Descriptive Adjectives: Tall, Short, Slim

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TL;DR: Today's words cover descriptive adjectives for size and build: 키 (height), 크다 (big/tall), 작다 (small/short), 날씬하다 (slim), and 뚱뚱하다 (chubby/fat). Korean adjectives conjugate just like verbs, so we'll focus on that pattern too!

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Iru Helper Note: Now that you can name every room in the house, let's describe the people living in it! 키, 크다, 작다, 날씬하다, and 뚱뚱하다 help you talk about height and build. Next up, <mention-page url="

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Hair and Skincare Basics"> moves from overall build to hair and skin. Quick example using all five: 저는 키가 크고 날씬한데, 우리 강아지는 키가 작고 뚱뚱해요. (I'm tall and slim, but our puppy is short and chubby.)

🎯 Big Picture

Korean doesn't have separate single-word adjectives for "tall" and "short" — instead, it pairs the noun 키 (height) with 크다 (big) or 작다 (small). 날씬하다 and 뚱뚱하다 describe build directly. All of these are 형용사 (descriptive verbs), which conjugate just like action verbs.

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 키 (Height)

키 means height.

키가 몇이에요? (What's your height?)

키가 커요. (S/he is tall — lit. "height is big.")

Grammar note: 키 is a noun, not an adjective. To say someone is tall or short, pair it with 크다/작다: 키가 크다 (tall), 키가 작다 (short).

2. 크다 (Big / Tall)

크다 means big or large — and with 키, "tall."

키가 커요. (S/he is tall.)

이 건물은 너무 커요. (This building is too big.)

Grammar note: 크다 is ㅡ-irregular: the stem 크 drops its ㅡ before -어요, giving 커요 (NOT 크어요).

3. 작다 (Small / Short)

작다 means small — and with 키, "short."

키가 작아요. (S/he is short.)

신발이 너무 작아요. (The shoes are too small.)

Grammar note: 작다 is a regular adjective: stem 작 + -아요 → 작아요.

4. 날씬하다 (Slim)

날씬하다 means slim.

그 사람은 날씬해요. (That person is slim.)

모델은 보통 날씬해요. (Models are usually slim.)

Grammar note: 날씬하다 is a 하다-adjective: 하다 → 해요, so 날씬하다 → 날씬해요.

5. 뚱뚱하다 (Chubby / Fat)

뚱뚱하다 means chubby or fat — often used for animals and people alike.

우리 강아지는 뚱뚱해요. (Our puppy is chubby.)

그 곰은 뚱뚱하고 귀여워요. (That bear is chubby and cute.)

Grammar note: Also a 하다-adjective: 뚱뚱하다 → 뚱뚱해요. Use descriptive words like this thoughtfully and respectfully, just as you would in English.

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

저는 키가 크고 날씬해요. (I'm tall and slim.)

동생은 키가 작아요. (My younger sibling is short.)

우리 강아지는 작고 뚱뚱해요. (Our puppy is small and chubby.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

키가 크다/작다 = tall/short (height); 크다/작다 alone describe the size of objects: 이 가방은 커요/작아요.

크다 → 커요 (ㅡ-irregular: ㅡ drops before -어요).

작다 → 작아요 (regular: stem vowel ㅏ + -아요).

날씬하다/뚱뚱하다 → 날씬해요/뚱뚱해요 (하다-adjectives: 하다 → 해요).

All of these are 형용사 (descriptive verbs) — they conjugate for tense just like action verbs: 컸어요 (was big), 날씬했어요 (was slim).

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Cross-check: Search 키, 크다, 작다, 날씬하다, and 뚱뚱하다 on the 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 (National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Korean Dictionary) for full definitions and example sentences.

🔁 Synonym Alert

크다 vs. 키가 크다 — 크다 alone means "big/large" (size of any object); 키가 크다 specifically means "tall" (a person's height). Context — and the word 키 — matters!

날씬하다 vs. 마르다 — 날씬하다 means "slim" (often a compliment about a toned figure); 마르다 means "skinny/thin" (more neutral, can suggest underweight — its base meaning is "to dry out").

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

There's no single-word adjective for "tall" or "short" in Korean — you must say 키가 크다 (tall) or 키가 작다 (short), literally "height is big/small."

크다 → 커요, NOT 크아요 — the ㅡ vowel drops before -어요 (ㅡ-irregular conjugation).

작다 → 작아요 (regular -아요, since the stem's vowel is ㅏ).

날씬하다 and 뚱뚱하다 are 하다-adjectives — conjugate them like 하다-verbs: 하다 → 해요.

