Verbs · 르 irregular

누르다 conjugation

to press; to push (a button) · nureuda · sounds like [누르다]

Short answer: “To press” in Korean is 누르다 (nureuda), which also means to push (a button). Polite present: 눌러요 (nulleoyo); past: 눌렀어요 (nulleosseoyo); future: 누를 거예요. It is a 르 irregular verb.

Present눌러요[눌러요] · nulleoyo
Past눌렀어요[눌러써요] · nulleosseoyo
Future누를 거예요[누를 꺼예요] · nureul geoyeyo
Negative안 눌러요[안 눌러요] · an nulleoyo

누르다 in sentences

이 버튼을 누르세요.Press this button.
벨을 눌렀어요.I rang the bell.

All forms of 누르다

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	눌러요	[눌러요]	nulleoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	누릅니다	[누름니다]	nureumnida
casual-아/어	눌러	[눌러]	nulleo
plain (written)-(느)ㄴ다	누른다	[누른다]	nureunda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	누릅니까?	[누름니까]	nureumnikka?
is …ing (polite)-고 있어요	누르고 있어요	[누르고 이써요]	nureugo isseoyo

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	눌렀어요	[눌러써요]	nulleosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	눌렀습니다	[눌럳씀니다]	nulleotseumnida
casual-았/었어	눌렀어	[눌러써]	nulleosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	눌렀다	[눌럳따]	nulleotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will-(으)ㄹ 거예요	누를 거예요	[누를 꺼예요]	nureul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	누를 겁니다	[누를 껌니다]	nureul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	누를 거야	[누를 꺼야]	nureul geoya
formal — I will (intention)-겠습니다	누르겠습니다	[누르겓씀니다]	nureugetseumnida

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 눌러요	[안 눌러요]	an nulleoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 눌렀어요	[안 눌러써요]	an nulleosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	누르지 않아요	[누르지 아나요]	nureuji anayo
cannot못 …	못 눌러요	[몬 눌러요]	mot nulleoyo

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	누르세요	[누르세요]	nureuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	누르셨어요	[누르셔써요]	nureusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	누르십니다	[누르심니다]	nureusimnida

Requests
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
please …-(으)세요	누르세요	[누르세요]	nureuseyo
please … (for me)-아/어 주세요	눌러 주세요	[눌러 주세요]	nulleo juseyo
please don’t …-지 마세요	누르지 마세요	[누르지 마세요]	nureuji maseyo
let’s … (formal)-(으)ㅂ시다	누릅시다	[누릅씨다]	nureupsida
let’s … (casual)-자	누르자	[누르자]	nureuja
do … ! (casual command)-아/어라	눌러라	[눌러라]	nulleora

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	누르고	[누르고]	nureugo
… so / and then-아/어서	눌러서	[눌러서]	nulleoseo
if …-(으)면	누르면	[누르면]	nureumyeon
… but-지만	누르지만	[누르지만]	nureujiman
because …-(으)니까	누르니까	[누르니까]	nureunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	누르는데	[누르는데]	nureuneunde
even if …-아/어도	눌러도	[눌러도]	nulleodo
while …-(으)면서	누르면서	[누르면서]	nureumyeonseo
in order to …-(으)려고	누르려고	[누르려고]	nureuryeogo
(go) to …-(으)러	누르러	[누르러]	nureureo
before …-기 전에	누르기 전에	[누르기 저네]	nureugi jeone
after …-(으)ㄴ 후에	누른 후에	[누른 후에]	nureun 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	누르는	[누르는]	nureuneun
(that) …ed-(으)ㄴ	누른	[누른]	nureun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	누를	[누를]	nureul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
I want to …-고 싶어요	누르고 싶어요	[누르고 시퍼요]	nureugo sipeoyo
can …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	누를 수 있어요	[누를 쑤 이써요]	nureul su isseoyo
cannot …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	누를 수 없어요	[누를 쑤 업써요]	nureul su eopseoyo
have to …-아/어야 해요	눌러야 해요	[눌러야 해요]	nulleoya haeyo
may … / it’s OK to …-아/어도 돼요	눌러도 돼요	[눌러도 돼요]	nulleodo dwaeyo
must not …-(으)면 안 돼요	누르면 안 돼요	[누르면 안 돼요]	nureumyeon an dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	누르기	[누르기]	nureugi

How 누르다 changes

르 irregular: before 아/어, 르 loses its vowel and an extra ㄹ appears → 눌러요, 눌렀어요. Other endings are regular: 누르면, 누릅니다.

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

Questions

How do you say “press” in Korean?

“To press” is 누르다 (nureuda), pronounced [누르다]. In a sentence: 이 버튼을 누르세요. — Press this button.

What is the past tense of 누르다?

눌렀어요 (nulleosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 누르다 (“to press”). Formal: 눌렀습니다; casual: 눌렀어.

How do you say 누르다 politely?

Everyday polite: 눌러요 (nulleoyo). Formal: 누릅니다. Casual, with close friends: 눌러.

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

누르고 싶어요 (nureugo sipeoyo), pronounced [누르고 시퍼요].

Is 누르다 irregular?

Yes — 르 irregular: before 아/어, 르 loses its vowel and an extra ㄹ appears → 눌러요, 눌렀어요. Other endings are regular: 누르면, 누릅니다.

More 르 irregular words like 누르다

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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