잘다 Korean adjective conjugation
to be small
Every form of 잘다 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
- 잔
- 아/어Infinitive
- 잘아
- -으니Since
- 자니
- 합니다Formal
- 잡니다
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 | 잘아요 | 잡니다 | 잘아 | 잘다 |
과거Past
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 잘았어요 | 잘았습니다 | 잘았어 | 잘았다 |
미래·추측Future & presumptive
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -겠-Will / must be | 잘겠어요 | 잘겠습니다 | 잘겠어 | 잘겠다 |
| -을 것이다Going to | 잘 거예요 | 잘 것입니다 | 잘 거야 | 잘 것이다 |
의문Questions
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 잘아요? | 잡니까? | 잘아? | 자니? |
| 과거Past | 잘았어요? | 잘았습니까? | 잘았어? | 잘았니? |
부정Negation
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 안Not (short) | 안 잘아요 | 안 잡니다 | 안 잘아 | 안 잘다 |
| -지 않다Not (long) | 잘지 않아요 | 잘지 않습니다 | 잘지 않아 | 잘지 않다 |
높임Honorific
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 자세요 | 자십니다 | 자셔 | 자시다 |
| 과거Past | 자셨어요 | 자셨습니다 | 자셨어 | 자셨다 |
관형사형Modifying a noun
- 현재Present
- 잔
- 과거Past
- 잔
- 미래Future
- 잘
- 회상Used to
- 잘던
연결Joining clauses
- -고and
- 잘고
- -게-ly / so that
- 잘게
- -어서so / and then
- 잘아서
- -으니까since
- 자니까
- -으면if / when
- 잘면
- -지만but
- 잘지만
- -는데and / but (setting up)
- 잔데
- -어도even if
- 잘아도
문형Sentence patterns
How the dictionary says this verb is used. The numbers are slots: 1 is the subject, 2 the object.
- 1이 잘다
예문In real sentences
From the dictionary, each with its translation.
작은 고기 조각은 샌드위치를 만들기 위해 잘게 자른다.
The thicker part makes it easier to slice them for the use of sandwiches.
각 털 끝은 매우 잘게 갈라져 있습니다.
And each hair has the worst case of split ends possible.
저를 잘게 썰고, 자르고, 슬라이드에 펼쳐 보세요.
And slice me, dice me, spread me on your slides.
만약 물질을 잘게 쪼개면 무슨 일이 발생할까?
What happens to matter if you chop it up very fine?
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
How do you conjugate 잘다 in Korean?
잘다 (to be small) is 잘아요 in the polite 해요체, 잡니다 in formal 합니다체, 잘아 in casual 반말 and 잘다 in the plain written style. The past is 잘았어요.
What is the past tense of 잘다?
잘았어요 in everyday polite speech, 잘았습니다 formally. It is built from the 아/어 form 잘아 plus ㅆ, which is why an irregular stem shows its irregularity here.
Is 잘다 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 잘아 and 자니 but unchanged in 잡니다.
What TOPIK level is 잘다?
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.