Nalda Conjugation: 날다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 날다 (nalda)
• Meaning: to fly
• Part of speech: verb (동사)
• Level: A2
• Stem: 날
• Class: ㄹ-drop
• Objects: intransitive
• Honorific polite: 나세요

What Does 날다 Mean?

날다 is used for things that travel through the air under their own power: 새가 날다 (the bird flies). The flyer takes 이/가, and the route can be marked with 을/를, as in 하늘을 날다, but the flyer is never the object. It does not mean to carry something: for that Korean uses a different verb, 나르다.

How Do You Pronounce 날다?

Before a vowel ending, the final ㄹ moves forward and is said as a light flap: 날아요 is said [나라요] and 날았어요 is said [나라써요]. The formal present 납니다 has no ㄹ at all, and its ㅂ becomes ㅁ before ㄴ: [남니다]. The plan form 날 거예요 is said [날꺼예요].

How Do You Use 날다 in a Sentence?

새가 is the subject and 하늘을 marks the space it moves through. The polite present 날아요 describes what birds do.

나비가 is the flyer and 꽃 위를 marks the area it passed over. The past 날았어요 is the polite past.

The 'when' clause 나비가 날면 takes 면 straight after the ㄹ, with no linking vowel, and the main clause says it is spring.

How Does Nalda Conjugation Work?

Is 날다 Regular or Irregular?

날다 is a ㄹ-drop verb. The stem 날 loses its ㄹ before endings that begin with ㄴ, ㅂ or ㅅ: 납니다, 나세요, 나는, 난. Before 아/어 endings the ㄹ stays and the usual vowel harmony applies, which gives 날아요. Be careful with the present modifier 나는: it looks like 나는 meaning 'I' with the topic marker, and only context tells them apart. The lesson on ㄹ-drop verbs and adjectives explains the full pattern.

Common Mistake with 날다

Wrong: ✗ 짐을 날아요

Correct: ✓ 짐을 날라요

Why: Learners pick 날다 for carrying luggage because the sounds are close. Carrying is 나르다, and its polite form is 날라요. 날다 stays for things that fly.

날다 Versus 나르다 and 뛰다 and 떨어지다

Watching Birds beside a Pond

Two friends watch a bird at a park. The conversation moves from an observation to a past flight, then to an imagined wish.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

높이 tells you how high the bird flies. 나무 위로 gives the direction of its earlier movement, and 새처럼 means “like a bird”. The last line is a wish, so 날고 싶어요 is natural even though a person cannot fly unaided. The ㄹ stays in all three forms because none of their endings triggers its loss.

Which Phrases Describe a Flight?

하늘을 날다 looks as though it has an object, but the sky is a route or space, not something the bird acts on. This explains why the verb can be intransitive while still appearing beside 을. In the first existing example, 새가 is the flyer and 하늘을 is its setting for movement.

날아가다 and 날아오다 are useful next words. The first describes flying away or toward another place; the second describes flying toward the speaker or the place being discussed. Their 가다 and 오다 parts carry direction. Plain 날다 focuses on flying itself, so use the longer word when arrival or departure matters to the scene.

Where Will You Hear 날다?

Nature programmes, children's books and conversations about birds use 날다 literally. A sentence about butterflies flying over flowers describes movement through the air. A cartoon character saying 날고 싶어요 may be imagining the same movement. The wish ending does not turn the verb into “travel by plane”.

For a passenger's journey, 비행기를 타다 means taking a plane. The plane flies; the passenger takes or rides it. English “I flew to Seoul” often describes a travel choice, so translating “flew” word for word can put the focus on the wrong action. Keep 날다 for the actual flying and learn 타다 for the traveller's transport.

The honorific 나세요 is listed because the grammar can produce it. It is uncommon in ordinary descriptions of birds and butterflies. Its existence does not make it an everyday instruction to a person. Use forms such as 날아요 and 나는 when describing the animals you see.

How Do You Keep Track of the Disappearing ㄹ?

Start from 날, then look at the ending. The present noun modifier uses 는, so the result is 나는: 나는 새 means a bird that flies. The future expression is 날 거예요; the stem already has ㄹ, so there is no extra 을 syllable. 날면 likewise keeps ㄹ and adds 면 directly.

The short formal form 납니다 can be hard to recognise because its spelling no longer shows ㄹ. Look at its subject. A bird or plane in a sentence about flight points to 날다. The longer past 날았습니다 restores a more recognisable 날아 sequence because the past ending follows a different route through the conjugation.

Words to Use beside 날다

The bird vocabulary lesson teaches names for the creatures and features you can describe with 날다. For the carrying verb in the common mistake above, remember that 나르다 belongs to a different pattern: one extra ㄹ in 날라요 separates carrying from 날아요, flying.

Mini Drill: Keep or Drop ㄹ?

1. Give the formal present of 날다.
2. Complete “a flying bird”: ____ 새.
3. Add the conditional ending: 날다 → ____.
4. Choose the form for transporting luggage: 짐을 날아요 or 짐을 날라요?

Quick Self-Test

1. In 하늘을 날다, is the sky an object being acted on?
2. Does 날아요 keep the stem's ㄹ in its spelling?
3. Which expression describes a passenger taking a plane?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Does 날다 Become 납니다?

The ㄹ of the stem drops before ㅂ, ㄴ and ㅅ. That is the ㄹ-drop rule.

Is 나는 Here 'I' or 'Flying'?

Both exist. As a modifier, 나는 새 means a flying bird, while 나는 as the topic means I. The noun that follows tells you which.

Does 날다 Also Cover Carrying Things, Like 나르다?

날다 is to fly; 나르다 is to carry, as in 짐을 날라요.

Does 날다 Take an Object?

No. The flyer takes 이/가 and the path may take 을/를, like 하늘을 날다.

Which Words Are Related to 날다?

• 뛰다
• 달리다
• 불다
• 떨어지다
• Korean verb dictionary

What Should You Learn Next?

After 날다, learn 달리다 (run) and 뛰다 for ground movement, and read about 불다 for the other common ㄹ-drop verb of nature. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.