맑아
mahl-ah
maa
descriptive
맑다
To say to be clear, clean, fresh, pure, limpid, transparent politely in the present tense, use 맑아요 (mahl-ah-yoh) · maayo. Below is the full conjugation of 맑다 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 | 맑아요 mahl-ah-yoh maayo | 맑습니다 mahl-seum-nee-dah maseumnida | |
| Past | 맑았어 mahl-ah-ssuh maasseo | 맑았어요 mahl-ah-ssuh-yoh maasseoyo | 맑았습니다 mahl-ah-sseum-nee-dah maasseumnida |
| Future | 맑을 거야 mahl-eul guh-yah maeul geoya | 맑을 거예요 mahl-eul guh-yae-yoh maeul geoyeyo | 맑을 겁니다 mahl-eul guhm-nee-dah maeul geomnida |
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
맑으세요
mahl-eu-sae-yoh
maeuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
맑아요
mahl-ah-yoh
maayo
Question Polite (요)
맑아요?
mahl-ah-yoh-?
maayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
맑고
mahl-goh
mago
Conditional "if" — (면)
맑으면
mahl-eu-myuhn
maeumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
맑고 있어요
mahl-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
mago isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
맑고 싶어요
mahl-goh shee-puh-yoh
mago sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
맑을 수 있어요
mahl-eul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
maeul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
맑아서
mahl-ah-suh
maaseo
Noun form — (기)
맑기
mahl-gee
magi
Noun form — (음)
맑음
mahl-eum
maeum