Verbs · ㄹ stem

늘다 conjugation

to increase; to improve · neulda · sounds like [늘다]

Short answer: “To increase” in Korean is 늘다 (neulda), which also means to improve. Polite present: 늘어요 (neureoyo); past: 늘었어요 (neureosseoyo); future: 늘 거예요. It is regular, but its ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.

Present늘어요[느러요] · neureoyo
Past늘었어요[느러써요] · neureosseoyo
Future늘 거예요[늘 꺼예요] · neul geoyeyo
Negative안 늘어요[안 느러요] · an neureoyo

Opposite: 줄다 — to decrease

늘다 in sentences

한국어 실력이 많이 늘었어요.Your Korean has improved a lot.
관광객이 계속 늘어요.The number of tourists keeps growing.

All forms of 늘다

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	늘어요	[느러요]	neureoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	늡니다	[늠니다]	neumnida
casual-아/어	늘어	[느러]	neureo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	는다	[는다]	neunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	늡니까?	[늠니까]	neumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	늘고 있어요	[늘고 이써요]	neulgo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	늘었어요	[느러써요]	neureosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	늘었습니다	[느럳씀니다]	neureotseumnida
casual-았/었어	늘었어	[느러써]	neureosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	늘었다	[느럳따]	neureotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	늘 거예요	[늘 꺼예요]	neul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	늘 겁니다	[늘 껌니다]	neul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	늘 거야	[늘 꺼야]	neul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	늘겠습니다	[늘겓씀니다]	neulgetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 늘어요	[안 느러요]	an neureoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 늘었어요	[안 느러써요]	an neureosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	늘지 않아요	[늘지 아나요]	neulji anayo
cannot못 …	못 늘어요	[몬 느러요]	mot neureoyo

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	느세요	[느세요]	neuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	느셨어요	[느셔써요]	neusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	느십니다	[느심니다]	neusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	늘고	[늘고]	neulgo
… so / and then-아/어서	늘어서	[느러서]	neureoseo
if …-(으)면	늘면	[늘면]	neulmyeon
… but-지만	늘지만	[늘지만]	neuljiman
because …-(으)니까	느니까	[느니까]	neunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	느는데	[느는데]	neuneunde
even if …-아/어도	늘어도	[느러도]	neureodo
while …-(으)면서	늘면서	[늘면서]	neulmyeonseo
before …-기 전에	늘기 전에	[늘기 저네]	neulgi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	는 후에	[는 후에]	neun 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	느는	[느는]	neuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	는	[는]	neun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	늘	[늘]	neul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	늘고 싶어요	[늘고 시퍼요]	neulgo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	늘 수 있어요	[늘 쑤 이써요]	neul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	늘 수 없어요	[늘 쑤 업써요]	neul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	늘어야 해요	[느러야 해요]	neureoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	늘어도 돼요	[느러도 돼요]	neureodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	늘면 안 돼요	[늘면 안 돼요]	neulmyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	늘기	[늘기]	neulgi

How 늘다 changes

늘다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 느는, 늡니다, 느세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 늘면, 늘. Everything else is regular: 늘어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

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

Questions

How do you say “increase” in Korean?

“To increase” is 늘다 (neulda), pronounced [늘다]. In a sentence: 한국어 실력이 많이 늘었어요. — Your Korean has improved a lot.

What is the past tense of 늘다?

늘었어요 (neureosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 늘다 (“to increase”). Formal: 늘었습니다; casual: 늘었어.

How do you say 늘다 politely?

Everyday polite: 늘어요 (neureoyo). Formal: 늡니다. Casual, with close friends: 늘어.

Is 늘다 irregular?

No. 늘다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 느는, 늡니다, 느세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 늘면, 늘. Everything else is regular: 늘어요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)

More ㄹ-stem words like 늘다

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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