고와
goh-wah
gowa
곱다
To say beautiful, pretty, lovely, nice politely in the present tense, use 고와요 (goh-wah-yoh) · gowayo. Below is the full conjugation of 곱다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (ㅂ irregular (adj)): ㅂ-irregular adjectives follow the same rule as ㅂ-irregular verbs: the ㅂ changes to 우 when a vowel suffix follows. 덥다 (to be hot) becomes 더워요; 쉽다 (to be easy) becomes 쉬워요. The ㅂ is kept intact before consonant suffixes: 덥고, 쉽지. See all ㅂ-irregular verbs →
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
Highlighted = where the stem changes
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 고와요 goh-wah-yoh gowayo | 곱습니다 gohp-sseum-nee-dah gopsseumnida | |
| Past | 고왔어 goh-wah-ssuh gowasseo | 고왔어요 goh-wah-ssuh-yoh gowasseoyo | 고왔습니다 goh-wah-sseum-nee-dah gowasseumnida |
| Future | 고울 거야 goh-ool guh-yah goul geoya | 고울 거예요 goh-ool guh-yae-yoh goul geoyeyo | 고울 겁니다 goh-ool guhm-nee-dah goul geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
고우세요
goh-oo-sae-yoh
gouseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
고와요
goh-wah-yoh
gowayo
Question Polite (요)
고와요?
goh-wah-yoh-?
gowayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
곱고
gohp-goh
gopgo
Conditional "if" — (면)
고우면
goh-oo-myuhn
goumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
곱고 있어요
gohp-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
gopgo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
곱고 싶어요
gohp-goh shee-puh-yoh
gopgo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
고울 수 있어요
goh-ool soo ee-ssuh-yoh
goul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
고와서
goh-wah-suh
gowaseo
Noun form — (기)
곱기
gohp-gee
gopgi
Noun form — (음)
고움
goh-oom
goum