좋았어요
joasseoyo
In Korean, "it was good" is expressed as 좋았어요 (joasseoyo).
This phrase is used to express that a past experience or thing was pleasant or satisfactory.
Which one should you use?
While 좋았어요 means 'it was good' (describing a state), 맛있었어요 means 'it was delicious' (specifically for food). Additionally, 좋았을 거예요 is used to express a supposition or assumption that something was good in the past.
How does it change in a sentence?
좋았어요 is the polite past tense of the adjective 좋다 (to be good). The form 좋았어 is the casual/informal version of 좋았어요, used with close friends or people younger than you.
How do you pronounce it?
joasseoyo
Did you know?
- The word 좋다 is a pure Korean adjective, meaning it has no Hanja or Chinese characters associated with its root. This makes it a native Korean word that has existed in the language since before the heavy influence of Chinese characters.
- In Korean, the subject 'it' is often omitted entirely if the context is clear. Instead of saying 'It was good', people simply say 좋았어요, as repeating the subject can often feel redundant or unnatural in conversation.
- Depending on the intonation, 좋았어요? can turn the statement into a question, asking if something was good without changing a single letter of the phrase.
Examples in context
- 오늘 영화가 정말 좋았어요.The movie today was really good.
- 식사가 훌륭했어요.The meal was excellent.
- 회의 내용은 아주 좋았습니다.The content of the meeting was very good.
- 인사말이 정말 아주 좋았습니다.The welcoming remarks were really good.
- 어제 파티 정말 좋았어.The party yesterday was really good.
- 이 영화 요즘 핫한데, 너무 좋았어.This movie is really popular these days, and it was so good.
- 오늘 밥 맛있었어. 진짜 좋았어.The food was delicious today. It was really good.
- 어제 영화가 정말 좋았어요.eoje yeonghwaga jeongmal joasseoyo.The movie yesterday was really good.
- 그 여행은 아주 좋았어요.geu yeohaeng-eun aju joasseoyo.That trip was very good.
- 분위기가 참 좋았어요.bunwiga cham joasseoyo.The atmosphere was quite good.
Example conversation
Minjun and Subin are talking about a concert they attended.
- 민준 Min-jun수빈 씨, 공연 어땠어요?Subin ssi, gongyeon eottaesseoyo?Subin, how was the performance?
- 수빈 Su-bin정말 좋았어요!jeongmal joasseoyo!It was really good!
- 민준 Min-jun다행이네요. 저도 좋았어요.dahaengineyo. jeodo joasseoyo.I'm glad. It was good for me too.
- 수빈 Su-bin다음에 또 가요.da-eume tto gayo.Let's go again next time.
