Verbs · Regular

놀라다 conjugation

to be surprised · nollada · sounds like [놀라다]

Short answer: “To be surprised” in Korean is 놀라다 (nollada). Polite present: 놀라요 (nollayo); past: 놀랐어요 (nollasseoyo); future: 놀랄 거예요. It is regular.

Present놀라요[놀라요] · nollayo
Past놀랐어요[놀라써요] · nollasseoyo
Future놀랄 거예요[놀랄 꺼예요] · nollal geoyeyo
Negative안 놀라요[안 놀라요] · an nollayo

놀라다 in sentences

깜짝 놀랐어요.I was really surprised.
그 소식을 들으면 놀랄 거예요.You’ll be surprised when you hear the news.

All forms of 놀라다

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	놀라요	[놀라요]	nollayo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	놀랍니다	[놀람니다]	nollamnida
casual-아/어	놀라	[놀라]	nolla
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	놀란다	[놀란다]	nollanda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	놀랍니까?	[놀람니까]	nollamnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	놀라고 있어요	[놀라고 이써요]	nollago isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	놀랐어요	[놀라써요]	nollasseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	놀랐습니다	[놀랃씀니다]	nollatseumnida
casual-았/었어	놀랐어	[놀라써]	nollasseo
plain (written)-았/었다	놀랐다	[놀랃따]	nollatda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	놀랄 거예요	[놀랄 꺼예요]	nollal geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	놀랄 겁니다	[놀랄 껌니다]	nollal geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	놀랄 거야	[놀랄 꺼야]	nollal geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	놀라겠습니다	[놀라겓씀니다]	nollagetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 놀라요	[안 놀라요]	an nollayo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 놀랐어요	[안 놀라써요]	an nollasseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	놀라지 않아요	[놀라지 아나요]	nollaji anayo
cannot못 …	못 놀라요	[몬 놀라요]	mot nollayo

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	놀라세요	[놀라세요]	nollaseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	놀라셨어요	[놀라셔써요]	nollasyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	놀라십니다	[놀라심니다]	nollasimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	놀라고	[놀라고]	nollago
… so / and then-아/어서	놀라서	[놀라서]	nollaseo
if …-(으)면	놀라면	[놀라면]	nollamyeon
… but-지만	놀라지만	[놀라지만]	nollajiman
because …-(으)니까	놀라니까	[놀라니까]	nollanikka
… and / but (background)-는데	놀라는데	[놀라는데]	nollaneunde
even if …-아/어도	놀라도	[놀라도]	nollado
while …-(으)면서	놀라면서	[놀라면서]	nollamyeonseo
before …-기 전에	놀라기 전에	[놀라기 저네]	nollagi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	놀란 후에	[놀란 후에]	nollan 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	놀라는	[놀라는]	nollaneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	놀란	[놀란]	nollan
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	놀랄	[놀랄]	nollal

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	놀라고 싶어요	[놀라고 시퍼요]	nollago sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	놀랄 수 있어요	[놀랄 쑤 이써요]	nollal su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	놀랄 수 없어요	[놀랄 쑤 업써요]	nollal su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	놀라야 해요	[놀라야 해요]	nollaya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	놀라도 돼요	[놀라도 돼요]	nollado dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	놀라면 안 돼요	[놀라면 안 돼요]	nollamyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	놀라기	[놀라기]	nollagi

How 놀라다 changes

놀라 ends in a vowel, so 놀라 + 아/어 becomes 놀라 → 놀라요, 놀랐어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 놀라면, 놀랄. 놀라다 is regular.

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

Questions

How do you say “be surprised” in Korean?

“To be surprised” is 놀라다 (nollada), pronounced [놀라다]. In a sentence: 깜짝 놀랐어요. — I was really surprised.

What is the past tense of 놀라다?

놀랐어요 (nollasseoyo) is the polite past tense of 놀라다 (“to be surprised”). Formal: 놀랐습니다; casual: 놀랐어.

How do you say 놀라다 politely?

Everyday polite: 놀라요 (nollayo). Formal: 놀랍니다. Casual, with close friends: 놀라.

Is 놀라다 irregular?

No. 놀라 ends in a vowel, so 놀라 + 아/어 becomes 놀라 → 놀라요, 놀랐어요. Endings written -(으) attach directly → 놀라면, 놀랄. 놀라다 is regular.

More regular words like 놀라다

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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