Key Facts
- Hangul: 낫다 (natda)
- Meaning: to recover
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 낫
- Class: ㅅ-irregular
- Objects: intransitive
- Spoken as: [낟따]
- Honorific polite: 나으세요
What Does 낫다 Mean?
낫다 describes an illness or injury healing: 감기가 낫다 (the cold clears up). The illness is the subject and takes 이/가, and no object is used. A second use, 'to be better than', appears in comparisons such as 이게 더 나아요. That use is an adjective with slightly different modifier forms, so the table below covers only the recover sense. The doctor treats the illness with 치료하다, and the patient or the wound is what 낫다 describes.
How Do You Pronounce 낫다?
The dictionary form is said [낟따]. Because the ㅅ drops before a vowel, the polite past 나았어요 is said [나아써요] and the plan form 나을 거예요 is said [나을꺼예요]. Where the ㅅ stays, it has an unreleased ㄷ sound: the formal present 낫습니다 is said [낟씀니다], and the present modifier 낫는 is said [난는].
How Do You Use 낫다 in a Sentence?
약을 먹고 푹 자면 곧 나아요.
If you take medicine and sleep well, you will get better soon.
The condition 약을 먹고 푹 자면 (if you take medicine and sleep well) is followed by the result 곧 나아요, where the ㅅ has dropped.
감기가 다 나았어요.
My cold has completely cleared up.
감기가 is the subject and 다 (completely) shows the cold is gone. 나았어요 is the polite past.
감기가 나으면 같이 운동해요.
When your cold gets better, let's exercise together.
감기가 나으면 is the conditional, and the main clause is a suggestion to exercise together.
How Does Natda Conjugation Work?
낫다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 나아요 | ||
| Polite past | 나았어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 나을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 낫겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 낫습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 나았습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 나을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 나아 | ||
| Casual past | 나았어 | ||
| Casual future | 나을 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 낫고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 나으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 나아서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 나으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 낫는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 나은 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 나을 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 나아요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 낫지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 나아요 | — |
| Polite past | 나았어요 | [나아써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 나을 거예요 | [나을꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 낫겠어요 | [낟께써요] |
| Formal present | 낫습니다 | [낟씀니다] |
| Formal past | 나았습니다 | [나앋씀니다] |
| Formal future | 나을 것입니다 | [나을꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 나아 | — |
| Casual past | 나았어 | [나아써] |
| Casual future | 나을 거야 | [나을꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 낫고 싶어요 | [낟꼬 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 나으세요 | — |
| Because / and then | 나아서 | — |
| Conditional (if) | 나으면 | — |
| Modifier, present | 낫는 | [난는] |
| Modifier, past | 나은 | — |
| Modifier, future | 나을 | — |
| Short negative | 안 나아요 | — |
| Long negative | 낫지 않아요 | [낟찌 아나요] |
Is 낫다 Regular or Irregular?
낫다 is ㅅ-irregular. The stem-final ㅅ drops before an ending that starts with a vowel, and the two vowels stay apart as separate syllables: 낫 + 아요 becomes 나아요, and 낫 + 으면 becomes 나으면. Before a consonant the ㅅ stays, so you get 낫습니다 and 낫고. A regular ㅅ-final verb would not drop it, which is why the class has its own lesson. The lesson on ㅅ-irregular verbs and adjectives explains the full pattern.
Common Mistake with 낫다
Wrong: ✗ 감기가 낫어요
Correct: ✓ 감기가 나아요
Why: Learners keep the ㅅ in front of the vowel and write 낫어요. In this class the ㅅ disappears before a vowel, leaving 나아요; the same drop gives 나으면 and 나았어요.
낫다 Versus 낮다 and 치료하다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 낮다 | 낮다 means low and is regular: 낮아요. The dictionary forms sound the same, [낟따], but before a vowel they differ: 나아요 versus 낮아요 [나자요]. |
| 치료하다 | 치료하다 is to treat an illness or patient; 낫다 is what the patient or illness does when it heals. |
A Coworker Checks in after a Cold
Two coworkers discuss a cold and postpone lunch until recovery. The forms distinguish a general question, a completed recovery, and a condition for meeting.
Jisu
감기가 다 나았어요?
Gamgiga da naasseoyo?
Has your cold completely cleared up?
Alex
아니요. 아직 안 나아요.
Aniyo. Ajik an naayo.
No. I’m still not getting better.
Jisu
그럼 감기가 나으면 같이 점심 먹어요.
Geureom gamgiga naeumyeon gachi jeomsim meogeoyo.
Then let’s have lunch together when your cold gets better.
