ㅎ Irregular Verbs (ㅎ 불규칙)

ㅎ irregular verbs (ㅎ 불규칙) are adjectives whose stem ends in ㅎ and drop this final consonant before vowel-starting endings. Additionally, when followed by certain endings, the ㅎ causes vowel changes in the ending itself.

What Makes Them Irregular

Regular verbs maintain their stem throughout conjugation. ㅎ irregular adjectives drop the final ㅎ before vowel-starting endings and may cause transformations in the endings themselves.

Rule

When ㅎ stem meets different endings:

1. Before -아/어: ㅎ drops, and the ending transforms

   • -아 becomes -애 or -야
   • -어 becomes -애 or -여

2. Before -(으)ㄴ: ㅎ drops completely

3. Before consonants: ㅎ stays

Important Note

ㅎ irregular verbs are ONLY adjectives, never action verbs. All ㅎ irregular words describe states or qualities.

Common ㅎ Irregular Adjectives

• 빨갛다 (ppalgata) - to be red
• 노랗다 (norata) - to be yellow
• 파랗다 (parata) - to be blue
• 하얗다 (hayata) - to be white
• 까맣다 (kkamata) - to be black
• 어떻다 (eotteota) - to be how/what kind
• 그렇다 (geureota) - to be so/that way
• 이렇다 (ireota) - to be like this
• 저렇다 (jeoreota) - to be like that

Note: Most ㅎ irregular adjectives describe colors or are demonstrative adjectives.

Conjugation Pattern

Pattern 1: ㅎ Drops + Vowel Changes Before -아/어

빨갛다 (to be red):

• 빨갛 + 아요 → 빨개요 (ㅎ drops, -아→-애)

노랗다 (to be yellow):

• 노랗 + 아요 → 노래요 (ㅎ drops, -아→-애)

파랗다 (to be blue):

• 파랗 + 아요 → 파래요 (ㅎ drops, -아→-애)

하얗다 (to be white):

• 하얗 + 아요 → 하애요 (ㅎ drops, -아→-애)

어떻다 (to be how):

• 어떻 + 어요 → 어때요 (ㅎ drops, -어→-애)

그렇다 (to be so):

• 그렇 + 어요 → 그래요 (ㅎ drops, -어→-애)

이렇다 (to be like this):

• 이렇 + 어요 → 이래요 (ㅎ drops, -어→-애)

Pattern 2: ㅎ Stays Before Consonants

Before -습니다:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갛습니다 (is red - formal)
• 어떻다 → 어떻습니다 (is how - formal)
• 그렇다 → 그렇습니다 (is so - formal)

Before -지:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갛지 않아요 (not red)
• 그렇다 → 그렇지 않아요 (not so)

Before -고:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갛고 (is red and)
• 그렇다 → 그렇고 (is so and)

Pattern 3: ㅎ Drops Before -(으)ㄴ

Modifiers -(으)ㄴ:

• 빨갛다 → 빨간 (red)
• 노랗다 → 노란 (yellow)
• 파랗다 → 파란 (blue)
• 하얗다 → 하얀 (white)
• 까맣다 → 까만 (black)
• 어떻다 → 어떤 (what kind of)
• 그렇다 → 그런 (such)
• 이렇다 → 이런 (this kind of)

The ㅎ drops and only ㄴ remains.

Full Conjugation Example: 빨갛다 (to be red)

Informal Polite (-아/어요)

Present:

• 빨개요 (is red)
  • 빨갛 + 아요 → 빨개요

Past:

• 빨갰어요 (was red)
  • 빨갛 + 았어요 → 빨개 + 었어요 → 빨갰어요

Future:

• 빨갈 거예요 (will be red)
  • 빨갛 + ㄹ 거예요 → 빨갈 거예요 (ㅎ + ㄹ = ㄹ)

Formal Polite (-습니다)

Present:

• 빨갛습니다 (is red)
  • ㅎ kept before consonant

Past:

• 빨갰습니다 (was red)
  • ㅎ drops before vowel

Future:

• 빨갛겠습니다 (will be red)
  • ㅎ kept before consonant

Connective Forms

-지만 (but):

• 빨갛지만 (although red) - ㅎ kept

-아/어서 (so, because):

• 빨개서 (because red)
  • ㅎ drops before vowel

-고 (and):

• 빨갛고 (is red and) - ㅎ kept

Modifiers

-(으)ㄴ (descriptive):

• 빨간 (red)
  • 빨갛 + ㄴ → 빨간 (ㅎ drops)

