Formal -ㅂ니다/습니다: 좋습니다, 큽니다 | Korean Grammar

Korean has two everyday polite registers, and you need both. One is the soft, conversational 해요체 (좋아요, 커요) you use with almost everyone. The other is the crisp, formal 합니다체 (좋습니다, 큽니다) you hear from news anchors, shop clerks greeting customers, soldiers, and anyone speaking in a public or business setting. This page teaches the 합니다체 present of adjectives — how to form it, how to pronounce it, and when to reach for it instead of 해요체.

A reminder that frames everything: Korean adjectives are descriptive verbs. 크다 ("is big") and 좋다 ("is good") conjugate just like action verbs, and the 합니다체 ending you learn here is the same ending action verbs take (갑니다 "goes," 먹습니다 "eats"). There is no separate rule for adjectives — the moment you know 갑니다/먹습니다, you already know 큽니다/좋습니다.

The rule: batchim decides -ㅂ니다 vs -습니다

The 합니다체 present has two shapes, and the stem's final sound picks between them:

Vowel-final stem → -ㅂ니다. The ㅂ attaches directly as a new batchim under the last syllable.
Consonant-final stem → -습니다. The full -습니다 follows the batchim.

Dictionary form	Stem	Ends in	합니다체
크다 (is big)	크-	vowel	큽니다
예쁘다 (is pretty)	예쁘-	vowel	예쁩니다
조용하다 (is quiet)	조용하-	vowel	조용합니다
좋다 (is good)	좋-	consonant	좋습니다
작다 (is small)	작-	consonant	작습니다
맛있다 (is tasty)	맛있-	consonant	맛있습니다

So a vowel stem like 크- takes just ㅂ, tucked in as a batchim (크 → 큽 → 큽니다), while a consonant stem like 좋- takes the whole syllable -습니다 (좋 + 습니다 → 좋습니다).

이 사이즈는 저한테 좀 큽니다.

i saijeuneun jeohante jom keumnida

This size is a little big for me.

도서관은 항상 조용합니다.

doseogwaneun hangsang joyonghamnida

The library is always quiet.

오늘은 날씨가 참 좋습니다.

oneureun nalssiga cham joseumnida

The weather is really nice today.

글씨가 너무 작습니다.

geulssiga neomu jakseumnida

The writing is too small.

Pronunciation: -ㅂ니다 is said [ㅁ니다]

Do not let the spelling fool your ear. The ㅂ in -ㅂ니다 (and the ㅂ inside -습니다) sits right before ㄴ, and a ㅂ before a nasal ㄴ nasalizes to [ㅁ]. So 큽니다 is pronounced [큼니다], 좋습니다 is pronounced [조씀니다], 작습니다 is [작씀니다]. This is why the romanizations read keumnida, joseumnida, jakseumnida — the written ㅂ has become an [m] sound. You write ㅂ; you say [m].

💡

합니다체 always sounds like it ends in "-mnida," never "-bnida." 큽니다 = [큼니다] keumnida; 갑니다 = [감니다] gamnida. The ㅂ nasalizes to [ㅁ] before the ㄴ of -니다. Spell it with ㅂ, pronounce it with [ㅁ].

Getting the allomorph right: the #1 error

The single most common English-speaker mistake is attaching the wrong shape to the wrong stem — putting -습니다 on a vowel stem, or -ㅂ니다 on a consonant stem. The batchim rule is mechanical, so drill it until it's automatic:

크- ends in a vowel → 큽니다, never ×크습니다.
좋- ends in a consonant → 좋습니다, never ×좋ㅂ니다 (you can't even attach a bare ㅂ under an already-full 좋).

따님이 참 예쁩니다.

ttanimi cham yeppeumnida

Your daughter is really pretty.

이 국밥은 정말 맛있습니다.

i gukbabeun jeongmal masitseumnida

This gukbap is really delicious.

The test is simply: does the stem end in a vowel or a consonant? Vowel → tuck in ㅂ (-ㅂ니다). Consonant → add -습니다.

ㄹ-final stems drop the ㄹ

There's one systematic wrinkle. A stem ending in ㄹ drops that ㄹ before -ㅂ니다, then takes the vowel-stem ending. So 길다 ("is long") → 긷... no — the ㄹ vanishes: 길다 → 깁니다 (pronounced [김니다]). Likewise 멀다 ("is far") → 멉니다, 달다 ("is sweet") → 답니다.

집에서 회사까지 좀 멉니다.

jibeseo hoesakkaji jom meomnida

It's a bit far from home to the office.

This ㄹ-dropping is a general property of ㄹ-stems in front of certain endings, and it recurs in the attributive and elsewhere — see Irregular attributives for the full ㄹ-stem picture.

