The everyday Korean word for beautiful is 예쁘다 (yeppeuda), pretty or lovely: 예뻐요 (yeppeoyo) in polite speech. 아름답다 (areumdapda) is a fuller, more literary beautiful, used for scenery, music and in writing: 아름다워요 (areumdawoyo). For a man, say 잘생겼어요 (jalsaenggyeosseoyo), handsome, or 멋있어요 (meosisseoyo), cool.
- Pretty, lovely
- 예뻐요 (yeppeoyo)
- Beautiful (fuller)
- 아름다워요 (areumdawoyo)
- Handsome
- 잘생겼어요 (jalsaenggyeosseoyo)
- Cool, stylish
- 멋있어요 (meosisseoyo)
- Cute
- 귀여워요 (gwiyeowoyo)
- Level
- A1
What is the difference between yeppeuda and areumdapda?
예쁘다 is the word you will use most: for a dress, a café, flowers, a baby, a girlfriend. 아름답다 has more weight. It suits a mountain view, a piece of music, a kind act or a wedding speech, and in casual chat about someone's looks it can sound poetic.
| Korean | Romanization | Feel | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 예뻐요 | yeppeoyo | Pretty, lovely | People, clothes, flowers, handwriting, places |
| 아름다워요 | areumdawoyo | Beautiful, moving | Landscapes, music, stories, a life |
| 멋있어요 | meosisseoyo | Cool, stylish, impressive | A view, someone's style, a person of any gender |
| 잘생겼어요 | jalsaenggyeosseoyo | Good-looking | Mostly men |
| 귀여워요 | gwiyeowoyo | Cute | Babies, pets, and people being sweet |
Two grammar notes. 아름답다 is a ㅂ-irregular verb, so ㅂ turns into 우: 아름다워요, 아름다운. And 잘생겼어요 is past tense because it literally means "came out well-formed"; Koreans say it in the past even about someone standing in front of them.
How do you say beautiful before a noun?
Korean adjectives are verbs, and before a noun they take -(으)ㄴ: 예쁘다 becomes 예쁜 (yeppeun), 아름답다 becomes 아름다운 (areumdaun). Both forms appear in the free chapters of Contos stories. Here a woman opens a parcel that turns out not to be hers:
예쁜 도자기가 나온다.Yeppeun dojagiga naonda.
And here a motel receptionist finds an old black-and-white photo in room 7, and the narration switches to the weightier word:
젊은 여자가 웃고 있었다. 아름다웠다.Jeolmeun yeojaga utgo isseotda. Areumdawotda.
How do you pay a compliment in Korean?
Korean usually leaves out "you" and "it", so the adjective alone does the work. 정말 (jeongmal, really) or 와 (wa, wow) adds warmth.
정말 예쁜 꽃이네요.
Jeongmal yeppeun kkochineyo.
What lovely flowers.
경치가 정말 아름답네요.
Gyeongchiga jeongmal areumdamneyo.
The view is really beautiful.
오늘 예쁘다!
Oneul yeppeuda!
You look lovely today!
Casual, between friends.
와, 멋있다!
Wa, meositda!
Wow, that's amazing!
Expect the compliment to be waved away with 아니에요 (no, not at all). Modesty is the polite reply, so don't take it as disagreement.
What mistakes do learners make with beautiful?
Using 아름답다 for the weather is the most common. "It's a beautiful day" is 날씨가 좋아요 (nalssiga joayo), literally "the weather is good", as in how to say good morning in Korean. Another is calling a grown man 예뻐요, which sounds like "pretty": 잘생겼어요 or 멋있어요 is what he will want to hear.
You will also see 이쁘다 (ippeuda) in chats and lyrics. It is a colloquial variant of 예쁘다 that dictionaries now accept, but 예쁘다 is the safe spelling. Out shopping, 이거 예쁘다! often comes just before the question in how to say "How much is it?" in Korean.
Read The Guest of Room 7 in Korean at A2 and find out who the woman in the photo was.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce yeppeuda?
Roughly "yep-puh-da". The ㅃ is a tense p, held briefly and released without a puff of air, and the eu is a short unrounded vowel.
How do you say you are beautiful in Korean?
To a partner, 예뻐 (yeppeo) or 정말 예뻐요 (jeongmal yeppeoyo); Korean rarely needs the word "you". 아름다워요 (areumdawoyo) sounds more heartfelt and a little poetic.
How do you say handsome in Korean?
잘생겼어요 (jalsaenggyeosseoyo), or 잘생겼다! (jalsaenggyeotda) as an exclamation among friends. 멋있어요 (meosisseoyo) praises style and presence rather than looks.
Is yeppeuda only for women?
Mostly for women, children, animals and things. Said to a grown man it sounds like "pretty", which may be meant as teasing.