Nokda Conjugation: 녹다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 녹다 (nokda)
• Meaning: to melt
• Part of speech: verb (동사)
• Level: B1
• Stem: 녹
• Class: regular
• Objects: intransitive
• Spoken as: [녹따]

What Does 녹다 Mean?

녹다 has two connected senses: melting, as in 눈이 녹다, and dissolving, as in 설탕이 녹다 (sugar dissolves in water). The thing that melts is the subject and takes 이/가. To melt something yourself, Korean uses the transitive 녹이다. In spring weather talk, 눈이 녹아요 is a very common sentence; dissolving sugar or salt is the kitchen use.

How Do You Pronounce 녹다?

The final ㄱ makes the next consonant tense, so the dictionary form is said [녹따]. Before a vowel the ㄱ moves forward, so the polite present 녹아요 is said [노가요] and the past 녹았어요 is said [노가써요]. The formal present 녹습니다 is said [녹씀니다], and the present modifier 녹는 is said [농는].

How Do You Use 녹다 in a Sentence?

봄에는 (in spring) sets the season and 눈이 is the subject. The polite present 녹아요 states what happens each year.

아이스크림이 is the subject and the past 녹았어요 reports that the ice cream has already melted.

The condition 설탕이 물에 녹으면 uses 에 to show where the sugar dissolves, and the main clause says the taste becomes sweet.

How Does Nokda Conjugation Work?

Is 녹다 Regular or Irregular?

녹다 is regular. The stem 녹 does not change, and vowel harmony picks 아 after ㅗ: 녹아요, 녹았어요. Consonant-initial endings attach directly (녹습니다), and endings that need a linking vowel get it in 녹으면 and 녹으세요. The lesson on how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense explains the full pattern.

Common Mistake with 녹다

Wrong: ✗ 얼음을 녹아요

Correct: ✓ 얼음이 녹아요

Why: Learners treat 녹다 as if it took an object and write 얼음을 녹아요. It is intransitive: the ice is the subject and takes 이/가. To melt it yourself, use 얼음을 녹여요.

녹다 Versus 녹이다 and 얼다 and 풀리다

A Dialogue with Melting Ice Cream

Two friends have bought ice cream on a warm day. The ice cream changes state without anyone choosing to melt it, making 녹다 the natural verb.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

Alex

녹아요 reports what is happening now. 녹았어요 asks whether the change has already happened, and 녹아서 connects melting with its consequence. The subject remains the ice cream throughout, even where the speakers leave it out.

Literal and Figurative Phrases with 녹다

물에 녹다 means to dissolve in water. 에 marks the liquid where the substance dissolves. Sugar remains the subject in 설탕이 물에 녹아요; water is not the person doing an action to it. English “melt” and “dissolve” separate these processes, while Korean uses 녹다 for both.

입에서 살살 녹다 literally describes gently melting in the mouth. In food talk, it praises something exceptionally tender or smooth. A review can use it for tender meat as well as chocolate; the expression does not require the food to become a liquid.

마음이 녹다 uses the same image for a heart softening. Warmth, kindness or an affectionate gesture can make a person's resentment fade. The subject is a feeling or a person's heart, so the situation signals the figurative meaning. The learner dictionary lists both the food and emotional uses of 녹다.

Where Will You Meet 녹다?

Weather reports and everyday spring conversations use 녹다 for snow and ice. Cooking instructions use it when butter melts or a powder dissolves in liquid. In a recipe, identify the subject before translating: an instruction to melt butter yourself needs 녹이다, while a statement that the butter melts uses 녹다.

Food reviews and restaurant conversations provide the “melt in the mouth” expression. In a drama, a softening heart has an emotional reading. The verb itself is neutral; an expressive food phrase can make the surrounding sentence sound enthusiastic without changing the verb's politeness.

What Makes 녹는 Different from 녹은?

녹는 describes melting as it happens or something that melts generally. 녹은 points to something that has melted. Both go before a noun, but the distinction lets you talk about a process or its result. The ㄱ stays in the spelling of both forms even though 녹는 is pronounced [농는].

The sound in 녹는 changes because ㄱ comes before ㄴ. In 녹아요, the next ending begins with a vowel instead, so the ㄱ connects to that vowel. These are pronunciation changes around an unchanged stem. Neither is a reason to replace the written 녹 with a different stem.

Keep 녹다 and 녹이다 separate when you plan a sentence. A pan, warm room or sunny day can cause melting, but the thing melting is still the subject of 녹다. If you make yourself the subject and name what you melt as an object, choose 녹이다. The English verb alone does not tell you which Korean structure you need.

녹을 거예요 predicts melting. With ice cream in warm weather, it can be a warning about what will happen soon. It describes an expected change, rather than a plan made by the ice cream.

Related Words for a Kitchen Scene

See cooking and taste vocabulary for ingredients and kitchen words that make these sentences more specific.

Mini Drill: Process or Result

1. Give the polite past of 녹다.
2. Give the present noun modifier.
3. Give the past noun modifier for something already melted.
4. Choose the subject marker: 얼음이 or 얼음을 녹아요?

Quick Self-Test

1. Can 녹다 describe sugar dissolving in water?
2. Does 입에서 살살 녹다 require meat to turn into liquid?
3. In 마음이 녹다, is the meaning physical melting?

Frequently Asked Questions

Does 녹다 Take an Object?

No. The thing that melts is the subject with 이/가: 눈이 녹아요.

How Do I Melt Something on Purpose?

Use the transitive 녹이다, as in 얼음을 녹여요.

Can 녹다 Mean Dissolve?

Yes. Sugar or salt dissolving in water also uses 녹다: 설탕이 물에 녹아요.

Why Is 녹다 Pronounced [녹따]?

The final ㄱ of 녹 makes the ㄷ of 다 tense. Before a vowel the ㄱ moves across instead: 녹아요 [노가요].

Which Words Are Related to 녹다?

• 얼리다
• 데우다
• 뜨겁다
• 차갑다
• Korean verb dictionary

What Should You Learn Next?

Pair 녹다 with 얼리다 (freeze) and 데우다 (heat), then use 뜨겁다 and 차갑다 for temperature. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.