바빠
bah-bbah
bappa
바쁘다
To say to be busy politely in the present tense, use 바빠요 (bah-bbah-yoh) · bappayo. Below is the full conjugation of 바쁘다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (으 irregular (adj)): 으-irregular adjectives end in ㅡ before 다. The ㅡ drops when a vowel suffix is added. 배고프다 (to be hungry) → 배고파요; 슬프다 (to be sad) → 슬퍼요. The resulting vowel (아 vs 어) follows the vowel of the syllable before ㅡ. See all 으-irregular verbs →
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
Highlighted = where the stem changes
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 바빠요 bah-bbah-yoh bappayo | 바쁩니다 bah-bbeum-nee-dah bappeumnida | |
| Past | 바빴어 bah-bbah-ssuh bappasseo | 바빴어요 bah-bbah-ssuh-yoh bappasseoyo | 바빴습니다 bah-bbah-sseum-nee-dah bappasseumnida |
| Future | 바쁠 거야 bah-bbeul guh-yah bappeul geoya | 바쁠 거예요 bah-bbeul guh-yae-yoh bappeul geoyeyo | 바쁠 겁니다 bah-bbeul guhm-nee-dah bappeul geomnida |
Example sentences
- casual present미안, 나 지금 바빠.Sorry, I’m busy right now.
- polite present요즘 회사 일 때문에 너무 바빠요.I’m really busy with work these days.
- formal present연말에는 모든 직원이 바쁩니다.Every employee is busy at the end of the year.
- casual past어제 왜 이렇게 바빴어?Why were you so busy yesterday?
- polite past지난주에 이사 때문에 바빴어요.I was busy with my move last week.
- formal past이번 분기는 정말 바빴습니다.This quarter was really busy.
- casual future다음 주는 좀 바쁠 거야.Next week is going to be a bit busy.
- polite future이번 달은 계속 바쁠 거예요.I’ll be busy all month.
- formal future명절 전에는 우체국이 아주 바쁠 겁니다.The post office will be very busy before the holidays.
- honorific -(으)세요요즘 바쁘세요?Have you been busy lately?
How it’s used
바쁘다 means busy, for people, places and schedules. It often softens a refusal or an apology: 요즘 좀 바빠서 연락을 못 했어요 (“I’ve been a bit busy, so I didn’t get in touch”). It is 으-irregular: 바빠요, 바빴어요, but 바쁘고, 바쁜 사람.
Common mistake
Picking the wrong vowel after ㅡ drops: ✗ 바쁘어요 or 바뻐요 → ✓ 바빠요. The new vowel follows the syllable before: 바 has ㅏ, so it becomes 바빠요.
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
바쁘세요
bah-bbeu-sae-yoh
bappeuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
바빠요
bah-bbah-yoh
bappayo
Question Polite (요)
바빠요?
bah-bbah-yoh-?
bappayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
바쁘고
bah-bbeu-goh
bappeugo
Conditional "if" — (면)
바쁘면
bah-bbeu-myuhn
bappeumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
바쁘고 있어요
bah-bbeu-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
bappeugo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
바쁘고 싶어요
bah-bbeu-goh shee-puh-yoh
bappeugo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
바쁠 수 있어요
bah-bbeul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
bappeul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
바빠서
bah-bbah-suh
bappaseo
Noun form — (기)
바쁘기
bah-bbeu-gee
bappeugi
Noun form — (음)
바쁨
bah-bbeum
bappeum