Nolda Conjugation: 놀다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 놀다 (nolda)
• Meaning: to play
• Level: A1
• Stem: 놀
• Class: ㄹ-drop
• Object marking: intransitive

What Does 놀다 Mean?

놀다 means to play and spend free time: 친구와 놀다, 공원에서 놀다. A second sense is to be idle or not working: 요즘 놀고 있어요.

It is very common with 같이 (together), as in 같이 놀다.

Senses:

• to play; to have fun. Used for playing and spending free time: 친구와 놀다, 공원에서 놀다.
• to be idle; not to work. Can also mean to be off work or unemployed: 요즘 놀고 있어요.

How Is 놀다 Used?

놀다 is intransitive, so it takes no object. The person you spend time with takes 와/과 or 하고, and the place takes 에서. Games and sports use 하다 instead.

How Do You Pronounce 놀다?

놀다 is romanized nolda and read as written. Before a vowel the ㄹ moves into the next syllable and sounds like a flapped r: 놀아요 is read [노라요]. In the formal 놉니다 [놈니다], the ㅂ before ㄴ is pronounced [ㅁ].

Example Sentences

This is the polite present form. 아이들이 (the children) is the subject, and 에서 marks the place, 공원 (the park).

This is the polite past form. 친구와 놀았어요 means hanging out with a friend, with 와 marking the companion.

This is the present modifier form. In 노는 아이들 (children who are playing), the ㄹ has dropped before ㄴ.

Nolda Conjugation: What Are the Forms of 놀다?

Is 놀다 Regular or Irregular?

놀다 is a ㄹ-drop verb (also called ㄹ-irregular): the ㄹ at the end of the stem drops before ㄴ, ㅂ and ㅅ, and stays elsewhere. That gives 노는, 놉니다 and 노세요, while 놀아요 and 놀았어요 keep the ㄹ. See the ㄹ irregular lesson.

Two Kinds of Play

Notice that the first sense is cheerful and the second is neutral or even worried. 친구와 놀다 and 공원에서 놀다 are about enjoying free time, while 요즘 놀고 있어요 says that you are not working these days. Which reading applies depends on the setting: a child in a park is playing, an adult asked about a job is out of work.

Because 놀다 is intransitive, games do not attach to it. English says 'play a game', but Korean says 게임을 하다. The verb 놀다 is about the activity of spending time, with a companion marked by 와/과 or 하고 and the place marked by 에서. 쉬다 sits next door, but it means to rest, not to have fun.

Common Mistake with 놀다

Wrong: ✗ 게임을 놀아요

Correct: ✓ 게임을 해요

Why: English 'play a game' leads learners to give 놀다 an object, but 놀다 takes none. Games and sports use 하다.

Similar Words

Making Weekend Plans

Two classmates are choosing somewhere to spend Saturday. They use the wish form, the past and the polite present. Neither person names a particular game: the plan is simply to spend time together.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

The last 놀아요 is an invitation because the speakers are making a shared plan. 지난주에는 sets last week against this weekend, while 이번에도 means “this time too”. Adults can use 놀다 for an afternoon with friends; the activity need not involve children or toys.

Phrases for Company, Visits and Free Time

같이 놀다 means to play or hang out together. 같이 supplies the shared activity, so it works when you have already named the people. 친구와 놀다 names the companion instead. You can include both when you want to stress doing something together with a friend.

놀러 가다 means to go somewhere for fun or a social visit. The 러 connects playing or enjoying yourself with the purpose of going. It can describe visiting a friend’s home or taking a leisure trip; it does not tell you which games or activities will happen there.

놀고먹다 literally combines playing and eating. Its usual sense is living idly without working, often with a critical tone. It is one word. Calling someone idle this way can sound judgmental, so it is a phrase to recognize before using it about another person.

Where Will You Hear 놀다?

Children use 놀다 when arranging play, and adults use it in messages about meeting friends. In a drama, a friend suggesting time together may mean chatting, shopping or going out. Translate the scene as “hang out” when “play” would suggest a toy or a sport that nobody mentioned.

In a conversation about employment, the same verb can describe being out of work. An answer about “these days” after a job question has a different implication from a weekend plan. Avoid assuming that someone is happily on holiday just because you hear 놀다.

노세요 honors the person doing the activity, while 놀아요 is simply polite to the listener. A teacher describing what children do normally needs 놀아요, without an honorific. In a friendly invitation, adding an honorific can also change who seems to be receiving permission to enjoy themselves.

Keep ㄹ in the Right Places

놀고 싶어요 keeps the stem’s ㄹ because 고 does not trigger the drop. 노는 loses it before 는. In 놀 거예요, write a space before 거예요 and use only the single ㄹ already present in 놀. These three forms show why deleting ㄹ everywhere creates new errors.

The hobbies vocabulary lesson introduces activities you can name when a general plan to hang out becomes more specific.

Mini Drill: Keep or Drop ㄹ

1. Change 놀다 to the formal present.
2. Complete “children who are playing”: ____ 아이들.
3. Give the polite “want to hang out” form.
4. Which verb completes the phrase 게임을 ____?

Quick Self-Test

1. Does 놀다 only describe children’s play?
2. Which particle marks the park as the place of play?
3. In a job conversation, what might 요즘 놀고 있어요 mean?

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Formal Present of 놀다?

It is 놉니다, read [놈니다]. The ㄹ drops before ㅂ.

Can 놀다 Mean 'Not Working'?

Yes. 요즘 놀고 있어요 means 'I'm not working these days'. The setting tells you whether 놀다 means having fun or being out of work.

Can I Say 게임을 놀다?

No. 놀다 takes no object, so games and sports use 하다: 게임을 해요.

What Is the Honorific Polite Form?

It is 노세요. The ㄹ drops before ㅅ, just as in 노는 and 놉니다.

Which Words Are Related to 놀다?

• 하다 (hada)
• 쉬다 (swida)
• 만들다 (mandeulda)
• 살다 (salda)
• 울다 (ulda)

What Should You Learn Next?

Read the ㄹ irregular lesson and 쉬다, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.

Class lesson: Korean ㄹ Irregular Verbs (ㄹ Drop). Tool: Korean verb conjugator.