Key Facts
- Hangul: 넘어지다 (neomeojida)
- Meaning: to fall down
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 넘어지
- Class: regular
- Objects: intransitive
- Spoken as: [너머지다]
What Does 넘어지다 Mean?
넘어지다 describes losing your balance and falling over: 길에서 넘어지다 (fall on the road). The person who falls takes 이/가, and there is no object. It is an everyday word, often used with 미끄러져서 (because of slipping) or 자전거를 타다가 (while riding a bicycle). It differs from falling from a height and from collapsing out of weakness.
How Do You Pronounce 넘어지다?
The dictionary form is said [너머지다], with the ㅁ moving across to the next syllable. After ㅈ, the vowel ㅕ is said as plain ㅓ, so the polite present 넘어져요 is said [너머저요], the past 넘어졌어요 is said [너머저써요], and the formal present 넘어집니다 is said [너머짐니다]. The conditional 넘어지면 is said [너머지면].
How Do You Use 넘어지다 in a Sentence?
아이가 길에서 넘어졌어요.
The child fell down on the street.
아이가 is the subject and 길에서 gives the place. The past 넘어졌어요 reports a completed fall.
조심하지 않으면 넘어져요.
If you are not careful, you fall.
The condition 조심하지 않으면 (if you are not careful) uses the long negative, and the result 넘어져요 is a present-tense general truth.
넘어지면 아프니까 조심하세요.
Falling hurts, so be careful.
넘어지면 is the condition, and 조심하세요 is the warning. The reason ending 아프니까 explains why.
How Does Neomeojida Conjugation Work?
넘어지다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 넘어져요 | ||
| Polite past | 넘어졌어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 넘어질 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 넘어지겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 넘어집니다 | ||
| Formal past | 넘어졌습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 넘어질 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 넘어져 | ||
| Casual past | 넘어졌어 | ||
| Casual future | 넘어질 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 넘어지세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 넘어져서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 넘어지면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 넘어지는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 넘어진 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 넘어질 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 넘어져요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 넘어지지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 넘어져요 | [너머저요] |
| Polite past | 넘어졌어요 | [너머저써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 넘어질 거예요 | [너머질꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 넘어지겠어요 | [너머지게써요] |
| Formal present | 넘어집니다 | [너머짐니다] |
| Formal past | 넘어졌습니다 | [너머젇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 넘어질 것입니다 | [너머질꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 넘어져 | [너머저] |
| Casual past | 넘어졌어 | [너머저써] |
| Casual future | 넘어질 거야 | [너머질꺼야] |
| Honorific polite | 넘어지세요 | [너머지세요] |
| Because / and then | 넘어져서 | [너머저서] |
| Conditional (if) | 넘어지면 | [너머지면] |
| Modifier, present | 넘어지는 | [너머지는] |
| Modifier, past | 넘어진 | [너머진] |
| Modifier, future | 넘어질 | [너머질] |
| Short negative | 안 넘어져요 | [안 너머저요] |
| Long negative | 넘어지지 않아요 | [너머지지 아나요] |
Is 넘어지다 Regular or Irregular?
넘어지다 is regular. The stem 넘어지 ends in 지, and 지 + 어 contracts into 져. That gives 넘어져요 and 넘어졌어요. No consonant is dropped or changed, and endings that start with a consonant attach directly: 넘어집니다, 넘어지면. The lesson on how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense explains the full pattern.
Common Mistake with 넘어지다
Wrong: ✗ 넘어저요.
Correct: ✓ 넘어져요.
Why: The usual contraction of 지 + 어 is written 져, even though it sounds like 저. Write 넘어져요. The longer 넘어지어요 is an uncontracted form, rather than a spelling error.
넘어지다 Versus 쓰러지다 and 떨어지다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 쓰러지다 | 쓰러지다 is collapsing from weakness or illness; 넘어지다 is tripping. |
| 떨어지다 | 떨어지다 is falling from above; 넘어지다 is falling over on the ground. |
After a Fall on an Icy Pavement
Two friends meet outside after one slips. The exchange reports the fall, explains what happened afterward, and warns about the same risk.
Jisu
괜찮아요? 넘어졌어요?
Gwaenchanayo? Neomeojeosseoyo?
Are you okay? Did you fall?
Alex
네. 넘어져서 바지가 더러워졌어요.
Ne. Neomeojeoseo bajiga deoreowojeosseoyo.
Yes. I fell and got my trousers dirty.
Jisu
여기서 넘어지면 위험해요.
Yeogiseo neomeojimyeon wiheomhaeyo.
It’s dangerous if you fall here.
