힘겹다 Korean adjective conjugation
to be hard, difficult
Every form of 힘겹다 across the four speech levels. It is ㅂ irregular — ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel: 춥다 → 추워요.
기본형Principal parts
The four forms the dictionary prints. Every other form on this page is derived from them.
- 관형사형Modifier
- 힘겨운
- 아/어Infinitive
- 힘겨워
- -으니Since
- 힘겨우니
- 합니다Formal
- 힘겹습니다
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 | 힘겨워요 | 힘겹습니다 | 힘겨워 | 힘겹다 |
과거Past
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 힘겨웠어요 | 힘겨웠습니다 | 힘겨웠어 | 힘겨웠다 |
미래·추측Future & presumptive
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -겠-Will / must be | 힘겹겠어요 | 힘겹겠습니다 | 힘겹겠어 | 힘겹겠다 |
| -을 것이다Going to | 힘겨울 거예요 | 힘겨울 것입니다 | 힘겨울 거야 | 힘겨울 것이다 |
의문Questions
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 힘겨워요? | 힘겹습니까? | 힘겨워? | 힘겨우니? |
| 과거Past | 힘겨웠어요? | 힘겨웠습니까? | 힘겨웠어? | 힘겨웠니? |
부정Negation
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 안Not (short) | 안 힘겨워요 | 안 힘겹습니다 | 안 힘겨워 | 안 힘겹다 |
| -지 않다Not (long) | 힘겹지 않아요 | 힘겹지 않습니다 | 힘겹지 않아 | 힘겹지 않다 |
높임Honorific
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 힘겨우세요 | 힘겨우십니다 | 힘겨우셔 | 힘겨우시다 |
| 과거Past | 힘겨우셨어요 | 힘겨우셨습니다 | 힘겨우셨어 | 힘겨우셨다 |
관형사형Modifying a noun
- 현재Present
- 힘겨운
- 과거Past
- 힘겨운
- 미래Future
- 힘겨울
- 회상Used to
- 힘겹던
연결Joining clauses
- -고and
- 힘겹고
- -게-ly / so that
- 힘겹게
- -어서so / and then
- 힘겨워서
- -으니까since
- 힘겨우니까
- -으면if / when
- 힘겨우면
- -지만but
- 힘겹지만
- -는데and / but (setting up)
- 힘겨운데
- -어도even if
- 힘겨워도
문형Sentence patterns
How the dictionary says this verb is used. The numbers are slots: 1 is the subject, 2 the object.
- 1이 2가 힘겹다
예문In real sentences
From the dictionary, each with its translation.
그런데 이 문제들을 실제로 다루는 건 왜 이렇게 힘겨운 걸까요?
Why are we having so much trouble dealing with these problems?
힘겹게 구해낸 서적들이 이번에는 기후에 의한 위기에 처해있습니다.
What was rescued by ruse is now once again in jeopardy, this time by climate.
징메이는 테이블에서 어머니의 자리를 힘겹게 채웁니다.
At first, Jing-Mei struggles to fill her place at the table.
주요 기관들이 힘겨워하고 있죠
Strain to the major organs.
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
How do you conjugate 힘겹다 in Korean?
힘겹다 (to be hard, difficult) is 힘겨워요 in the polite 해요체, 힘겹습니다 in formal 합니다체, 힘겨워 in casual 반말 and 힘겹다 in the plain written style. The past is 힘겨웠어요.
What is the past tense of 힘겹다?
힘겨웠어요 in everyday polite speech, 힘겨웠습니다 formally. It is built from the 아/어 form 힘겨워 plus ㅆ, which is why an irregular stem shows its irregularity here.
Is 힘겹다 irregular?
Yes — it is ㅂ irregular (ㅂ 불규칙). ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel: 춥다 → 추워요. That is why the stem looks different in 힘겨워 and 힘겨우니 but unchanged in 힘겹습니다.
What TOPIK level is 힘겹다?
6급 — TOPIK 6, mastery.
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.