The question form: -ㅂ니까 / 습니까

To ask a yes/no question in 합니다체, swap the final 다 for 까: -ㅂ니까 / -습니까 (pronounced [-ㅁ니까]). Unlike 해요체, where a statement and a question share one form and only the intonation moves, 합니다체 has a distinct question ending — a hallmark of its formal precision.

이 옷이 저한테 큽니까, 작습니까?

i osi jeohante keumnikka, jakseumnikka

Is this clothing big or small on me?

혹시 이 자리가 괜찮습니까?

hoksi i jariga gwaenchanseumnikka

Is this seat all right, by any chance?

Register: crisp and public vs. soft and personal

좋습니다 and 좋아요 mean the same thing — "is good." What differs is the social temperature. 합니다체 is the register of distance, formality, and public performance:

News, weather, and broadcast: 내일은 날씨가 맑겠습니다.
Business, service, and announcements: 지금부터 회의를 시작하겠습니다.
The military, ceremonies, and speeches: anything crisp and deferential.

해요체 is warmer and more personal — friends, family, casual acquaintances, most day-to-day talk. Many speakers mix the two, opening formally and softening as rapport grows. A shop assistant might greet you with 어서 오세요, 뭐 찾으세요? in 해요체 but switch to 감사합니다. 안녕히 가십시오 in 합니다체 as you leave — the crisp register bracketing the friendly one. Neither is "more correct"; they signal different social stances, and a fluent speaker slides between them.

💡

Think of 합니다체 as the register of distance and display and 해요체 as the register of warmth and closeness. Use 합니다체 when you're being watched or judged — a job interview, a presentation, a customer greeting, the news. Use 해요체 for ordinary friendly interaction. The words mean the same; the social temperature differs.

처음 뵙겠습니다. 만나서 반갑습니다.

cheoeum boepgetseumnida. mannaseo bangapseumnida

Pleased to meet you (first meeting). It's a pleasure to meet you.

Because adjectives are descriptive verbs, they slot into this register with no special treatment: the pair 좋습니다 / 좋아요 works exactly like the verb pair 갑니다 / 가요. If you understand how action verbs take 합니다체 — laid out on The formal present -ㅂ니다/습니다 for verbs — you already understand it for every adjective. And for the softer everyday form, see The 해요체 present of adjectives.

Common Mistakes

1. Attaching -습니다 to a vowel stem. A vowel-final stem takes -ㅂ니다 (the ㅂ becomes a batchim), not -습니다.

❌ 이 방이 너무 크습니다.

Wrong — 크- is a vowel stem, so it's 큽니다.

✅ 이 방이 너무 큽니다.

i bang-i neomu keumnida

This room is too big.

2. Trying to attach -ㅂ니다 to a consonant stem. A consonant-final stem takes -습니다; there's no room to tuck ㅂ under an already-full syllable.

❌ 이 커피 진짜 좋ㅂ니다.

Wrong — 좋- ends in a consonant, so it's 좋습니다.

✅ 이 커피 진짜 좋습니다.

i keopi jinjja joseumnida

This coffee is really good.

3. Pronouncing the ㅂ as [b]. The ㅂ before ㄴ nasalizes; 큽니다 is [큼니다], not "keubnida."

✅ 값이 생각보다 쌉니다.

gapsi saenggakboda ssamnida

The price is cheaper than expected. (쌉니다 = [쌈니다])

4. Forgetting to drop ㄹ before -ㅂ니다. A ㄹ-stem loses its ㄹ: 길다 → 깁니다, not ×길습니다 or ×길ㅂ니다.

❌ 머리가 많이 길습니다.

Wrong — the ㄹ drops: 길다 → 깁니다.

✅ 머리가 많이 깁니다.

meoriga mani gimnida

My hair is very long.

5. Using the 해요체 shared-form trick for questions. 합니다체 has a separate question ending, -ㅂ니까/습니까; you can't just raise your pitch on the statement.

✅ 방이 조용합니까?

bang-i joyonghamnikka

Is the room quiet?

Key Takeaways

합니다체 present: -ㅂ니다 after a vowel stem (크- → 큽니다), -습니다 after a consonant stem (좋- → 좋습니다). Same ending verbs take.
It's always pronounced [-ㅁ니다] — the ㅂ nasalizes before ㄴ (큽니다 = [큼니다]).
ㄹ-stems drop the ㄹ: 길다 → 깁니다, 멀다 → 멉니다.
The question form is a distinct -ㅂ니까/습니까 (조용합니까?), unlike 해요체's intonation-only question.
Register: 합니다체 is the crisp, public, business/broadcast voice; 해요체 (좋아요) is the softer, personal one — same meaning, different formality.

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