이쁘다 vs 예쁘다 | Which should you use?

안녕하세요 여러분~ I'm Koreanstudyjunkie! Today, I'll tell you about how to say "pretty/beautiful" in Korean.

예쁘다 vs 이쁘다

예쁘다 is the correct spelling. 이쁘다 is a non-standard variation of 예쁘다. But 이쁘다 has recently become a more standard word and is used quite common.

이쁘다 can feel like a more informal and colloquial term than 예쁘다.

In writing, 이쁘다 shouldn't be used - in those cases 예쁘다 should be used instead

It can be down to personal preference, but some people think that 이쁘다 feels more "cutesy".

By that, It's used often when referring to kids, animals, very cute items (think kawaii), and things like that.

But others use the 2 interchangeably in all circumstances. It can be used to emphasize just how cute something is as well.

So when should you use 이쁘다 and 예쁘다?

It's down to your preference! Whichever you feel in the moment while speaking, you can use.

Just be aware that some Koreans may try to impose their preference and personal "rules" on you and say "you shouldn't use that in this situation".

But that's totally not true, since 이쁘다 could NOT technically be considered a standard word until recently, and therefore there are no actual rules about it. Do what you will with this info!