Verbs · ㅅ irregular

낫다 conjugation

to get better; to recover (from illness) · natda · sounds like [낟따]

Short answer: “To get better” in Korean is 낫다 (natda), which also means to recover (from illness). Polite present: 나아요 (naayo); past: 나았어요 (naasseoyo); future: 나을 거예요. It is a ㅅ irregular verb.

Present나아요[나아요] · naayo
Past나았어요[나아써요] · naasseoyo
Future나을 거예요[나을 꺼예요] · naeul geoyeyo
Negative안 나아요[안 나아요] · an naayo

낫다 in sentences

감기가 다 나았어요.My cold is completely gone.
빨리 나으세요.Get well soon.

All forms of 낫다

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	나아요	[나아요]	naayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	낫습니다	[낟씀니다]	natseumnida
casual-아/어	나아	[나아]	naa
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	낫는다	[난는다]	nanneunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	낫습니까?	[낟씀니까]	natseumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	낫고 있어요	[낟꼬 이써요]	natgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	나았어요	[나아써요]	naasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	나았습니다	[나앋씀니다]	naatseumnida
casual-았/었어	나았어	[나아써]	naasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	나았다	[나앋따]	naatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	나을 거예요	[나을 꺼예요]	naeul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	나을 겁니다	[나을 껌니다]	naeul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	나을 거야	[나을 꺼야]	naeul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	낫겠습니다	[낟껟씀니다]	natgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 나아요	[안 나아요]	an naayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 나았어요	[안 나아써요]	an naasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	낫지 않아요	[낟찌 아나요]	natji anayo
cannot못 …	못 나아요	[몬 나아요]	mot naayo

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	나으세요	[나으세요]	naeuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	나으셨어요	[나으셔써요]	naeusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	나으십니다	[나으심니다]	naeusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	나으세요	[나으세요]	naeuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	나아 주세요	[나아 주세요]	naa juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	낫지 마세요	[낟찌 마세요]	natji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	나읍시다	[나읍씨다]	naeupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	낫자	[낟짜]	natja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	나아라	[나아라]	naara

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	낫고	[낟꼬]	natgo
… so / and then-아/어서	나아서	[나아서]	naaseo
if …-(으)면	나으면	[나으면]	naeumyeon
… but-지만	낫지만	[낟찌만]	natjiman
because …-(으)니까	나으니까	[나으니까]	naeunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	낫는데	[난는데]	nanneunde
even if …-아/어도	나아도	[나아도]	naado
while …-(으)면서	나으면서	[나으면서]	naeumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	나으려고	[나으려고]	naeuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	나으러	[나으러]	naeureo
before …-기 전에	낫기 전에	[낟끼 저네]	natgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	나은 후에	[나은 후에]	naeun hue

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that) … now-는	낫는	[난는]	nanneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	나은	[나은]	naeun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	나을	[나을]	naeul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	낫고 싶어요	[낟꼬 시퍼요]	natgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	나을 수 있어요	[나을 쑤 이써요]	naeul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	나을 수 없어요	[나을 쑤 업써요]	naeul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	나아야 해요	[나아야 해요]	naaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	나아도 돼요	[나아도 돼요]	naado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	나으면 안 돼요	[나으면 안 돼요]	naeumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	낫기	[낟끼]	natgi

How 낫다 changes

ㅅ irregular: before a vowel, ㅅ drops — and the vowels do not merge → 나아요, 나으면. Before a consonant ㅅ stays: 낫습니다, 낫고. Regular ㅅ verbs such as 씻다 (씻어요) and 웃다 (웃어요) keep it.

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

Questions

How do you say “get better” in Korean?

“To get better” is 낫다 (natda), pronounced [낟따]. In a sentence: 감기가 다 나았어요. — My cold is completely gone.

What is the past tense of 낫다?

나았어요 (naasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 낫다 (“to get better”). Formal: 나았습니다; casual: 나았어.

How do you say 낫다 politely?

Everyday polite: 나아요 (naayo). Formal: 낫습니다. Casual, with close friends: 나아.

How do you say “I want to get better” in Korean?

낫고 싶어요 (natgo sipeoyo), pronounced [낟꼬 시퍼요].

Is 낫다 irregular?

Yes — ㅅ irregular: before a vowel, ㅅ drops — and the vowels do not merge → 나아요, 나으면. Before a consonant ㅅ stays: 낫습니다, 낫고. Regular ㅅ verbs such as 씻다 (씻어요) and 웃다 (웃어요) keep it.

More ㅅ irregular words like 낫다

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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