my-korean1-2nd-ed

UNIT 5 이번 토요일에 뭐 하세요?
Adjectives (Describing Words) and their Endings
+아/어, +아/어요, +(으)세요
Unlike in English where adjectives are used with the verb ‘is’, adjectives in
Korean are used by themselves and come where the verb would go in the
sentence. They are formed according to the same rules for verbs and also have
three main speech styles: 1) casual form, 2) polite form, and 3) honorific
form.
1) Casual form
Adjective Stem +아/어 (Casual)
Adjective Stem +아/어요 (Polite)
Adjective Stem +(으)세요 (Honorific)
If the last vowel of the stem is ㅏ (ㅑ) or ㅗ (ㅛ): +아
맑 + 아 맑아 fine (weather)
싸 + 아 싸 inexpensive (싸 already has ㅏ and
147
no final consonant, so you don’t need
to add 아)
나쁘 + 아 나빠 bad (When the stem ends in the
If the last vowel is not ㅏ (ㅑ) or ㅗ (ㅛ): +어
vowel ‘ㅡ’, it is dropped. This makes
아 in 나ㅃ the last vowel.)
재미있 + 어 재미있어 interesting/funy
맛있 + 어 맛있어 delicious
크 + 어 커 big (When the stem ends in the
vowel ‘ㅡ’, it is dropped.)