덥다
deopda[ˈtɘ(ː)p̚t͈a̠]
The Korean phrase for "to be hot" is 덥다 (deopda).
덥다 is used to describe the ambient temperature or the weather, such as feeling heat from the air or the environment.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between ambient heat and physical heat. Use 덥다 for the weather or air temperature, but use 뜨겁다 for objects that are hot to the touch, such as a hot stove or hot coffee.
How does it change in a sentence?
The dictionary form 덥다 conjugates into different levels of politeness: 더워요 is the polite form and 더워 is the informal/casual form.
How do you pronounce it?
deopda
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use 뜨겁다 to describe the weather. You must use 덥다 instead when referring to ambient heat.
Did you know?
- While English speakers use 'hot' to describe both a person's attractiveness and the weather, using 덥다 to describe an attractive person in Korean would only imply that they are physically overheating.
- The word 덥다 shares a distant linguistic ancestor with the Japanese verb tomosu, meaning 'to light', suggesting a historical link between the concept of heat and the act of lighting a flame.
- To describe a 'muggy' or 'sultry' heat where you are sweating profusely, Koreans use the specific word 무덥다 instead of just 덥다.
Examples in context
- 오늘은 정말 덥다.Today is really hot.
- 음식이 너무 뜨겁다.The food is too hot.
- 집 안이 너무 무더워요.It's so hot inside the house.
- 오늘은 덥습니다.Today is hot.
- 음식이 뜨겁습니다.The food is hot.
Example conversation
Minjun and Seoyeon are walking outside on a sunny day.
- 민준 Min-jun오늘 날씨 진짜 덥다.Oneul nalssi jinjja deopda.The weather is really hot today.
- 서연 Seo-yeon맞아요, 땀이 많이 나요.Majayo, ttami mani nayo.You're right, I'm sweating a lot.
- 민준 Min-jun카페에 들어갈까요?Kape-e deureogalkkayo?Shall we go into a cafe?
- 서연 Seo-yeon좋아요, 시원한 곳으로 가요.Joayo, siwonhan goseuro gayo.Sounds good, let's go somewhere cool.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 덥다, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 덥다, CC BY-SA 4.0.
