I’m Sad in Korean

Hi everyone, it’s your Korean teacher Jun. How many times do you say ‘sad’ in a week? Maybe you aren’t much aware but I’m sure you say it enough time to time. It’s a pretty basic word in almost language. However, ‘sad’ in Korean can be a bit different than you think. How different? Let’s find out! Today we’re going to learn how to say I’m sad in Korean.

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How To Say I’m Sad in Korean

슬퍼요

[seulpeoyo]
I’m sad

Basic form : 슬프다
반말(informal non-honorific) form : 슬퍼
Negative form with 해요 speech style : 안슬퍼요

I’m sad in Korean is 슬퍼요. 슬퍼요 is really similar to ‘sad’ in English but of course it has some difference. First of all, sad in Korean only describes an emotion. 2nd, since 슬퍼요 only shows the emotional sadness, you can’t say ‘that’s just sad’.

‘Sad’ is a very common word in many languages. However, 슬프다 isn’t used very commonly in Korean. Native Koreans use other expressions more often in casual conversations.

How Native Koreans Say

However, if you talk to native Koreans, you can see they really don’t say ‘I’m sad’ often. They prefer to say ‘I’m depressed’ or ‘I’m down’ or ‘I feel bad’ in general and ‘I feel like crying’ especially when they feel so sad and crying. 슬프다 is more common when you use it as an adjective modifier like ‘a sad movie’.

눈물 날거 같아요
[nunmul nalgeo gatayo]
I feel like crying

How To Use

A: 이 영화 어때요?
How is this movie?
B: 진짜 슬퍼요
It’s really sad

A: 무슨 일 있었어요?
What’s wrong?
B: 오늘 좀 우울하네요
I’m blue / depressed a bit

A: 내가 슬픈 이야기 하나 말해줄까요?
I’m going to tell you a sad story
B: 뭔데요?
What is it?
A: 제 핸드폰은 변기에 빠져서 죽었어요
My phone fell into a toilet and died
B: 아…
Ahh…

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Other Expressions

Korean language has a lot of expressions for sadness. 안타깝다, 아쉽다, 서운하다, 슬프다. They don’t mean only ‘to be sad’. I’ll teach you each word time to time. In this bonus tutorial, let learn what 안타깝다 means.

When Koreans describe their sadness for other people or other stuffs, they say ‘안타깝다’. 안타깝다 is ‘feel sorry or sad to see a plan isn’t going well as planed’ or ‘feel sorry or sad to see someone or something go through a bad time / an accident’. But it can be used like ‘that’s just sad’ with a very sarcastic tone.

안타깝네요
[antaggapneyo]
That’s sad

Vocabulary Note

눈물 [nunmul] : tear
-같다 [gatda] : to seem like / to look like / to feel like
이 [i] : this
영화 [yeongwha] : movie
진짜 [jinjja] : really
무슨 [museun] : which / what
일 [il] : task / job / work / accident / happening
있다 [itdda] : to have / to be
오늘 [oneul] : toay
좀 [jom] : A bit / A little bit
우울하다 : I’m blue / depressed a bit
이야기 [iyagi] : story
하나 [hana] : one
말해주다 [malhe-juda] : to tell something to someone
제 [je] : my
핸드폰 [hendeupon] : cellphone
변기 [byeongi] : toilet
빠지다 [bbajida] : to fall into liquid / to sink
죽다 [jukdda] : to die