Korea is such a beautiful country! Not only does it have beautiful scenery, from mountains and forests, to islands and beaches, but it also has beautiful people.
If you want to let Koreans know how beautiful their country is (or how beautiful they are) then you will need to know how to say beautiful in Korean. We’ve also included a FREE PDF guide to this lesson that you can take with you on the go. Check it out below:
We’ll show you how!
Contents
‘Beautiful’ in Korean
It is beautiful
There are two ways to say ‘beautiful’ in Korean.
The first way is to use the word 아름답다 (areumdapda).
The second way is to use the word 예쁘다 (yeppeuda), which means ‘pretty.’
These words generally can both be used interchangeably. However, 아름답다 (areumdapda) is used more often to describe scenery, and 예쁘다 (yeppeuda) is used more often to describe people or things. 예쁘다 (yeppeuda) is sometimes written as 이쁘다 (ippeuda), which has the same meaning but is more of a slang word.
Formal ‘Beautiful’ in Korean
1. 아름답습니다 (areumdapseumnida)
2. 예쁩니다 (yeppeumnida)
You might hear this word in a presentation, in an interview, or in an announcement.
Example:
설악산이 정말 아름답습니다 (seoraksani jeongmal areumdapseumnida)
Seorak Mountain is really beautiful.
꽃이 예쁩니다 (kkochi yeppeumnida)
The flowers are pretty.
Standard ‘Beautiful’ in Korean
1. 아름다워요 (areumdawoyo)
2. 예뻐요 (yeppeoyo)
3. 이뻐요 (ippeoyo)
You can use this expression when talking to people who are older or not particularly close to you. The slang word 이뻐요 (ippeoyo) can be used, but it is recommended to use 예뻐요 (yeppeoyo) instead.
Example:
그 사람은 아름다워요 (geu sarameun areumdawoyo)
That person is beautiful.
진짜 예뻐요! (jinjja yeppeoyo)
It’s really pretty!
Informal ‘Beautiful’ in Korean
1. 아름다워 (areumdawo)
2. 예뻐 (yeppeo)
3. 이뻐 (ippeo)
You can use this expression with people who are very close to you, such as with your girlfriend or boyfriend.
Example:
와, 예뻐! (wa, yeppeo!)
Wow, so pretty!
전망이 아름다워 (jeonmangi areumdawo)
The view is beautiful.
Bonus: ‘Beautiful Flowers’ in Korean
If you want to say ‘beautiful’ as in ‘the beautiful lady’ then you should say 아름다운 (areumdaun) or 예쁜 (yeppeun)
Example:
아름다운 꽃 (areumdaun kkot) – beautiful flowers
예쁜 여자 (yeppeun yeoja) – pretty woman
예쁜 여자를 만나고 싶어요 (yeppeun yeojareul mannago sipeoyo)
I want to meet a pretty woman.
아름다운 곳에 갑시다 (areumdaun gose gapsida)
Let’s go to a beautiful place.
A Word of Caution About Romanization
We’ve added in the Romanization for all of these words to help with pronunciation. However, we recommend that you try to move onto reading comfortably in Hangul (the Korean alphabet), as this will improve your pronunciation and your reading skills. It will also help you notice patterns in words, which will lead you to improve the rate at which you learn new Korean words and grammar points.
You can download a free guide to learn the Korean alphabet in about an hour here. We’ve got a complete writeup on the Korean language here.
Learning vocabulary words is a great way to help you learn the basics of a language, but your language learning will only really take off one you start attempting to have conversations in Korean. Take a look at our full Korean course for all the help you will need when studying Korean.
Now you know how to say beautiful in Korean and you know how to say pretty in Korean. That means you can start complimenting people on their appearance and start describing all of the beautiful places that you would like to visit in Korea!
Never be at a loss for words when you study up on our Korean phrases list as well!
I always here idols say something like “잘쟁가서” when they call someone pretty. What does it mean and can i use it to call someone pretty?
Hi Haley, 잘 생기다 is used for “to be handsome, good-looking, beautiful” and is usually used for males. You can use 예쁘다 when saying someone is “pretty” instead. ^^
Can you explain why Shinee’s Replay is “누난 너무 예뻐” and not “누나 너무 예뻐”?
I want to say “Noona, you’re pretty!” to someone. Thanks in advance for the help!
Hi, 누난 is shorten for 누나는 (particle 는 indicates the topic).