-(으)ㄹ (prospective - rare with adjectives):

• 빨갈 (will be red)
  • ㅎ + ㄹ → ㄹ

Full Conjugation Example: 어떻다 (to be how/what kind)

Informal Polite

Present:

• 어때요 (how is it?)
  • 어떻 + 어요 → 어때요

Past:

• 어땠어요 (how was it?)
  • 어떻 + 었어요 → 어땠어요

Future:

• 어떨 거예요 (how will it be?)
  • 어떻 + ㄹ 거예요 → 어떨 거예요

Formal Polite

Present:

• 어떻습니까? (how is it? - formal question)
  • ㅎ kept

Past:

• 어땠습니까? (how was it?)
  • ㅎ drops

Future:

• 어떻겠습니까? (how will it be?)
  • ㅎ kept

Modifiers

-(으)ㄴ:

• 어떤 (what kind of)
  • 어떻 + ㄴ → 어떤

Examples:

• 어떤 사람 (what kind of person)
• 어떤 책 (what kind of book)

Full Conjugation Example: 그렇다 (to be so/that way)

Informal Polite

Present:

• 그래요 (is so / is that way)
  • 그렇 + 어요 → 그래요

Past:

• 그랬어요 (was so / was that way)
  • 그렇 + 었어요 → 그랬어요

Future:

• 그럴 거예요 (will be so)
  • 그렇 + ㄹ 거예요 → 그럴 거예요

Formal Polite

Present:

• 그렇습니다 (is so)
  • ㅎ kept

Past:

• 그랬습니다 (was so)

Future:

• 그렇겠습니다 (will be so)

Modifiers

-(으)ㄴ:

• 그런 (such / that kind of)
  • 그렇 + ㄴ → 그런

Examples:

• 그런 사람 (that kind of person / such a person)
• 그런 일 (such a thing / that kind of matter)

Full Conjugation Example: 이렇다 (to be like this)

Informal Polite

Present:

• 이래요 (is like this)
  • 이렇 + 어요 → 이래요

Past:

• 이랬어요 (was like this)
  • 이렇 + 었어요 → 이랬어요

Future:

• 이럴 거예요 (will be like this)
  • 이렇 + ㄹ 거예요 → 이럴 거예요

Modifiers

-(으)ㄴ:

• 이런 (this kind of)
  • 이렇 + ㄴ → 이런

Examples:

• 이런 날 (this kind of day / days like this)
• 이런 문제 (this kind of problem)

Color Adjectives Pattern

All color adjectives ending in -갛다 follow the same pattern:

Present forms:

• 빨갛다 → 빨개요 (red)
• 노랗다 → 노래요 (yellow)
• 파랗다 → 파래요 (blue)
• 하얗다 → 하애요 (white)
• 까맣다 → 까매요 (black)

Modifier forms (describing nouns):

• 빨간 사과 (red apple)
• 노란 꽃 (yellow flower)
• 파란 하늘 (blue sky)
• 하얀 눈 (white snow)
• 까만 머리 (black hair)

Demonstrative Adjectives Pattern

Present forms:

• 어떻다 → 어때요 (how is it?)
• 그렇다 → 그래요 (is so / that way)
• 이렇다 → 이래요 (is like this)
• 저렇다 → 저래요 (is like that)

Modifier forms:

• 어떤 (what kind of)
• 그런 (such / that kind of)
• 이런 (this kind of)
• 저런 (that kind of)

Common Expressions

빨갛다 (to be red)

• 얼굴이 빨개요 (The face is red)
• 빨간 장미 (red rose)
• 빨갛게 익었어요 (ripened red)

어떻다 (to be how)

• 어때요? (How is it? / What do you think?)
• 어땠어요? (How was it?)
• 어떤 것을 좋아해요? (What kind do you like?)

그렇다 (to be so)

• 그래요 (That's right / It's so)
• 그랬어요 (It was so / That's what happened)
• 그런 것 같아요 (It seems so / I think so)
• 그런 사람이에요 (is that kind of person)

이렇다 (to be like this)

• 이래요 (is like this)
• 이렇게 하세요 (do it like this)
• 이런 것 (this kind of thing)

저렇다 (to be like that)

• 저래요 (is like that)
• 저렇게 (like that way)
• 저런 사람 (that kind of person)

With Different Endings

-(으)ㄹ 거예요 (future)

ㅎ disappears when meeting ㄹ:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갈 거예요 (will be red)
• 어떻다 → 어떨 거예요 (how will it be)
• 그렇다 → 그럴 거예요 (will be so)

