길다 Korean adjective conjugation
to be long
Every form of 길다 across the four speech levels. It is ㄹ dropping — ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ: 살다 → 삽니다. Regular, but universal.
기본형Principal parts
The four forms the dictionary prints. Every other form on this page is derived from them.
- 관형사형Modifier
- 긴
- 아/어Infinitive
- 길어
- -으니Since
- 기니
- 합니다Formal
- 깁니다
현재Present
The tense that does the most work. 해요체 is the one to learn first — it is polite without being formal, and it is what most conversation is in.
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 길어요 | 깁니다 | 길어 | 길다 |
과거Past
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 길었어요 | 길었습니다 | 길었어 | 길었다 |
미래·추측Future & presumptive
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -겠-Will / must be | 길겠어요 | 길겠습니다 | 길겠어 | 길겠다 |
| -을 것이다Going to | 길 거예요 | 길 것입니다 | 길 거야 | 길 것이다 |
의문Questions
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 길어요? | 깁니까? | 길어? | 기니? |
| 과거Past | 길었어요? | 길었습니까? | 길었어? | 길었니? |
부정Negation
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 안Not (short) | 안 길어요 | 안 깁니다 | 안 길어 | 안 길다 |
| -지 않다Not (long) | 길지 않아요 | 길지 않습니다 | 길지 않아 | 길지 않다 |
높임Honorific
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 기세요 | 기십니다 | 기셔 | 기시다 |
| 과거Past | 기셨어요 | 기셨습니다 | 기셨어 | 기셨다 |
관형사형Modifying a noun
- 현재Present
- 긴
- 과거Past
- 긴
- 미래Future
- 길
- 회상Used to
- 길던
연결Joining clauses
- -고and
- 길고
- -게-ly / so that
- 길게
- -어서so / and then
- 길어서
- -으니까since
- 기니까
- -으면if / when
- 길면
- -지만but
- 길지만
- -는데and / but (setting up)
- 긴데
- -어도even if
- 길어도
문형Sentence patterns
How the dictionary says this verb is used. The numbers are slots: 1 is the subject, 2 the object.
- 1이 길다
예문In real sentences
From the dictionary, each with its translation.
좀 더 긴 경우를 볼까요.
Consider a longer event.
그것은 5만년이 걸릴 겁니다. 환경에게 너무 긴 시간이죠.
That will take 50,000 years, too much for the environment.
그렇게 긴 시간 같진 않습니다.
And that doesn't seem like very long.
4000년은 아주 긴 시간입니다.
Four thousand years is a long time.
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
How do you conjugate 길다 in Korean?
길다 (to be long) is 길어요 in the polite 해요체, 깁니다 in formal 합니다체, 길어 in casual 반말 and 길다 in the plain written style. The past is 길었어요.
What is the past tense of 길다?
길었어요 in everyday polite speech, 길었습니다 formally. It is built from the 아/어 form 길어 plus ㅆ, which is why an irregular stem shows its irregularity here.
Is 길다 irregular?
Yes — it is ㄹ dropping (ㄹ 탈락). ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ: 살다 → 삽니다. Regular, but universal. That is why the stem looks different in 길어 and 기니 but unchanged in 깁니다.
What TOPIK level is 길다?
1급 — TOPIK 1, beginner.
Dictionary form, meaning, sentence patterns, examples and audio from the 국립국어원 한국어기초사전, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.
Conjugations are generated by this site's own engine and checked against the 9,380 forms the dictionary publishes on every build.