밝아
bahl-ah
baa
descriptive
밝다
To say to be bright, to be brilliant politely in the present tense, use 밝아요 (bahl-ah-yoh) · baayo. Below is the full conjugation of 밝다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (descriptive): Descriptive verbs (형용사) function like adjectives in Korean and conjugate the same way as regular action verbs. They cannot take the progressive -고 있어요 or imperative forms. 좋다 (to be good) → 좋아요; 크다 (to be big) → 커요 (으-irregular).
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 밝아요 bahl-ah-yoh baayo | 밝습니다 bahl-seum-nee-dah baseumnida | |
| Past | 밝았어 bahl-ah-ssuh baasseo | 밝았어요 bahl-ah-ssuh-yoh baasseoyo | 밝았습니다 bahl-ah-sseum-nee-dah baasseumnida |
| Future | 밝을 거야 bahl-eul guh-yah baeul geoya | 밝을 거예요 bahl-eul guh-yae-yoh baeul geoyeyo | 밝을 겁니다 bahl-eul guhm-nee-dah baeul geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
밝으세요
bahl-eu-sae-yoh
baeuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
밝아요
bahl-ah-yoh
baayo
Question Polite (요)
밝아요?
bahl-ah-yoh-?
baayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
밝고
bahl-goh
bago
Conditional "if" — (면)
밝으면
bahl-eu-myuhn
baeumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
밝고 있어요
bahl-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
bago isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
밝고 싶어요
bahl-goh shee-puh-yoh
bago sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
밝을 수 있어요
bahl-eul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
baeul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
밝아서
bahl-ah-suh
baaseo
Noun form — (기)
밝기
bahl-gee
bagi
Noun form — (음)
밝음
bahl-eum
baeum