낮다 conjugation

to be low · natda · sounds like [낟따]

Short answer: “Low” in Korean is 낮다 (natda). Polite present: 낮아요 (najayo); past: 낮았어요 (najasseoyo); future: 낮을 거예요. It is regular.

Present낮아요[나자요] · najayo
Past낮았어요[나자써요] · najasseoyo
Future낮을 거예요[나즐 꺼예요] · najeul geoyeyo
Negative안 낮아요[안 나자요] · an najayo

Opposite: 높다 — to be high

낮다 in sentences

오늘은 기온이 낮아요.The temperature is low today.
낮은 의자에 앉았어요.I sat on a low chair.

All forms of 낮다

Present
Polite (해요) is the everyday safe choice; formal (합니다) is for news, announcements and work; casual (반말) is for close friends and younger people.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-아/어요	낮아요	[나자요]	najayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	낮습니다	[낟씀니다]	natseumnida
casual-아/어	낮아	[나자]	naja
plain (written)-다	낮다	[낟따]	natda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	낮습니까?	[낟씀니까]	natseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	낮았어요	[나자써요]	najasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	낮았습니다	[나잗씀니다]	najatseumnida
casual-았/었어	낮았어	[나자써]	najasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	낮았다	[나잗따]	najatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will probably be-(으)ㄹ 거예요	낮을 거예요	[나즐 꺼예요]	najeul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	낮을 겁니다	[나즐 껌니다]	najeul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	낮을 거야	[나즐 꺼야]	najeul geoya

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 낮아요	[안 나자요]	an najayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 낮았어요	[안 나자써요]	an najasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	낮지 않아요	[낟찌 아나요]	natji anayo

Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
honorific — present-(으)세요	낮으세요	[나즈세요]	najeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	낮으셨어요	[나즈셔써요]	najeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	낮으십니다	[나즈심니다]	najeusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	낮고	[낟꼬]	natgo
… so / and then-아/어서	낮아서	[나자서]	najaseo
if …-(으)면	낮으면	[나즈면]	najeumyeon
… but-지만	낮지만	[낟찌만]	natjiman
because …-(으)니까	낮으니까	[나즈니까]	najeunikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	낮은데	[나즌데]	najeunde
even if …-아/어도	낮아도	[나자도]	najado
while …-(으)면서	낮으면서	[나즈면서]	najeumyeonseo

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that is) …-(으)ㄴ	낮은	[나즌]	najeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	낮을	[나즐]	najeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	낮을 수 있어요	[나즐 쑤 이써요]	najeul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	낮을 수 없어요	[나즐 쑤 업써요]	najeul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	낮아야 해요	[나자야 해요]	najaya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	낮아도 돼요	[나자도 돼요]	najado dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	낮게	[낟께]	natge
becomes …-아/어지다	낮아져요	[나자저요]	najajeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	낮기	[낟끼]	natgi

How 낮다 changes

낮 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 낮아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 낮으면, 낮을. 낮다 is regular.

How every verb type works → · Why it sounds like that →

Questions

How do you say “low” in Korean?

“Low” is 낮다 (natda), pronounced [낟따]. In a sentence: 오늘은 기온이 낮아요. — The temperature is low today.

What is the past tense of 낮다?

낮았어요 (najasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 낮다 (“to be low”). Formal: 낮았습니다; casual: 낮았어.

How do you say 낮다 politely?

Everyday polite: 낮아요 (najayo). Formal: 낮습니다. Casual, with close friends: 낮아.

How do you say “not low” in Korean?

안 낮아요 or 낮지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 낮다 irregular?

No. 낮 ends in a consonant, so 아/어 endings are added as they are → 낮아요, and endings written -(으) add 으 → 낮으면, 낮을. 낮다 is regular.

More regular words like 낮다

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Forms follow 한글 맞춤법 (Korean spelling rules); pronunciation follows 표준 발음법 and romanization follows 국어의 로마자 표기법 (Revised Romanization). Last updated October 16, 2026. How we check