Key Facts
- Hangul: 나오다 (naoda)
- Meaning: to come out
- Level: A1
- Stem: 나오
- Class: regular
- Object marking: intransitive
What Does 나오다 Mean?
나오다 means to come out from inside, toward the speaker, as in 밖으로 나오다. It also describes things that appear or are produced, such as a book coming out (책이 나오다).
The word joins a coming-out element with 오다 (to come). The 오 part carries the toward-me direction, so it is the mirror image of 나가다.
Meanings:
- to come out. Come out from inside, toward the speaker, as in 밖으로 나오다; also to appear or be produced (책이 나오다).
How Is 나오다 Used?
나오다 is intransitive. The place you leave takes 에서, as in 집에서 나와요, and the destination takes 에 or (으)로. It is also used for appearing on television (텔레비전에 나오다), for results coming out, and for food arriving at the table (음식이 나오다).
The honorific is 나오세요. With 을/를, the place is something you leave behind: 집을 나오다 can simply mean leaving the house, but it is also how Korean says someone left home for good. For plain 'come out of the house', 에서 is the safe choice.
How Do You Pronounce 나오다?
나오다 is romanized naoda. Most forms are read as written; the past 나왔어요 is read [나와써요] and the formal present 나옵니다 is read [나옴니다].
Example Sentences
아이가 집에서 나와요.
The child comes out of the house.
This is the polite present form. The child is the subject and 집에서 marks the place left. 나와요 is the polite present.
오늘 일찍 회사에서 나왔어요.
I left the office early today.
This is the polite past form. 오늘 일찍 gives the time and 회사에서 the place. The past 나왔어요 shows the stem 나오 merging with the past ending.
밖으로 나와서 커피를 마셨어요.
I came outside and drank coffee.
This is the because / and then form. 나와서 here joins 'I came outside' to 'and drank coffee', with the first action completed before the second.
Naoda Conjugation: What Are the Forms of 나오다?
The stem 나오 ends in ㅗ, so the ending 아요 fuses into the vowel ㅘ, giving 나와요 and 나왔어요. The same fusion occurs in 나와 and 나와서. Do not write the ㅗ and the 아 as separate syllables; the merged forms in the table are the standard spellings.
나오다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 나와요 | ||
| Polite past | 나왔어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 나올 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 나오겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 나옵니다 | ||
| Formal past | 나왔습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 나올 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 나와 | ||
| Casual past | 나왔어 | ||
| Casual future | 나올 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 나오고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 나오세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 나와서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 나오면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 나오는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 나온 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 나올 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 나와요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 나오지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 나와요 | - |
| Polite past | 나왔어요 | [나와써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 나올 거예요 | [나올꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 나오겠어요 | [나오게써요] |
| Formal present | 나옵니다 | [나옴니다] |
| Formal past | 나왔습니다 | [나왇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 나올 것입니다 | [나올꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 나와 | - |
| Casual past | 나왔어 | [나와써] |
| Casual future | 나올 거야 | [나올꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 나오고 싶어요 | [나오고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 나오세요 | - |
| Because / and then | 나와서 | - |
| If (conditional) | 나오면 | - |
| Modifier, present | 나오는 | - |
| Modifier, past | 나온 | - |
| Modifier, future | 나올 | - |
| Short negative | 안 나와요 | - |
| Long negative | 나오지 않아요 | [나오지 아나요] |
Is 나오다 Regular or Irregular?
나오다 is regular. The stem does not change, and ㅗ plus 아 simply merges into ㅘ. The merger is a general rule that affects many verbs ending in ㅗ.
Common Mistake with 나오다
Wrong (for stepping outside): ✗ 집을 나와요
Correct: ✓ 집에서 나와요
Why: The place you come out of is marked with 에서. 집을 나와요 is grammatical, but with 을/를 it can mean leaving home for good (moving out or running away), so for simply coming out of the house, use 집에서 나와요.
Similar Words
| Word | How it differs from 나오다 |
|---|---|
| 나가다 | 나오다 moves toward the speaker; 나가다 moves away from the speaker. |
| 들어오다 | 나오다 is to come out; 들어오다 is to come in. |
나오다 moves toward the speaker; 나가다 moves away. 들어오다 is the opposite action, coming in.
