LEARN + KOREAN / Note 21 TOPIK I

Heavy, Light (무거워요)

Any adjective stem ending in ㅂ drops it and replaces it with 우 before an -아요/-어요 ending, then contracts with 어요 into 워요. 무겁다 (heavy) becomes 무거워요, never 무겁어요. This is the full version of the pattern that’s been sitting in hints since 날씨가 어때요?.

가방이 무거워요.

gabangi mugeowoyo.

The bag is heavy.

이 가방은 가벼워요.

i gabangeun gabyeowoyo.

This bag is light.

숙제가 어려워요.

sukjega eoryeowoyo.

The homework is difficult.

한국 음식이 매워요.

hanguk eumsigi maewoyo.

Korean food is spicy.

제주도가 아름다워요.

jejudoga areumdawoyo.

Jeju Island is beautiful.

In Real Life

Any two-syllable adjective ending in 겁다, 럽다, 롭다, or 웁다 is very likely ㅂ-irregular. It’s one of the most common irregular shapes in the language, common enough that guessing 워요 the first time you meet a new ㅂ-ending adjective is usually the right bet.

Not every adjective plays this game. 하다-adjectives, 따뜻하다 (warm), 시원하다 (cool) from 날씨가 어때요?, conjugate completely predictably, always contracting to 해요 no matter what.

날씨가 따뜻해요.

nalssiga ttatteuthaeyo.

The weather is warm.

어제 날씨가 더웠어요.

eoje nalssiga deowosseoyo.

Yesterday the weather was hot.

In Real Life

더웠어요 stacks two things you now know: the ㅂ-irregular shift (덥 becomes 더우) and the past tense from -았/었어요 (그 + 었어요). Irregular verbs don’t get a pass on tense, they just carry the irregularity into whatever ending comes next.

Vocabulary

Korean	English
무겁다 mugeopda	to be heavy
가볍다 gabyeopda	to be light
쉽다 swipda	to be easy
어렵다 eoryeopda	to be difficult
맵다 maepda	to be spicy
아름답다 areumdapda	to be beautiful
따뜻하다 ttatteuthada	to be warm
숙제 sukje	homework
귀엽다 gwiyeopda	to be cute
무섭다 museopda	to be scary
부드럽다 budeureopda	to be soft
딱딱하다 ttakttakhada	to be hard, stiff
재미있다 jaemiitda	to be fun, interesting
지루하다 jiruhada	to be boring
짜증나다 jjajeungnada	to be annoying, irritating
신기하다 singihada	to be amazing, fascinating
힘세다 himseda	to be strong
약하다 yakhada	to be weak
단단하다 dandanhada	to be solid, firm
복잡하다 bokjaphada	to be complicated