-(으)면 (if/when)

ㅎ disappears:

• 빨갛다 → 빨가면 (if red)
• 어떻다 → 어떠면 (if how)
• 그렇다 → 그러면 (if so / then)

-지 않다 (negative)

ㅎ kept before 지:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갛지 않아요 (not red)
• 그렇다 → 그렇지 않아요 (not so)

-아/어서 (because)

ㅎ drops before vowel:

• 빨갛다 → 빨개서 (because red)
• 어떻다 → 어때서 (because how - rare)
• 그렇다 → 그래서 (therefore / because of that)

-고 (and)

ㅎ kept before 고:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갛고 (is red and)
• 그렇다 → 그렇고 (is so and)

-게 (adverb form)

ㅎ drops:

• 빨갛다 → 빨갛게 → 빨개게 → 빨갛게 (redly - exception: ㅎ stays)
• 그렇다 → 그렇게 (in that way / like that)
• 이렇다 → 이렇게 (like this / in this way)

Note: For -게, ㅎ behavior varies, often kept for pronunciation.

In Modifiers (Key Pattern)

Descriptive -(으)ㄴ:

This is the most important pattern - ㅎ completely drops:

• 빨갛다 → 빨간 (red)
• 노랗다 → 노란 (yellow)
• 파랗다 → 파란 (blue)
• 하얗다 → 하얀 (white)
• 까맣다 → 까만 (black)
• 어떻다 → 어떤 (what kind)
• 그렇다 → 그런 (such)
• 이렇다 → 이런 (this kind)

Usage:

• 빨간 차 (red car)
• 노란 별 (yellow star)
• 파란 바다 (blue ocean)
• 하얀 구름 (white cloud)
• 그런 사람 (that kind of person)
• 어떤 책 (what kind of book)

Special Case: 그래서 (therefore)

그렇다 (to be so) + -아/어서 → 그래서 (therefore/so)

This is one of the most common conjunctions in Korean:

• A: 비가 와요. (It's raining.)
• B: 그래서 집에 있어요. (So I'm staying home.)

Identifying ㅎ Irregular Adjectives

Check if adjective stem ends in ㅎ:

• 빨갛다 → stem: 빨갛 (ends in ㅎ) ✓
• 어떻다 → stem: 어떻 (ends in ㅎ) ✓
• 그렇다 → stem: 그렇 (ends in ㅎ) ✓

All ㅎ irregular words are adjectives describing:

• Colors (빨갛다, 노랗다, etc.)
• Manner/way (어떻다, 그렇다, 이렇다, 저렇다)

No Exceptions

Unlike other irregulars, ㅎ irregular adjectives are consistent - all adjectives ending in ㅎ follow this irregular pattern.

Common Patterns in Sentences

Colors:

• 사과가 빨개요. (The apple is red.)
• 하늘이 파래요. (The sky is blue.)
• 빨간 사과를 좋아해요. (I like red apples.)

Questions:

• 날씨가 어때요? (How's the weather?)
• 어떤 음식을 좋아해요? (What kind of food do you like?)

Responses:

• 그래요. (That's right. / It is so.)
• 그렇지 않아요. (That's not so. / That's not right.)
• 그래서 왔어요. (So I came. / That's why I came.)

Descriptions:

• 그런 사람이 아니에요. (I'm not that kind of person.)
• 이런 일이 있었어요. (This kind of thing happened.)

Summary of Changes

Before -아/어:

• ㅎ drops, vowel changes
• 빨갛다 → 빨개요
• 그렇다 → 그래요

Before -(으)ㄴ (modifier):

• ㅎ drops completely
• 빨갛다 → 빨간
• 그렇다 → 그런

Before -(으)ㄹ:

• ㅎ disappears
• 빨갛다 → 빨갈
• 그렇다 → 그럴

Before consonants (-습니다, -지, -고):

• ㅎ stays
• 빨갛다 → 빨갛습니다, 빨갛지, 빨갛고

Key Points

• ✅ ㅎ irregular applies ONLY to adjectives
• ✅ ㅎ drops before vowels, vowel changes occur
• ✅ ㅎ completely drops in -(으)ㄴ modifier form
• ✅ Common patterns: colors and demonstratives
• ✅ 빨갛다→빨개요, 빨간 / 그렇다→그래요, 그런
• ✅ 그래서 (therefore) is from 그렇다

Understanding ㅎ irregular adjectives is crucial for describing colors and using demonstrative expressions like 그렇다, 이렇다, which are among the most frequently used words in Korean conversation.