Waiting for Lunch at a Restaurant
A customer asks a server about an order. The food is the subject of 나오다, even though nobody is physically coming out of a room in these lines.
Customer
비빔밥은 언제 나와요?
Bibimbabeun eonje nawayo?
When will the bibimbap be ready?
Server
곧 나올 거예요.
Gon naol geoyeyo.
It will be out soon.
Customer
국은 벌써 나왔어요.
Gugeun beolsseo nawasseoyo.
The soup has already arrived.
Server
네. 비빔밥도 곧 나와요.
Ne. Bibimbapdo gon nawayo.
Yes. The bibimbap will be out soon too.
나와요 asks about serving time; 나올 거예요 predicts what will happen next; 나왔어요 reports a completed arrival. English may use “ready”, “out” or “arrive” for the same Korean verb. In the last line, 도 means “too”: the bibimbap will follow the soup.
Common Phrases beyond Coming out of a Room
결과가 나오다 means that results come out or become available. You will meet it when waiting for an exam result, a medical test or an application decision. 나오다 announces availability; it does not say whether the result is good or bad.
텔레비전에 나오다 means to appear on television. The person or program appears to viewers, rather than walking out of a television set. The particle 에 marks the medium where you see that person. A drama conversation about a familiar actor may use this phrase.
사진이 잘 나오다 means that a photo turns out well. 잘 describes the result, so the expression comments on how the picture looks. It can praise a photo without making any claim about the camera's price or the photographer's skill.
말이 안 나오다 literally means that words do not come out. It is a natural way to describe being speechless from surprise or shock. The subject 말, “words”, tells you that this is about speaking, not leaving a place.
Where Will You Hear 나오다?
Restaurant staff use 나오다 when food is ready to be served. In a school or office, the same verb can announce results, a new schedule or a published document. Look at the subject before translating: food arrives, a book is released, and results become available.
In a doorway, 나오세요 asks someone to come out toward the speaker. A teacher waiting outside a classroom could use it to call a student out. 나와 is the casual equivalent, suitable between close friends but potentially sharp when used as an order.
The contraction is easy to overapply. 나와요 contains 와 because 오 meets 아요. In 나오면 and 나오는, the ending does not begin with 아, so the stem keeps 오. Recognizing that difference helps you find 나오다 when you first encounter 나오는 before a noun.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 음식 | food | The subject when an order arrives at the table. |
| 주문 | an order | What a customer places before waiting for food. |
| 결과 | result | Something that becomes available rather than physically emerging. |
| 출구 | exit | The opening through which a person comes out. |
See restaurant vocabulary for the ordering words used around the dialogue.
Mini Drill: What Comes Out?
- Put 나오다 in the polite past.
- Give its planned-future form.
- Complete “if it comes out”: 나오____.
- Make the present modifier before a noun.
Show drill answers
- 나왔어요.
- 나올 거예요.
- 나오면. The 오 stays before 면.
- 나오는. The contraction to 와 does not apply before 는.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 결과가 나오다 tell you about results?
- In 텔레비전에 나오다, is someone leaving the television?
- A friend is outside calling you toward them. Which fits: 나오세요 or 나가세요?
Show answers
- They become available; it does not tell you whether they are favorable.
- No. It means appearing on television.
- 나오세요, because the movement comes toward the person speaking.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 나오다?
It is 나와요, with 오 and 아 fusing into 와.
Which Particle Marks the Place I Come out Of?
Use 에서: 집에서 나와요. The destination takes 에 or (으)로.
Can Food 나오다?
Yes. In a restaurant, 음식이 나오다 means that the food arrives at the table.
What Is the Difference from 나가다?
나오다 comes toward the speaker and 나가다 goes away. Where you are standing decides which verb is natural.
What Is the Formal past Form?
It is 나왔습니다, used in announcements and formal speech.
Which Words Are Related to 나오다?
What Should You Learn Next?
After this page, read 나가다 and 들어오다 to complete the set of four in-and-out verbs. Practise the three example sentences aloud and add one about a TV show.
Class lesson: How to Conjugate Korean Verbs in the Present Tense. Tool: Korean verb conjugator.