쩔다

Korean

Etymology

Variant of 절다 (jeolda) with sound-symbolic initial tensing, perhaps also influenced by 짜다 (jjada, “to be salty”). The colloquial sense is now common in South Korea and is said to have spread from Incheon, perhaps via northern refugees there from the Korean War.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ɕ͈ɘ(ː)ɭda̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [쩔(ː)다]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	jjeolda
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	jjeolda
McCune–Reischauer?	tchŏlda
Yale Romanization?	ccēlta

Verb

쩔다 • (jjeolda) (infinitive 쩔어, sequential 쩌니)

1. (especially North Korea) to become very salted or salty; stressed form of 절다 (jeolda)
2. (especially North Korea) to become very drenched (by sweat); stressed form of 절다 (jeolda)
3. (colloquial or slang) to be amazing (either in a positive or negative way), to be extremely good or extremely bad

   Synonyms: 대박이다 (daebag-ida), 오지다 (ojida)

   야, 이거 쩐다.

   Ya, igeo jjeonda.

   Hey, this is amazing / this really sucks.

Conjugation

    Selected forms of the verb 쩔다 (jjeolda): consonant-stem, ㄹ(l)-irregular

Sentence-final forms
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	쩐다 jjeonda	쩔어 jjeoreo	쩔어요 jjeoreoyo	쩝니다 jjeomnida
	Past	쩔었다 jjeoreotda	쩔었어 jjeoreosseo	쩔었어요 jjeoreosseoyo	쩔었습니다 jjeoreotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	쩌느냐 jjeoneunya	쩔어 jjeoreo	쩔어요 jjeoreoyo	쩝니까 jjeomnikka
	Past	쩔었느냐 jjeoreonneunya	쩔었어 jjeoreosseo	쩔었어요 jjeoreosseoyo	쩔었습니까 jjeoreotseumnikka
Hortative		쩔자 jjeolja	쩔어 jjeoreo	쩔어요 jjeoreoyo	쩌십시다 jjeosipsida
Imperative		쩔어라 jjeoreora	쩔어 jjeoreo	쩔어요 jjeoreoyo	쩝시오 jjeopsio
Assertive		쩔겠다 jjeolgetda	쩔겠어 jjeolgesseo	쩔겠어요 jjeolgesseoyo	쩔겠습니다 jjeolgetseumnida
Connective forms
Cause/Reason		쩔어 jjeoreo	쩔어서 jjeoreoseo	쩌니 jjeoni	쩌니까 jjeonikka
Contrast		쩔지만 jjeoljiman	쩌는데 jjeoneunde	쩔더니 jjeoldeoni
Conjunction		쩔고 jjeolgo
Condition		쩔면 jjeolmyeon	쩔어야 jjeoreoya
Motive		쩔려고 jjeollyeogo
Noun and determiner forms
Verbal nouns		쩖 jjeom	쩔기 jjeolgi
Past-tense verbal nouns		쩔었음 jjeoreosseum	쩔었기 jjeoreotgi
Determiners	Past	쩐 jjeon
	Present	쩌는 jjeoneun
	Future	쩔 jjeol

Sentence-final forms with honorific
		Formal non-polite (해라체)	Informal non-polite (해체)	Informal polite (해요체)	Formal polite (하십시오체)
Indicative	Non-past	쩌신다 jjeosinda	쩌셔 jjeosyeo	쩌세요, 쩌셔요 jjeoseyo, jjeosyeoyo	쩌십니다 jjeosimnida
	Past	쩌셨다 jjeosyeotda	쩌셨어 jjeosyeosseo	쩌셨어요 jjeosyeosseoyo	쩌셨습니다 jjeosyeotseumnida
Interrogative	Non-past	쩌시느냐 jjeosineunya	쩌셔 jjeosyeo	쩌세요, 쩌셔요 jjeoseyo, jjeosyeoyo	쩌십니까 jjeosimnikka
	Past	쩌셨느냐 jjeosyeonneunya	쩌셨어 jjeosyeosseo	쩌셨어요 jjeosyeosseoyo	쩌셨습니까 jjeosyeotseumnikka
Imperative		쩌시라 jjeosira	쩌셔 jjeosyeo	쩌세요 jjeoseyo	쩌십시오 jjeosipsio
Assertive		쩌시겠다 jjeosigetda	쩌시겠어 jjeosigesseo	쩌시겠어요 jjeosigesseoyo	쩌시겠습니다 jjeosigetseumnida
Connective forms with honorific
Cause/Reason		쩌셔 jjeosyeo	쩌셔서 jjeosyeoseo	쩌시니 jjeosini	쩌시니까 jjeosinikka
Contrast		쩌시지만 jjeosijiman	쩌시는데 jjeosineunde	쩌시더니 jjeosideoni
Conjunction		쩌시고 jjeosigo
Condition		쩌시면 jjeosimyeon	쩌셔야 jjeosyeoya
Motive		쩌시려고 jjeosiryeogo
Noun and determiner forms with honorific
Verbal nouns		쩌심 jjeosim	쩌시기 jjeosigi
Past-tense verbal nouns		쩌셨음 jjeosyeosseum	쩌셨기 jjeosyeotgi
Determiners	Past	쩌신 jjeosin
	Present	쩌시는 jjeosineun
	Future	쩌실 jjeosil