나빠
nah-bbah
nappa
나쁘다
To say to be bad politely in the present tense, use 나빠요 (nah-bbah-yoh) · nappayo. Below is the full conjugation of 나쁘다 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 | 나빠요 nah-bbah-yoh nappayo | 나쁩니다 nah-bbeum-nee-dah nappeumnida | |
| Past | 나빴어 nah-bbah-ssuh nappasseo | 나빴어요 nah-bbah-ssuh-yoh nappasseoyo | 나빴습니다 nah-bbah-sseum-nee-dah nappasseumnida |
| Future | 나쁠 거야 nah-bbeul guh-yah nappeul geoya | 나쁠 거예요 nah-bbeul guh-yae-yoh nappeul geoyeyo | 나쁠 겁니다 nah-bbeul guhm-nee-dah nappeul geomnida |
Example sentences
- casual present너 진짜 나빠!You’re so mean!
- polite present오늘 공기가 나빠요.The air quality is bad today.
- formal present담배는 건강에 나쁩니다.Smoking is bad for your health.
- casual past어제 기분 나빴어?Were you upset yesterday?
- polite past여행 중에 날씨가 계속 나빴어요.The weather was bad the whole trip.
- formal past지난 분기 실적은 예상보다 나빴습니다.Last quarter’s results were worse than expected.
- casual future내일 날씨 나쁠 거야. 우산 챙겨.The weather will be bad tomorrow. Take an umbrella.
- polite future이 시간에는 연결 상태가 나쁠 거예요.The connection will probably be bad at this time of day.
- formal future미세먼지 때문에 내일 공기가 나쁠 겁니다.Because of fine dust, air quality will be poor tomorrow.
- honorific -(으)세요할아버지가 요즘 눈이 나쁘세요.Grandpa’s eyesight has been poor lately.
How it’s used
나쁘다 means bad, and for a person it means mean or unkind. Common phrases: 기분이 나쁘다 (to be upset or offended), 눈이 나쁘다 (to have poor eyesight), 건강에 나쁘다 (bad for your health). In everyday speech 안 좋다 is a softer alternative: 오늘 컨디션이 안 좋아요.
Common mistake
Saying 기분이 나빠요 when you just feel down. It suggests you were offended or annoyed; for feeling low, say 기분이 안 좋아요 or 우울해요.
Other useful forms
Honorific / Command Polite (-(으)세요)
나쁘세요
nah-bbeu-sae-yoh
nappeuseyo
Suggestion / Let's Polite (요)
나빠요
nah-bbah-yoh
nappayo
Question Polite (요)
나빠요?
nah-bbah-yoh-?
nappayo?
Connective "and" — (고)
나쁘고
nah-bbeu-goh
nappeugo
Conditional "if" — (면)
나쁘면
nah-bbeu-myuhn
nappeumyeon
Progressive (고 있어요)
나쁘고 있어요
nah-bbeu-goh ee-ssuh-yoh
nappeugo isseoyo
Want to (고 싶어요)
나쁘고 싶어요
nah-bbeu-goh shee-puh-yoh
nappeugo sipeoyo
Can / Able to ((으)ㄹ 수 있어요)
나쁠 수 있어요
nah-bbeul soo ee-ssuh-yoh
nappeul su isseoyo
Because / So (아/어서)
나빠서
nah-bbah-suh
nappaseo
Noun form — (기)
나쁘기
nah-bbeu-gee
nappeugi
Noun form — (음)
나쁨
nah-bbeum
nappeum