Verbs · ㅂ irregular
눕다 conjugation
to lie down · nupda · sounds like [눕따]
Short answer: “To lie down” in Korean is 눕다 (nupda). Polite present: 누워요 (nuwoyo); past: 누웠어요 (nuwosseoyo); future: 누울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular verb.
- Present누워요[누워요] · nuwoyo
- Past누웠어요[누워써요] · nuwosseoyo
- Future누울 거예요[누울 꺼예요] · nuul geoyeyo
- Negative안 누워요[안 누워요] · an nuwoyo
눕다 in sentences
- 피곤해서 잠깐 누웠어요.I was tired, so I lay down for a bit.
- 침대에 누우세요.Please lie down on the bed.
All forms of 눕다
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite-아/어요 | 누워요 | [누워요] | nuwoyo |
| formal-(스)ㅂ니다 | 눕습니다 | [눕씀니다] | nupseumnida |
| casual-아/어 | 누워 | [누워] | nuwo |
| plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다 | 눕는다 | [눔는다] | numneunda |
| formal question-(스)ㅂ니까? | 눕습니까? | [눕씀니까] | nupseumnikka? |
| is …ing (polite)-고 있어요 | 눕고 있어요 | [눕꼬 이써요] | nupgo isseoyo |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite-았/었어요 | 누웠어요 | [누워써요] | nuwosseoyo |
| formal-았/었습니다 | 누웠습니다 | [누웓씀니다] | nuwotseumnida |
| casual-았/었어 | 누웠어 | [누워써] | nuwosseo |
| plain (written)-았/었다 | 누웠다 | [누웓따] | nuwotda |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요 | 누울 거예요 | [누울 꺼예요] | nuul geoyeyo |
| formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다 | 누울 겁니다 | [누울 껌니다] | nuul geomnida |
| casual-(으)ㄹ 거야 | 누울 거야 | [누울 꺼야] | nuul geoya |
| formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다 | 눕겠습니다 | [눕껟씀니다] | nupgetseumnida |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| not (short)안 … | 안 누워요 | [안 누워요] | an nuwoyo |
| did not안 …았/었어요 | 안 누웠어요 | [안 누워써요] | an nuwosseoyo |
| not (long)-지 않아요 | 눕지 않아요 | [눕찌 아나요] | nupji anayo |
| cannot못 … | 못 누워요 | [몬 누워요] | mot nuwoyo |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| honorific — present-(으)세요 | 누우세요 | [누우세요] | nuuseyo |
| honorific — past-(으)셨어요 | 누우셨어요 | [누우셔써요] | nuusyeosseoyo |
| honorific — formal-(으)십니다 | 누우십니다 | [누우심니다] | nuusimnida |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| please …-(으)세요 | 누우세요 | [누우세요] | nuuseyo |
| please … (for me)-아/어 주세요 | 누워 주세요 | [누워 주세요] | nuwo juseyo |
| please don’t …-지 마세요 | 눕지 마세요 | [눕찌 마세요] | nupji maseyo |
| let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다 | 누웁시다 | [누웁씨다] | nuupsida |
| let’s … (casual)-자 | 눕자 | [눕짜] | nupja |
| do … ! (casual command)-아/어라 | 누워라 | [누워라] | nuwora |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| … and-고 | 눕고 | [눕꼬] | nupgo |
| … so / and then-아/어서 | 누워서 | [누워서] | nuwoseo |
| if …-(으)면 | 누우면 | [누우면] | nuumyeon |
| … but-지만 | 눕지만 | [눕찌만] | nupjiman |
| because …-(으)니까 | 누우니까 | [누우니까] | nuunikka |
| … and / but (background)-는데 | 눕는데 | [눔는데] | numneunde |
| even if …-아/어도 | 누워도 | [누워도] | nuwodo |
| while …-(으)면서 | 누우면서 | [누우면서] | nuumyeonseo |
| in order to …-(으)려고 | 누우려고 | [누우려고] | nuuryeogo |
| (go) to …-(으)러 | 누우러 | [누우러] | nuureo |
| before …-기 전에 | 눕기 전에 | [눕끼 저네] | nupgi jeone |
| after …-(으)ㄴ 후에 | 누운 후에 | [누운 후에] | nuun hue |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| (that) … now-는 | 눕는 | [눔는] | numneun |
| (that) …ed-(으)ㄴ | 누운 | [누운] | nuun |
| (that) will …-(으)ㄹ | 누울 | [누울] | nuul |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| I want to …-고 싶어요 | 눕고 싶어요 | [눕꼬 시퍼요] | nupgo sipeoyo |
| can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 | 누울 수 있어요 | [누울 쑤 이써요] | nuul su isseoyo |
| cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요 | 누울 수 없어요 | [누울 쑤 업써요] | nuul su eopseoyo |
| have to …-아/어야 해요 | 누워야 해요 | [누워야 해요] | nuwoya haeyo |
| may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요 | 누워도 돼요 | [누워도 돼요] | nuwodo dwaeyo |
| must not …-(으)면 안 돼요 | 누우면 안 돼요 | [누우면 안 돼요] | nuumyeon an dwaeyo |
| …ing (noun)-기 | 눕기 | [눕끼] | nupgi |
How 눕다 changes
ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 눕 + 어 → 누워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 누우면, 누울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 눕습니다, 눕고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.
Questions
How do you say “lie down” in Korean?
“To lie down” is 눕다 (nupda), pronounced [눕따]. In a sentence: 피곤해서 잠깐 누웠어요. — I was tired, so I lay down for a bit.
What is the past tense of 눕다?
누웠어요 (nuwosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 눕다 (“to lie down”). Formal: 누웠습니다; casual: 누웠어.
How do you say 눕다 politely?
Everyday polite: 누워요 (nuwoyo). Formal: 눕습니다. Casual, with close friends: 누워.
How do you say “I want to lie down” in Korean?
눕고 싶어요 (nupgo sipeoyo), pronounced [눕꼬 시퍼요].
Is 눕다 irregular?
Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 눕 + 어 → 누워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 누우면, 누울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 눕습니다, 눕고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.
More ㅂ irregular words like 눕다
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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