고맙다 vs 고마워하다
Korean word comparison
Listen to 고맙다
Listen to 고마워하다
| 고맙다 | 고마워하다 |
|---|---|
go-MAP-da adjective | gomawo-hada adjective |
| to be thankful; to feel grateful | to feel grateful (typically used to describe someone's feelings) |
How they differ
고마워하다 is the action-form (하- verb) used mainly to describe a third person's or subject's experience of gratitude (e.g., 'he felt grateful'), whereas 고맙다 is an adjective-like predicate often used by the speaker to state their own gratitude. 고마워하다 is therefore more behavior/descriptive, while 고맙다 is more direct expression.
When to use each
When to use 고맙다: Prefer 고맙다 when directly telling someone you are thankful (e.g., 'I am thankful').
When to use 고마워하다: Prefer 고마워하다 when describing someone else's feeling of gratitude or reporting that someone felt thankful.
Side-by-side examples
- 너한테 고맙다.
(I'm thankful to you.) - 그는 선물을 받고 매우 고마워했다.
(He was very thankful after receiving the gift.)
Register & nuance: Both are neutral in register, but 고마워하다 is more common in narrative/descriptive contexts; 고맙다 is more common in direct speech.