뚱뚱하다 and 날씬하다 describe body type — use them descriptively and kindly, the same way you would in English.

이제 키, 크다, 작다, 날씬하다, 뚱뚱하다로 사람과 사물의 크기와 체형을 설명해 보세요! 📏🧍

Try this exercise

___가 몇이에요? (height)

키가 ___. (big/tall)

키가 ___. (small/short)

그 사람은 ___. (slim)

우리 강아지는 ___. (chubby)

이 건물은 너무 ___. (big)

신발이 너무 ___. (small)

모델은 보통 ___. (slim)

그 곰은 ___ 귀여워요. (chubby)

저는 ___가 커요. (height)

Answer Key

커요

작아요

날씬해요

뚱뚱해요

커요

작아요

날씬해요

뚱뚱하고

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Vocabulary Box: 키 (height) · 크다 (big/tall) · 작다 (small/short) · 날씬하다 (slim) · 뚱뚱하다 (chubby)

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Pitfalls Recap: no single word for "tall/short" - use 키가 크다/작다 · 크다 → 커요 (ㅡ-irregular) · 작다 → 작아요 · 하다-adjectives → 해요 · describe body type kindly.

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Want more reps? Head down to the Practice Hub below for 10 more descriptive adjectives and 5 extra exercises!

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Practice Hub — Bonus Round! Ready for 10 more descriptive adjectives? Here they are: 예쁘다 (pretty), 잘생기다 (handsome), 귀엽다 (cute), 멋지다 (cool/stylish), 젊다 (young), 늙다 (old), 길다 (long), 짧다 (short, for length), 무겁다 (heavy), 가볍다 (light). Try the exercises below!

Exercise 1 — Fill in the Blank 📏

그 사람은 ___. (pretty)

그 사람은 ___. (handsome)

아기가 ___. (cute)

저 차는 ___. (cool/stylish)

저 사람은 ___. (young)

우리 할아버지는 ___. (old)

머리가 ___. (long)

머리가 ___. (short)

가방이 ___. (heavy)

가방이 ___. (light)

Answer Key

예뻐요

잘생겼어요

귀여워요

멋져요

젊어요

늙었어요

길어요

짧아요

무거워요

가벼워요

Exercise 2 — Match English to Korean 🔗

Pretty

Handsome

Cute

Cool/Stylish

Young

Long

Short (length)

Heavy

Light

Answer Key

예쁘다

잘생기다

귀엽다

멋지다

젊다

늙다

길다

짧다

무겁다

가볍다

Exercise 3 — Adjective Conjugation (Dictionary Form → 해요체) ✍️

크다 → ___

작다 → ___

날씬하다 → ___

뚱뚱하다 → ___

예쁘다 → ___

귀엽다 → ___

무겁다 → ___

가볍다 → ___

길다 → ___

짧다 → ___

Answer Key

커요

작아요

날씬해요

뚱뚱해요

예뻐요

귀여워요

무거워요

가벼워요

길어요

짧아요

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Quick Reference — Adjective Conjugation Patterns: ㅡ-irregular (크다→커요, 예쁘다→예뻐요) · ㅂ-irregular (귀엽다→귀여워요, 무겁다→무거워요, 가볍다→가벼워요) · regular (작다→작아요, 길다→길어요, 짧다→짧아요) · 하다-adjectives (날씬하다→날씬해요, 뚱뚱하다→뚱뚱해요)

Exercise 4 — Opposite Matching (반대말) ↔️

크다

날씬하다

길다

무겁다

젊다

작다

뚱뚱하다

짧다

가볍다

늙다

Answer Key

작다 (small/short)

뚱뚱하다 (chubby)

짧다 (short)

가볍다 (light)

늙다 (old)

크다 (big/tall)

날씬하다 (slim)

길다 (long)

무겁다 (heavy)

젊다 (young)

Exercise 5 — 사람 (Person) or 사물 (Object)? 🧍

날씬하다

뚱뚱하다

잘생기다

귀엽다

젊다

늙다

무겁다

가볍다

길다

Answer Key

사람 (person)

사람 (person)

사람 (person, also animals)

사람 (person)

사람 (person, also animals)

사람 (person)

사람 (person)

사물 (object)

사물 (object)

사물 (object)

이제 키, 크다, 작다, 날씬하다, 뚱뚱하다 그리고 예쁘다, 잘생기다, 귀엽다, 멋지다, 젊다, 늙다, 길다, 짧다, 무겁다, 가볍다까지 — 사람과 사물을 묘사하는 형용사를 마스터했어요! 📏✨