슬프다 Korean adjective conjugation
to be sad
Every form of 슬프다 across the four speech levels. It is 으 irregular — The stem 으 drops before a vowel ending: 쓰다 → 써요.
기본형Principal parts
The four forms the dictionary prints. Every other form on this page is derived from them.
- 관형사형Modifier
- 슬픈
- 아/어Infinitive
- 슬퍼
- -으니Since
- 슬프니
- 합니다Formal
- 슬픕니다
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 | 슬퍼요 | 슬픕니다 | 슬퍼 | 슬프다 |
과거Past
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 서술Statement | 슬펐어요 | 슬펐습니다 | 슬펐어 | 슬펐다 |
미래·추측Future & presumptive
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -겠-Will / must be | 슬프겠어요 | 슬프겠습니다 | 슬프겠어 | 슬프겠다 |
| -을 것이다Going to | 슬플 거예요 | 슬플 것입니다 | 슬플 거야 | 슬플 것이다 |
의문Questions
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 슬퍼요? | 슬픕니까? | 슬퍼? | 슬프니? |
| 과거Past | 슬펐어요? | 슬펐습니까? | 슬펐어? | 슬펐니? |
부정Negation
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 안Not (short) | 안 슬퍼요 | 안 슬픕니다 | 안 슬퍼 | 안 슬프다 |
| -지 않다Not (long) | 슬프지 않아요 | 슬프지 않습니다 | 슬프지 않아 | 슬프지 않다 |
높임Honorific
| 해요체Polite | 합니다체Formal | 해체Casual | 한다체Plain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 현재Present | 슬프세요 | 슬프십니다 | 슬프셔 | 슬프시다 |
| 과거Past | 슬프셨어요 | 슬프셨습니다 | 슬프셨어 | 슬프셨다 |
관형사형Modifying a noun
- 현재Present
- 슬픈
- 과거Past
- 슬픈
- 미래Future
- 슬플
- 회상Used to
- 슬프던
연결Joining clauses
- -고and
- 슬프고
- -게-ly / so that
- 슬프게
- -어서so / and then
- 슬퍼서
- -으니까since
- 슬프니까
- -으면if / when
- 슬프면
- -지만but
- 슬프지만
- -는데and / but (setting up)
- 슬픈데
- -어도even if
- 슬퍼도
문형Sentence patterns
How the dictionary says this verb is used. The numbers are slots: 1 is the subject, 2 the object.
- 1이 2가 슬프다
예문In real sentences
From the dictionary, each with its translation.
슬프게도 이런 사건은 많이 있었습니다.
Sadly, this is only one case of many.
결론부터 말씀드리자면, 슬프지만 존재합니다.
And in a nutshell, the answer is sadly yes.
놀랍죠? 그런데 슬프게도 이 장치는 지금 없어졌습니다.
Sadly, this device has been dismantled.
하지만 슬프게도 저는 그들과 다시는 함께 살지 못했습니다.
But, sadly, I never bonded with them again.
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
How do you conjugate 슬프다 in Korean?
슬프다 (to be sad) is 슬퍼요 in the polite 해요체, 슬픕니다 in formal 합니다체, 슬퍼 in casual 반말 and 슬프다 in the plain written style. The past is 슬펐어요.
What is the past tense of 슬프다?
슬펐어요 in everyday polite speech, 슬펐습니다 formally. It is built from the 아/어 form 슬퍼 plus ㅆ, which is why an irregular stem shows its irregularity here.
Is 슬프다 irregular?
Yes — it is 으 irregular (으 불규칙). The stem 으 drops before a vowel ending: 쓰다 → 써요. That is why the stem looks different in 슬퍼 and 슬프니 but unchanged in 슬픕니다.
What TOPIK level is 슬프다?
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.