Neulda Conjugation: 늘다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 늘다 (neulda)
• Meaning: to increase
• Part of speech: verb (동사)
• Level: B1
• Stem: 늘
• Class: ㄹ-drop
• Objects: intransitive
• Honorific polite: 느세요

What Does 늘다 Mean?

늘다 describes a quantity or an ability growing. 실력이 늘다 means skill improves, 손님이 늘다 means more customers come, and 한국어 실력이 늘다 is the standard compliment for study progress. The thing that grows takes 이/가. To make something increase yourself, Korean uses the causative 늘리다.

How Do You Pronounce 늘다?

The final ㄹ moves to the next syllable before a vowel, so the polite present 늘어요 is said [느러요] and the past 늘었어요 is said [느러써요]. The formal present 늡니다 is said [늠니다]; the ㄹ is gone, and the ㅂ turns into ㅁ before ㄴ. The plan form 늘 거예요 is said [늘꺼예요].

How Do You Use 늘다 in a Sentence?

한국어 실력이 is the subject and 많이 (a lot) marks the degree. The polite present 늘어요 describes ongoing progress.

올해 (this year) sets the period and 몸무게가 is the subject. The past 늘었어요 reports a change that has already happened.

손님이 늘면 is a condition, and the main clause says the shop gets busy. Note 늘면 follows the ㄹ-stem pattern with no linking vowel.

How Does Neulda Conjugation Work?

Is 늘다 Regular or Irregular?

늘다 is a ㄹ-drop verb. The ㄹ of the stem disappears before ㅂ, ㄴ and ㅅ: 늡니다, 느세요, 느는. Before 아/어 endings it stays: 늘어요. ㄹ stems never add an extra vowel before -면, so the conditional is simply 늘면. The lesson on ㄹ-drop verbs and adjectives explains the full pattern.

Common Mistake with 늘다

Wrong: ✗ 실력을 늘어요

Correct: ✓ 실력이 늘어요

Why: Because many learners know 늘리다, they treat 늘다 as taking an object. But 늘다 is intransitive and its subject takes 이/가; use 늘려요 only with the causative verb 늘리다.

늘다 Versus 줄다 and 늘리다 and 커지다

A Dialogue after a Korean Lesson

A teacher notices progress after several weeks of speaking practice. 늘다 describes the improvement itself; the learner's daily conversations explain how it happened.

Teacher

Learner

Teacher

Learner

늘었어요 recognizes a change already achieved. 늘 거예요 looks ahead to more improvement, and 늘면 makes that improvement a condition for a later goal. The future form does not need another ㄹ added to 늘: the stem already ends in ㄹ.

What Commonly Increases with 늘다?

• 실력이 늘다 — one's skills improve. This is about becoming more capable, not merely spending more time on a subject. A teacher can use it as a specific compliment on progress.
• 손님이 늘다 — the number of customers increases. The customers do not become physically larger. Korean can leave “the number of” understood when the noun names a group being counted.
• 시간이 늘다 — the time increases. A journey or task can take more time than before. The increase may be unwelcome, even though the same verb expresses welcome improvement in skill.
• 몸무게가 늘다 — one's weight increases. The verb reports a change in weight. It does not itself judge whether that change is healthy, wanted or unwanted.

The noun gives 늘다 its positive or negative meaning in context. More skill is usually good news; more work may be bad news. Avoid learning 늘다 as a general synonym for “get better,” because a growing workload is still an increase.

Where Will You Hear 늘다?

늘다 belongs in feedback from teachers and coaches, shop owners' conversations and reports about changing numbers. In news or business writing, the subject may be visitors, spending or demand. Listen for what is increasing before deciding whether the speaker is pleased.

In everyday feedback, 많이 adds “a lot” and 더 adds “more.” They say how much progress there is or that more is expected. A past-tense compliment can refer to present ability: the speaker has noticed that your skill has improved and the improvement is visible now.

What Makes 늘다 Tricky beyond ㄹ Dropping?

늘다 describes a change without giving it a direct object. That does not mean nothing caused the change. Practice can cause skill to improve, and advertising can bring more customers. The grammar simply presents the skill or the customers as the subject of the increase.

늘리다 presents someone as making an amount larger. In 용돈을 늘리다, the allowance is an object being increased. This subject-versus-object choice is useful when translating English “increase,” which can work either way. First decide whether your sentence reports a change or describes someone making that change.

Also distinguish 늘다 from 늘, the adverb meaning “always.” In 늘 늦어요, 늘 tells you how often someone is late. In 늘 거예요, 늘 is a form of the verb 늘다 and 거예요 follows it. The words after 늘 help you tell them apart; the identical spelling alone is not enough.

When attaching a noun, 느는 describes an increase in progress. The table's past modifier 는 is especially short because the stem ㄹ drops before ㄴ. Recognize it from context rather than treating every written 는 as a topic particle.

Related Words for Progress and Quantity

For the setting of teacher feedback, see school vocabulary, including words for classes and study.

Mini Drill: Keep or Drop ㄹ

1. Give the formal present of 늘다.
2. Give the conditional form from the table.
3. Change 늘어요 to the polite past.
4. Complete the future: ____ 거예요.

Quick Self-Test

1. Does 손님이 늘다 mean the customers become taller?
2. Which verb fits increasing an allowance yourself: 늘다 or 늘리다?
3. Does 늘다 always describe a welcome improvement?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Does the ㄹ Disappear in 늡니다?

늘다 is an ㄹ-drop verb: the ㄹ drops before ㅂ, ㄴ and ㅅ, so 늘 + ㅂ니다 becomes 늡니다.

How Do I Say That My Korean Is Improving?

한국어 실력이 늘어요, or in the past, when someone has noticed progress, 한국어 실력이 늘었어요.

When Do I Need 늘리다 Instead of 늘다?

늘다 happens by itself and has no object. 늘리다 is something you do to an object: 용돈을 늘리다 (to increase an allowance).

What Is the Opposite of 늘다?

줄다, to decrease. It is also an intransitive ㄹ-drop verb.

Which Words Are Related to 늘다?

• 줄다
• 커지다
• 좋아지다
• 자라다
• Korean verb dictionary

What Should You Learn Next?

Practise 늘다 with 줄다, then add 커지다 (get bigger) and 자라다 (grow) for the neighbouring ideas. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.