Verbs · ㄹ stem
놀다 conjugation
to play; to hang out · nolda · sounds like [놀다]
Short answer: “To play” in Korean is 놀다 (nolda), which also means to hang out. Polite present: 놀아요 (norayo); past: 놀았어요 (norasseoyo); future: 놀 거예요. It is regular, but its ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ.
- Present놀아요[노라요] · norayo
- Past놀았어요[노라써요] · norasseoyo
- Future놀 거예요[놀 꺼예요] · nol geoyeyo
- Negative안 놀아요[안 노라요] · an norayo
놀다 in sentences
- 주말에 친구들이랑 놀았어요.I hung out with my friends at the weekend.
- 아이들이 밖에서 놀아요.The children are playing outside.
All forms of 놀다
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite-아/어요 | 놀아요 | [노라요] | norayo |
| formal-(스)ㅂ니다 | 놉니다 | [놈니다] | nomnida |
| casual-아/어 | 놀아 | [노라] | nora |
| plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다 | 논다 | [논다] | nonda |
| formal question-(스)ㅂ니까? | 놉니까? | [놈니까] | nomnikka? |
| is …ing (polite)-고 있어요 | 놀고 있어요 | [놀고 이써요] | nolgo isseoyo |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite-았/었어요 | 놀았어요 | [노라써요] | norasseoyo |
| formal-았/었습니다 | 놀았습니다 | [노랃씀니다] | noratseumnida |
| casual-았/었어 | 놀았어 | [노라써] | norasseo |
| plain (written)-았/었다 | 놀았다 | [노랃따] | noratda |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요 | 놀 거예요 | [놀 꺼예요] | nol geoyeyo |
| formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다 | 놀 겁니다 | [놀 껌니다] | nol geomnida |
| casual-(으)ㄹ 거야 | 놀 거야 | [놀 꺼야] | nol geoya |
| formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다 | 놀겠습니다 | [놀겓씀니다] | nolgetseumnida |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| not (short)안 … | 안 놀아요 | [안 노라요] | an norayo |
| did not안 …았/었어요 | 안 놀았어요 | [안 노라써요] | an norasseoyo |
| not (long)-지 않아요 | 놀지 않아요 | [놀지 아나요] | nolji anayo |
| cannot못 … | 못 놀아요 | [몬 노라요] | mot norayo |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| honorific — present-(으)세요 | 노세요 | [노세요] | noseyo |
| honorific — past-(으)셨어요 | 노셨어요 | [노셔써요] | nosyeosseoyo |
| honorific — formal-(으)십니다 | 노십니다 | [노심니다] | nosimnida |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| please …-(으)세요 | 노세요 | [노세요] | noseyo |
| please … (for me)-아/어 주세요 | 놀아 주세요 | [노라 주세요] | nora juseyo |
| please don’t …-지 마세요 | 놀지 마세요 | [놀지 마세요] | nolji maseyo |
| let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다 | 놉시다 | [놉씨다] | nopsida |
| let’s … (casual)-자 | 놀자 | [놀자] | nolja |
| do … ! (casual command)-아/어라 | 놀아라 | [노라라] | norara |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| … and-고 | 놀고 | [놀고] | nolgo |
| … so / and then-아/어서 | 놀아서 | [노라서] | noraseo |
| if …-(으)면 | 놀면 | [놀면] | nolmyeon |
| … but-지만 | 놀지만 | [놀지만] | noljiman |
| because …-(으)니까 | 노니까 | [노니까] | nonikka |
| … and / but (background)-는데 | 노는데 | [노는데] | noneunde |
| even if …-아/어도 | 놀아도 | [노라도] | norado |
| while …-(으)면서 | 놀면서 | [놀면서] | nolmyeonseo |
| in order to …-(으)려고 | 놀려고 | [놀려고] | nollyeogo |
| (go) to …-(으)러 | 놀러 | [놀러] | nolleo |
| before …-기 전에 | 놀기 전에 | [놀기 저네] | nolgi jeone |
| after …-(으)ㄴ 후에 | 논 후에 | [논 후에] | non hue |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| (that) … now-는 | 노는 | [노는] | noneun |
| (that) …ed-(으)ㄴ | 논 | [논] | non |
| (that) will …-(으)ㄹ | 놀 | [놀] | nol |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| I want to …-고 싶어요 | 놀고 싶어요 | [놀고 시퍼요] | nolgo sipeoyo |
| can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 | 놀 수 있어요 | [놀 쑤 이써요] | nol su isseoyo |
| cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요 | 놀 수 없어요 | [놀 쑤 업써요] | nol su eopseoyo |
| have to …-아/어야 해요 | 놀아야 해요 | [노라야 해요] | noraya haeyo |
| may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요 | 놀아도 돼요 | [노라도 돼요] | norado dwaeyo |
| must not …-(으)면 안 돼요 | 놀면 안 돼요 | [놀면 안 돼요] | nolmyeon an dwaeyo |
| …ing (noun)-기 | 놀기 | [놀기] | nolgi |
How 놀다 changes
놀다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 노는, 놉니다, 노세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 놀면, 놀. Everything else is regular: 놀아요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)
Questions
How do you say “play” in Korean?
“To play” is 놀다 (nolda), pronounced [놀다]. In a sentence: 주말에 친구들이랑 놀았어요. — I hung out with my friends at the weekend.
What is the past tense of 놀다?
놀았어요 (norasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 놀다 (“to play”). Formal: 놀았습니다; casual: 놀았어.
How do you say 놀다 politely?
Everyday polite: 놀아요 (norayo). Formal: 놉니다. Casual, with close friends: 놀아.
How do you say “I want to play” in Korean?
놀고 싶어요 (nolgo sipeoyo), pronounced [놀고 시퍼요].
Is 놀다 irregular?
No. 놀다 ends in ㄹ. The ㄹ drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ — 노는, 놉니다, 노세요 — and endings written -(으) never add 으: 놀면, 놀. Everything else is regular: 놀아요. (Grammar books count this as regular, but it trips up learners.)
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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