100 Must-Know Korean Adjectives with Meanings (For Beginners & Self-Learners)

If you're learning Korean and not using adjectives yet… wyd?! 😭

How else are you gonna tell your bias they’re cute, complain about the weather, or say you’re lowkey tired but highkey happy?

This list? She’s got 100 essential Korean adjectives—aka your new BFFs for daily convos, journaling, captioning your life, or smashing the EPS-TOPIK/TOPIK I.

Bookmark this post for study time, and let’s level up your Korean vocab together. Fighting! 💜

✨ Describing People – Personality & Appearance

1. 괜찮다 – to be alright, okay

2. 좋다 – to be good, fine

3. 다르다 – to be different

4. 같다 – to be the same

5. 뚱뚱하다 – to be fat, overweight

6. 통통하다 – to be chubby

7. 날씬하다 – to be slim, slender

8. 깡마르다 – to be skinny, scrawny

9. 튼튼하다 – to be strong, sturdy

10. 씩씩하다 – to be brave

11. 똑똑하다 – to be smart, clever

12. 멍청하다 – to be stupid, foolish

13. 약하다 – to be weak, feeble

14. 건강하다 – to be healthy

15. 착하다 – to be good-natured, nice

16. 비열하다 – to be mean, nasty

17. 이상하다 – to be weird, strange

18. 조용하다 – to be quiet

19. 시끄럽다 – to be loud, noisy

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💖 Describing Emotions & Feelings

20. 행복하다 – to be happy

21. 기쁘다 – to be glad, happy

22. 화나다 – to be angry

23. 슬프다 – to be sad

24. 아프다 – to be sick, painful

25. 피곤하다 – to be tired, exhausted

26. 배가 고프다 – to be hungry

27. 목이 마르다 – to be thirsty

28. 졸리다 – to be sleepy

29. 걱정하다 – to be worried

30. 무섭다 – to be scared

31. 짜증나다 – to be annoyed

32. 놀라다 – to be surprised

33. 수줍다 – to be shy

34. 심심하다 – to be bored

35. 지루하다 – to be boring, dull

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🌦️ Weather & Temperature

36. 뜨겁다 – to be hot (to touch)

37. 덥다 – to be hot (weather)

38. 따뜻하다 – to be warm

39. 차갑다 – to be cold (to touch)

40. 춥다 – to be cold (weather)

41. 시원하다 – to be cool, refreshing

42. 싸늘하다 – to be chilly

43. 습하다 – to be humid, moist

44. 건조하다 – to be dry

45. 흐리다 – to be cloudy

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🍽️ Taste & Texture

46. 맛있다 – to be delicious, tasty

47. 맛없다 – to be not tasty

48. 달콤하다 – to be sweet

49. 쓰다 – to be bitter

50. 짜다 – to be salty

51. 시큼하다 – to be sour

52. 맵다 – to be spicy

53. 기름지다 – to be greasy, oily

54. 딱딱하다 – to be hard

55. 부드럽다 – to be soft

56. 말랑하다 – to be tender, ripe

57. 촉촉하다 – to be moist

58. 축축하다 – to be damp

59. 젖다 – to be wet

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📏 Size, Quantity & Shape

60. 크다 – to be big

61. 작다 – to be small

62. 많다 – to be many

63. 적다 – to be few

64. 좁다 – to be narrow

65. 넓다 – to be wide, broad

66. 가득하다 – to be full

67. 비어 있다 – to be empty

68. 뾰족하다 – to be sharp

69. 미끄럽다 – to be slippery

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⏰ Time & Speed

70. 빠르다 – to be fast

71. 느리다 – to be slow

72. 천천하다 – to be slow (formal)

73. 급하다 – to be urgent

74. 늦다 – to be late

75. 이르다 – to be early

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🏠 Cleanliness, Price & Age

76. 깨끗하다 – to be clean

77. 더럽다 – to be dirty

78. 싸다 – to be cheap

79. 비싸다 – to be expensive

80. 새롭다 – to be new

81. 오래되다 – to be old (object)

82. 편리하다 – to be convenient

83. 불편하다 – to be uncomfortable

84. 편하다 – to be comfortable

85. 복잡하다 – to be crowded

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🎨 Aesthetics & Appeal

86. 아름답다 – to be beautiful

87. 예쁘다 – to be pretty

88. 귀엽다 – to be cute

89. 잘생기다 – to be good-looking

90. 못생기다 – to be ugly

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📦 Extras You Should Know

91. 나쁘다 – to be bad

92. 이상하다 – to be strange

93. 좋다 – to be good

94. 쓰다 – to be bitter / to write (context!)

95. 기름지다 – to be fatty

96. 건강하다 – to be healthy

97. 지루하다 – to be dull

98. 비열하다 – to be mean

99. 심심하다 – to be bored

100. 놀라다 – to be surprised
     
     

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🧠 Grammar Tip:

In Korean, adjectives are descriptive verbs (형용사), and they’re conjugated just like action verbs.
Here’s an example:

• 그 영화는 재미있어요. (That movie is interesting.)

• 오늘은 날씨가 춥네요. (It’s cold today.)

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💡 Study Tip:

Pick 5 adjectives each day, and write short Korean sentences using them. Say them aloud and try using them in everyday life. Repetition + usage = solid memory!

🎥 Watch the video version here if you prefer learning with visuals and pronunciation.
(Perfect for K-drama fans, TOPIK preppers, or casual learners!)

Part 1 & Part 2 HERE:

There you go! A complete list of 100 essential Korean adjectives to supercharge your vocabulary!

Which adjectives are your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

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