강하다 vs 세다

“strong”: 강하다 or 세다?

Source-verified September 7, 2026. AI-assisted and checked against NIKL dictionary sources.

The quick answer

강하다 for resistance; 세다 for direct force.

강하다

Strong, including resistance to something.

이 카메라는 충격에 강해서 떨어뜨려도 쉽게 망가지지 않는다.

This camera resists shocks, so it does not break easily even if dropped.

세다

Strong, including forceful wind, water, or fire.

바람이 세게 불어 쓰고 있던 모자가 날아갔다.

The wind blew hard and carried away the hat I was wearing.

One useful caveat

Both have other senses, so this is not a full substitution rule.

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Sources and method

Separate grounding and adversarial checks must pass before a guide is published. These guides are not human-reviewed.

Source examples are adapted from the National Institute of Korean Language's Korean-English Learners' Dictionary under its Attribution-ShareAlike terms.

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