yeppeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	예쁘십니다	[예쁘심니다]	yeppeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	예쁘고	[예쁘고]	yeppeugo
… so / and then-아/어서	예뻐서	[예뻐서]	yeppeoseo
if …-(으)면	예쁘면	[예쁘면]	yeppeumyeon
… but-지만	예쁘지만	[예쁘지만]	yeppeujiman
because …-(으)니까	예쁘니까	[예쁘니까]	yeppeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	예쁜데	[예쁜데]	yeppeunde
even if …-아/어도	예뻐도	[예뻐도]	yeppeodo
while …-(으)면서	예쁘면서	[예쁘면서]	yeppeumyeonseo

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	예쁜	[예쁜]	yeppeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	예쁠	[예쁠]	yeppeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	예쁠 수 있어요	[예쁠 쑤 이써요]	yeppeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	예쁠 수 없어요	[예쁠 쑤 업써요]	yeppeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	예뻐야 해요	[예뻐야 해요]	yeppeoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	예뻐도 돼요	[예뻐도 돼요]	yeppeodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	예쁘게	[예쁘게]	yeppeuge
becomes …-아/어지다	예뻐져요	[예뻐저요]	yeppeojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	예쁘기	[예쁘기]	yeppeugi

How 예쁘다 changes

The ㅡ in 예쁘다 drops before 아/어: 예뻐요, 예뻤어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 예쁘면, 예쁩니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “pretty” in Korean?

“Pretty” is 예쁘다 (yeppeuda), pronounced [예쁘다]. In a sentence: 꽃이 예뻐요. — The flowers are pretty.

What is the past tense of 예쁘다?

예뻤어요 (yeppeosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 예쁘다 (“to be pretty”). Formal: 예뻤습니다; casual: 예뻤어.

How do you say 예쁘다 politely?

Everyday polite: 예뻐요 (yeppeoyo). Formal: 예쁩니다. Casual, with close friends: 예뻐.

How do you say “not pretty” in Korean?

안 예뻐요 or 예쁘지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 예쁘다 irregular?

No. The ㅡ in 예쁘다 drops before 아/어: 예뻐요, 예뻤어요. The vowel that replaces it follows the syllable before (아 after ㅏ or ㅗ, otherwise 어). With other endings ㅡ stays: 예쁘면, 예쁩니다.

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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