맵다 Korean adjective conjugation
to be spicy, to be hot (of food)
Every form of 맵다 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
- 매운
- 아/어Infinitive
- 매워
- -으니Since
- 매우니
- 합니다Formal
- 맵습니다
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 | 매워요 | 맵습니다 | 매워 | 맵다 |
과거Past
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 매웠어요 | 매웠습니다 | 매웠어 | 매웠다 |
미래·추측Future & presumptive
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -겠-Will / must be | 맵겠어요 | 맵겠습니다 | 맵겠어 | 맵겠다 |
| -을 것이다Going to | 매울 거예요 | 매울 것입니다 | 매울 거야 | 매울 것이다 |
의문Questions
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 매워요? | 맵습니까? | 매워? | 매우니? |
| 과거Past | 매웠어요? | 매웠습니까? | 매웠어? | 매웠니? |
부정Negation
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 안Not (short) | 안 매워요 | 안 맵습니다 | 안 매워 | 안 맵다 |
| -지 않다Not (long) | 맵지 않아요 | 맵지 않습니다 | 맵지 않아 | 맵지 않다 |
높임Honorific
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 매우세요 | 매우십니다 | 매우셔 | 매우시다 |
| 과거Past | 매우셨어요 | 매우셨습니다 | 매우셨어 | 매우셨다 |
관형사형Modifying a noun
- 현재Present
- 매운
- 과거Past
- 매운
- 미래Future
- 매울
- 회상Used to
- 맵던
연결Joining clauses
- -고and
- 맵고
- -게-ly / so that
- 맵게
- -어서so / and then
- 매워서
- -으니까since
- 매우니까
- -으면if / when
- 매우면
- -지만but
- 맵지만
- -는데and / but (setting up)
- 매운데
- -어도even if
- 매워도
문형Sentence patterns
How the dictionary says this verb is used. The numbers are slots: 1 is the subject, 2 the object.
- 1이 맵다
예문In real sentences
From the dictionary, each with its translation.
첫번째로, 매움은 무엇인가요?
First, what is spiciness?
연기가 눈에 들어가서 맵다.
It hurts because there is smoke in my eyes.
이거 안 매워. 한 번 먹어봐.
This is not spicy. Try it.
여기 음식이 나한테 좀 많이 매운 것 같아.
I find the food here to be a little too spicy for me.
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
How do you conjugate 맵다 in Korean?
맵다 (to be spicy, to be hot (of food)) is 매워요 in the polite 해요체, 맵습니다 in formal 합니다체, 매워 in casual 반말 and 맵다 in the plain written style. The past is 매웠어요.
What is the past tense of 맵다?
매웠어요 in everyday polite speech, 매웠습니다 formally. It is built from the 아/어 form 매워 plus ㅆ, which is why an irregular stem shows its irregularity here.
Is 맵다 irregular?
Yes — it is ㅂ irregular (ㅂ 불규칙). ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel: 춥다 → 추워요. That is why the stem looks different in 매워 and 매우니 but unchanged in 맵습니다.
What TOPIK level is 맵다?
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.