KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean grammar › ㅂ 불규칙
Korean Grammar “ㅂ 불규칙”: Meaning and Usage (TOPIK 1)
Explanation
이 가방은 정말 가벼워요.
Adjectives like “가볍다” are ㅂ-irregular: before an ending that begins with a vowel, the final ㅂ changes to “우,” giving “가벼워요.” The sentence means “This bag is really light.” Conjugating it regularly, as in “가볍어요” or “가볍아요,” is a common learner mistake.
Pronouncing the example sentence
Example sentence: 이 가방은 정말 가벼워요.
It is pronounced just as it is written.
| Syllable | Letters (consonant + vowel + final) | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 이 | ㅇ+ㅣ | i |
| 가방은 | ||
| 가 | ㄱ+ㅏ | ga |
| 방 | ㅂ+ㅏ+ㅇ | bang |
| 은 | ㅇ+ㅡ+ㄴ | eun |
| 정말 | ||
| 정 | ㅈ+ㅓ+ㅇ | jeong |
| 말 | ㅁ+ㅏ+ㄹ | mal |
| 가벼워요 | ||
| 가 | ㄱ+ㅏ | ga |
| 벼 | ㅂ+ㅕ | byeo |
| 워 | ㅇ+ㅝ | wo |
| 요 | ㅇ+ㅛ | yo |
A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.
Politeness level of the example
Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.
Words in the example sentence
These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).
| Korean | Part of speech | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 정말 | adverb | really | TOPIK level 1 |
Practice
Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.
Question 1 Choose the word that fits the blank: 이 가방은 정말 ____.
Show the answer
Answer: 이 가방은 정말 가벼워요.
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