다 asks about complete recovery, while 아직 means “still” or “yet”. The reply denies recovery at present; it does not specify which symptoms remain. 나으면 makes lunch conditional on getting better. The conversation leaves the timing open rather than predicting a particular day of recovery.
Which Recovery Phrases Will You Meet?
| Phrase | Literal idea | Natural English |
|---|---|---|
| 감기가 낫다 | the cold heals | A cold clears up. |
| 상처가 낫다 | the wound heals | A wound heals. |
| 다 나았어요 | completely recovered | It has fully healed / I’m well again. |
| 빨리 나으세요 | recover quickly, respectfully | Get well soon. |
The first two are literal healing combinations. 다 narrows the claim to complete recovery: feeling a little better and having fully recovered are different messages. With a wound, 상처가 나았어요 reports healing. It does not describe the moment of injury, for which 다치다 is useful.
빨리 나으세요 is a familiar wish addressed politely to someone who is ill. Although the ending can also make requests with other verbs, this expression is not an order to control the speed of recovery. It offers goodwill. The honorific form belongs to the person being wished well; it is not a way to raise your own status when talking about your cold.
Where Will You Hear 낫다?
Friends and coworkers ask about recovery after someone has been absent. Everyday messages often name the illness first, then leave it out once both people know what they are discussing. A short 나았어요 can therefore refer to a cold or a wound already mentioned. Naming 감기 or 상처 is helpful when there is more than one possible topic.
At a clinic, 낫다 concerns the illness or injury getting better, while 치료하다 concerns treatment. A patient can receive treatment before healing is complete. Saying 치료하다 and saying 낫다 therefore report different stages of the situation. The distinction is linguistic: neither verb alone tells you which treatment is needed or when recovery will happen.
The comparison 이게 더 나아요 is common when choosing between options. It means “this one is better”, not “this one is recovering”. That adjective sense shares several familiar forms with the recovery verb. Look at the subject and the surrounding comparison words before deciding how to translate 나아요.
How Do You Avoid Confusing Recovery and Comparison?
감기가 나았어요 naturally describes an illness that has cleared up. 이게 더 나아요 evaluates an option against another. In the second sentence, 더 points to a comparison; no illness is involved. Translating every 나아요 as “get well” would miss that distinction.
The noun modifiers help separate the senses. The recovery verb has 낫는 for an ongoing healing process and 나은 for a completed one. Thus 다 나은 상처 means a wound that has fully healed. In the comparison sense, 나은 can mean “better” before a noun. The short shared form needs context even though the grammar differs.
Keep the two 아 syllables in 나아요 and 나았어요. After ㅅ disappears, the remaining vowels do not contract into a single 나 syllable. Before a consonant, keep the written ㅅ: 낫고 and 낫습니다. Before the conditional vowel ending, drop it but retain 으: 나으면. These three patterns explain most of the spelling errors learners make with this word.
Words for an Illness and Its Progress
| Korean | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 감기 | a cold | A common subject of 낫다. |
| 상처 | wound | Names what heals after an injury. |
| 증상 | symptom | Describes what someone is experiencing. |
| 회복 | recovery | A noun used when discussing the recovery process. |
The symptoms and illness vocabulary lesson supplies more names for health conversations. Use those nouns to make a recovery update specific, especially when a listener does not yet know what was wrong.
Mini Drill: When Does ㅅ Disappear?
- Give the polite past of 낫다.
- Complete “if the cold gets better”: 감기가 ____.
- Give the formal present.
- Complete “a completely healed wound”: 다 ____ 상처.
Show drill answers
- 나았어요. Keep the two vowel syllables.
- 나으면. ㅅ disappears before 으.
- 낫습니다. The consonant ending keeps ㅅ.
- 다 나은 상처. 나은 is the recovery verb's past modifier.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 다 add to 다 나았어요?
- Is 빨리 나으세요 usually a practical command or a kind wish?
- In 이게 더 나아요, does 나아요 mean an illness is healing?
Show answers
- It says recovery is complete.
- A kind wish: “Get well soon.”
- No. It means this option is better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is It 나아요 and Not 낫어요?
The ㅅ-irregular class drops ㅅ before a vowel ending, so 낫 + 아요 becomes 나아요.
Is 낫다 the Same as 낮다?
No. 낫다 is to recover and irregular; 낮다 is low and regular.
Does 낫다 Mean 'to Be Better' Too?
Yes, in comparisons such as 이게 더 나아요. The modifier forms of that sense differ, so this table is for the recover sense.
Who Is the Subject of 낫다?
The illness or wound: 감기가 낫다.
Which Words Are Related to 낫다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Practise 낫다 with 아프다 (be sick) and 다치다 (get hurt), then compare 치료하다 for treating an illness. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.