Talking About Past Trips in Korean: Saying 'The Food in Italy Was Amazing'
Learn to use the Korean past tense to describe food and experiences from a past trip, focusing on the pattern -았/었어요 and the topic particle -은/는.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
When you want to tell someone about a trip you already took, you need the Korean past tense. In this lesson, you will learn how to say that the food in Italy was amazing, using the polite past form -았/었어요. You will also practice the topic particle -은/는 to contrast places, and the verb 좋았어요 (was good) and 맛있었어요 (was delicious). This is different from talking about future travel plans, because you are reflecting on what already happened. By the end, you will be able to make simple past-tense sentences about food and travel experiences.
By the end, you can…
- say that food in a past trip was delicious or amazing using the past tense.
- use the topic particle -은/는 to contrast Italy with other places.
- ask and answer simple questions about a past trip using -았/었어요.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
이탈리아 음식은 정말 맛있었어요.
The food in Italy was really delicious.
I-ta-lli-a eum-si-geun jeong-mal ma-si-sseo-sseo-yo.
Use this to state a past fact about food. 음식은 marks 'food' as the topic, and 맛있었어요 is the past tense of 맛있어요 (is delicious).
이탈리아 음식은 훌륭했어요.
The food in Italy was excellent.
I-ta-lli-a eum-si-geun hul-lyung-hae-sseo-yo.
훌륭했어요 is a polite past form of 훌륭하다 (to be excellent). Use it for a strong positive impression, similar to 'amazing'.
피자가 정말 좋았어요.
The pizza was really good.
Pi-ja-ga jeong-mal jo-a-sseo-yo.
좋았어요 is the past tense of 좋아요 (is good). Use it for general positive feelings, not just food.
이탈리아에 갔어요.
I went to Italy.
I-ta-lli-a-e ga-sseo-yo.
갔어요 is the past tense of 가요 (go). Use 에 for a destination with 가다.
여행은 어땠어요?
How was the trip?
Yeo-haeng-eun eo-ttae-sseo-yo?
어땠어요 is the past tense of 어때요 (how is it?). Use this to ask about a past experience.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To talk about the past in polite Korean, add -았/었어요 to the verb stem. For stems with ㅏ or ㅗ, use -았어요, as in 좋다 → 좋았어요 (was good). For most other vowels, use -었어요, as in 맛있다 → 맛있었어요 (was delicious). Some verbs are irregular: 하다 becomes 했어요, so 훌륭하다 → 훌륭했어요. The topic particle -은/는 helps you contrast: 이탈리아 음식은 맛있었어요 means 'As for Italian food, it was delicious.' This pattern lets you reflect on a completed trip.
When to use it
Use the past tense when you are reporting what already happened, not when you are making plans. For example, say 이탈리아에 갔어요 (I went to Italy) after the trip, but 이탈리아에 갈 거예요 (I will go to Italy) for a future plan. When you want to highlight a contrast, use -은/는: 이탈리아 음식은 맛있었어요, 그런데 프랑스 음식은 별로였어요 (Italian food was delicious, but French food was not so good). This makes your story clear and natural.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
지난주에 이탈리아에 갔어요.
I went to Italy last week.Ji-nan-ju-e I-ta-lli-a-e ga-sseo-yo.아, 그래요? 여행은 어땠어요?
Oh, really? How was the trip?A, geu-rae-yo? Yeo-haeng-eun eo-ttae-sseo-yo?정말 좋았어요. 특히 이탈리아 음식은 정말 맛있었어요.
It was really good. Especially, the food in Italy was really delicious.Jeong-mal jo-a-sseo-yo. Teuk-hi I-ta-lli-a eum-si-geun jeong-mal ma-si-sseo-sseo-yo.와, 부럽네요. 저도 이탈리아에 가고 싶어요.
Wow, I'm envious. I want to go to Italy too.Wa, bu-reop-ne-yo. Jeo-do I-ta-lli-a-e ga-go si-peo-yo.A little context goes a long way
In Korean conversation, using the polite past tense -았/었어요 is appropriate with acquaintances, colleagues, and strangers. With close friends, you can drop -요 for a more casual tone, but for a travel story shared with someone you do not know well, keep -요. Also, Koreans often use 부럽다 (to be envious) as a friendly compliment when hearing about a nice trip, not as a negative feeling.
One thing to watch for
Using the present tense 맛있어요 when talking about a past trip, as in 이탈리아 음식은 맛있어요.
Try this instead: Use the past tense 맛있었어요 to show the experience is finished: 이탈리아 음식은 맛있었어요. If you use the present tense, it sounds like you are talking about food in general or a current situation, not a past trip.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'The food in Italy was really delicious' in polite Korean?
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이탈리아 음식은 정말 맛있었어요.
This uses the topic particle -은 after 음식 and the past tense 맛있었어요. You could also say 이탈리아 음식이 정말 맛있었어요 with the subject particle -이, which is also correct but slightly different in focus.
2Change 좋아요 (is good) into the polite past tense.
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좋았어요
좋다 has the vowel ㅗ, so it takes -았어요: 좋 + 았어요 → 좋았어요. This is a regular pattern for stems with ㅏ or ㅗ.
3Ask a friend 'How was the trip?' in polite Korean.
Show a sample answer
여행은 어땠어요?
어땠어요 is the past tense of 어때요. The topic particle -은 marks 여행 as the topic. You could also say 여행이 어땠어요? with -이, which is also acceptable.
To tell a past travel story, use -았/었어요 on the verb and add -은/는 to contrast places. For example, 이탈리아 음식은 정말 맛있었어요. Avoid the present tense when the trip is over.
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