힘들어
heem-deu-ruh
himdeureo
힘들다
To say difficult politely in the present tense, use 힘들어요 (heem-deu-ruh-yoh) · himdeureoyo. Below is the full conjugation of 힘들다 across the three tenses and three everyday speech levels.
Grammar note (ㄹ stem (adj)): ㄹ-stem adjectives follow the same pattern as ㄹ-stem verbs: the ㄹ is kept before vowel suffixes and drops before ㄴ, ㅂ, and 습니다. 길다 (to be long) → 길어요, 긴, 깁니다. 멀다 (to be far) → 멀어요, 먼, 멉니다. See all ㄹ-stem verbs →
Conjugation table
pron. = pronunciation guide · RR = Revised Romanization
Highlighted = where the stem changes
| Tense | Casual (반말) | Polite (요) | Formal (합니다) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 힘들어요 heem-deu-ruh-yoh himdeureoyo | 힘듭니다 heem-deum-nee-dah himdeumnida | |
| Past | 힘들었어 heem-deu-ruh-ssuh himdeureosseo | 힘들었어요 heem-deu-ruh-ssuh-yoh himdeureosseoyo | 힘들었습니다 heem-deu-ruh-sseum-nee-dah himdeureosseumnida |
| Future | 힘들 거야 heem-deul guh-yah himdeul geoya | 힘들 거예요 heem-deul guh-yae-yoh himdeul geoyeyo | 힘들 겁니다 heem-deul guhm-nee-dah himdeul geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
힘드세요
heem-deu-sae-yoh
himdeuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
힘들어요
heem-deu-ruh-yoh
himdeureoyo
Question Polite (요)
힘들어요?
heem-deu-ruh-yoh-?
himdeureoyo?
Connective "and" — (고)
힘들고
heem-deul-goh
himdeulgo
Conditional "if" — (면)
힘들면
heem-deul-myuhn
himdeulmyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
힘들고 있어요
heem-deul-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
himdeulgo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
힘들고 싶어요
heem-deul-goh shee-puh-yoh
himdeulgo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
힘들 수 있어요
heem-deul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
himdeul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
힘들어서
heem-deu-ruh-suh
himdeureoseo
Noun form — (기)
힘들기
heem-deul-gee
himdeulgi
Noun form — (음)
힘듦
heem-deum
himdeum