넘어졌어요 asks about a completed event. 넘어져서 links the fall to its visible result, the dirty trousers. 넘어지면 describes a possible fall in the same place. The speakers do not assume that falling necessarily caused an injury: the reply reports what happened to the clothes and leaves that separate question open.
Which Combinations Explain a Fall?
| Combination | Meaning | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| 길에서 넘어지다 | fall over on the road | The location of the fall. |
| 미끄러져서 넘어지다 | slip and fall | Slipping as the cause. |
| 돌에 걸려 넘어지다 | trip over a stone and fall | The obstacle that catches the foot. |
| 자전거를 타다가 넘어지다 | fall while riding a bicycle | The activity interrupted by the fall. |
These combinations describe events literally. 넘어지다 gives the loss of balance; the preceding phrase explains how it happened. A fall can result from slipping, tripping or losing balance on a bicycle. The verb alone does not select one of those causes, so adding it makes an account much clearer.
A bicycle sentence also shows why the verb can appear near 를 without taking an object itself. 자전거를 belongs to 타다, “ride”. The person riding is the one who falls. In a longer sentence, identify which verb each marker belongs to before deciding that 넘어지다 takes an object.
Where Will You Hear 넘어지다?
Parents and friends use 넘어지다 when someone stumbles during a walk or play. 넘어지면 appears in warnings about what could happen, such as the existing sentence that asks someone to be careful because falling hurts. The condition does not claim that a fall has already happened.
At a clinic, someone may use 넘어졌어요 to explain an accident. It reports the event rather than naming an injury. 다치다 means getting hurt, so it answers a different question. Someone can fall without getting hurt, and someone can be injured without falling. Use the two words together only when both events actually occurred.
Sports commentary also uses 넘어지다 when a player loses balance or goes to the ground. The verb itself does not say whether another player caused the fall. A description of contact or an obstacle supplies that information. This helps you avoid reading blame into an otherwise simple report.
How Do the Forms Change the Story?
넘어지는 describes a fall in progress or a recurring kind of fall before a noun. 넘어진 describes someone or something that has already fallen. In 넘어진 아이, the fall has occurred; the phrase alone does not tell you whether the child is still on the ground. The next sentence can explain what happened afterward.
넘어질 거예요 predicts a fall. Although the table's future label includes “plan”, a warning with this form is normally a prediction, not an intention. The conditional 넘어지면 keeps the outcome open. Choosing between these forms changes whether the speaker expects the event or merely considers its possibility.
넘어지세요 is an honorific form in the table, but an isolated sentence with that form can sound like a request to fall. It is not a sensible everyday warning. The existing example 조심하세요 asks someone to be careful instead. A form can be grammatically available while needing a very particular context to be useful.
Keep the spelling 져 in 넘어져요 and 넘어졌어요. The pronunciation section shows why you hear a simpler vowel after ㅈ. Writing down the sound as 저 would lose the spelling that reflects 지 plus 어. Before 면, there is no such contraction: 넘어지면 retains 지.
Words for What Happens Next
| Korean | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 다치다 | to get hurt | Reports an injury, not merely a fall. |
| 일어나다 | to get up | Describes rising after the fall. |
| 무릎 | knee | A body part someone may mention after falling. |
| 바닥 | floor / ground surface | Names the surface someone lands on. |
The body vocabulary lesson helps you name the affected part. The health phrases lesson gives language for explaining what happened and asking for help when an accident leads to pain.
Mini Drill: Event, Reason or Condition?
- Give the polite past of 넘어지다.
- Add the reason ending to mean “because someone fell”.
- Give the conditional form, “if someone falls”.
- Complete “a child who has fallen”: ____ 아이.
Show drill answers
- 넘어졌어요.
- 넘어져서.
- 넘어지면. The stem keeps 지 before 면.
- 넘어진 아이. The past modifier reports the completed fall.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 넘어졌어요 prove that someone was injured?
- In 자전거를 타다가 넘어지다, which verb takes 자전거를?
- Is 넘어지면 a report that a fall has already happened?
Show answers
- No. It reports a fall; 다치다 reports getting hurt.
- 타다, to ride.
- No. It introduces a condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is 넘어져요 the Usual Form?
지 and 어 contract into 져. 넘어지어요 is the uncontracted form; 넘어져요 is the usual everyday choice.
How Is 넘어지다 Different from 떨어지다?
떨어지다 is falling from above; 넘어지다 is falling over on the ground.
What If Someone Collapses from Illness?
Use 쓰러지다, not 넘어지다.
Can I Add the 'Want to' Ending to 넘어지다?
It is not normally used, because falling is not something the subject chooses.
Which Words Are Related to 넘어지다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 넘어지다 with 쓰러지다 and 떨어지다, then use 다치다 (get hurt) and 일어나다 (get up) for what happens next. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.