잘아
chah-rah
jara
잘다
To say to be small, to little, to fine, to be tiny, to be thin politely in the present tense, use 잘아요 (chah-rah-yoh) · jarayo. Below is the full conjugation of 잘다 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 | 잘아요 chah-rah-yoh jarayo | 잡니다 chahm-nee-dah jamnida | |
| Past | 잘았어 chah-rah-ssuh jarasseo | 잘았어요 chah-rah-ssuh-yoh jarasseoyo | 잘았습니다 chah-rah-sseum-nee-dah jarasseumnida |
| Future | 잘 거야 chahl guh-yah jal geoya | 잘 거예요 chahl guh-yae-yoh jal geoyeyo | 잘 겁니다 chahl guhm-nee-dah jal geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
자세요
chah-sae-yoh
jaseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
잘아요
chah-rah-yoh
jarayo
Question Polite (요)
잘아요?
chah-rah-yoh-?
jarayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
잘고
chahl-goh
jalgo
Conditional "if" — (면)
잘면
chahl-myuhn
jalmyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
잘고 있어요
chahl-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
jalgo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
잘고 싶어요
chahl-goh shee-puh-yoh
jalgo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
잘 수 있어요
chahl soo ee-ssuh-yoh
jal su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
잘아서
chah-rah-suh
jaraseo
Noun form — (기)
잘기
chahl-gee
jalgi
Noun form — (음)
잚
chahm
jam