Noraehada Conjugation: 노래하다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 노래하다 (noraehada)
• Meaning: to sing
• Level: A1
• Stem: 노래하
• Class: 하다 type
• Object marking: usually none (을/를 possible)

What Does 노래하다 Mean?

노래하다 means to sing, usually without an object: 노래방에서 노래하다 (to sing at a karaoke room). It sounds a little like a performer's action, and in everyday speech 노래를 부르다 is more frequent.

Sense:

• to sing. Used for singing, often without an object: 노래방에서 노래하다.

How Is 노래하다 Used?

노래하다 is usually used alone, and it can take an object marked by 을/를, though 노래를 부르다 is the usual way to say 'sing a song'. Because it is a 하다 verb, negation follows the pattern in negating 하다 verbs.

How Do You Pronounce 노래하다?

노래하다 is romanized noraehada and read as written. Sound changes appear only in some endings: the past 노래했어요 is read [노래해써요], and in the formal 노래합니다 [노래함니다] the ㅂ before ㄴ is pronounced [ㅁ].

Example Sentences

This is the polite present form. 노래방에서 marks the karaoke room, and no object is needed.

This is the polite past form. 크게 means loudly. 노래했어요 is the polite past.

This is the polite 'want to' form. 같이 (together) describes singing with someone else; 싶어요 expresses the speaker’s wish.

Noraehada Conjugation: What Are the Forms of 노래하다?

Is 노래하다 Regular or Irregular?

노래하다 is a regular 하다 verb: before an ending that starts with 아/어, 하 becomes 해, giving 노래해요 and 노래했어요. See 하다 to 해요.

Why Koreans Usually Say 노래를 부르다

The word 노래하다 is the noun 노래 with 하다 attached, and it describes the act of singing as a performer would. In everyday speech, though, 노래를 부르다 is more frequent. If the sentence needs a song as an object, use 부르다, not 노래를 노래해요.

That does not make 노래하다 wrong. At a karaoke room (노래방), when you say what you do there, or when a friend sings loudly, the bare verb is natural. It is also the more compact choice when the subject is the singer and no particular song is mentioned. The neighbouring verb 춤추다 works the same way for dancing.

Common Mistake with 노래하다

Wrong: ✗ 노래를 노래해요

Correct: ✓ 노래를 불러요, or just 노래해요

Why: 노래하다 already contains the noun 노래, so 노래를 노래해요 says 'song' twice. When you want 노래 as an object, use 부르다.

Similar Words

Choosing a Song at Karaoke

Two friends are in a karaoke room. One remembers a previous visit and the other wants company at the microphone. The same verb appears in its wish, past and polite present forms.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

혼자 and 같이 create the contrast: alone last time, together this time. The final 노래해요 is an invitation, rather than a statement about a routine. No song title is named, so the verb can stand alone throughout the exchange.

Phrases That Describe How Someone Sings

노래를 부르다 means “to sing a song”. 부르다 has other meanings, including calling someone, but 노래 as its object makes the singing sense clear. When asking about a particular song, this combination lets you name the song directly without repeating 노래 inside two parts of the sentence.

노래를 잘하다 means “to be good at singing”. 잘 describes ability here. It does not mean that the singer performs frequently or loudly. Compare the existing example with 크게: that friend sang loudly, but the sentence makes no claim about skill.

노래방에서 노래하다 names singing at a karaoke room. The 방 in 노래방 means “room”, so the place name literally suggests a singing room. The activity takes 에서 because that is where the singing happens. 노래방 is one word, and 노래하다 is one word too.

Where Will You Hear or See 노래하다?

노래하다 fits introductions to singers, descriptions of stage performances and accounts of what someone did at karaoke. In a performance clip, the focus may be the singer’s voice or delivery, with no need to state a song as an object.

In everyday talk, listen for 노래를 부르다 alongside 노래하다. Both concern singing, and choosing 부르다 does not make the sentence more formal. The main difference for a beginner is the sentence shape: a named song naturally becomes the object of 부르다.

Music listings also contain 노래 as a noun. A song title or a karaoke search result is not automatically a sentence containing the verb 노래하다. Look for an ending such as 해요, 했어요 or 하는 before reading the word as an action.

What Changes When You Add an Ending?

Only the 하다 part changes in 노래해요 and 노래했어요; 노래 stays intact. In 노래하는 사람, “a person who sings”, the modifier 하는 keeps 하 because 는 does not call for 해. This gives you a practical way to recognize the same verb in a description of a performer.

Write 노래하고 싶어요 with a space before 싶어요. The 고 attaches to the verb, while 싶어요 is separate. For a negative, 노래 안 해요 splits the noun and 하다 around 안; 노래하지 않아요 keeps the original verb together before the separate negative 않아요.

The honorific 노래하세요 can be a respectful description or an instruction, depending on context. It refers respectfully to the singer. A polite report about your own singing normally uses 노래해요; politeness to the listener does not require honoring yourself.

The music vocabulary lesson teaches the wider set for songs, singers and performances.

Mini Drill: Singing Forms

1. Change 노래하다 to the polite past.
2. Complete “a person who sings”: ____ 사람.
3. Give the short negative used in the table.
4. Complete “sing a song” using the usual verb: 노래를 ____.

Quick Self-Test

1. Does 크게 노래했어요 tell you that someone sang well?
2. Which word means the lyrics: 가사 or 가수?
3. Why does 노래방 take 에서 in the example?

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Say 'Sing a Song'?

노래를 부르다 is the most common way: 노래를 불러요. 노래하다 on its own (노래해요) is also correct when no particular song is mentioned.

What Is the Polite Present of 노래하다?

It is 노래해요, as in 저는 노래방에서 노래해요 (I sing at karaoke).

Does 노래하다 Take an Object?

Usually not. It can take 을/를, but when a song is the object, Koreans normally use 노래를 부르다.

How Is 노래하다 Different from 춤추다?

노래하다 is to sing and 춤추다 is to dance. Both are built on a noun (노래 'song', 춤 'dance') and usually need no object.

Which Words Are Related to 노래하다?

• 부르다 (bureuda)
• 춤추다 (chumchuda)
• 웃다 (utda)
• 놀다 (nolda)

What Should You Learn Next?

Read 부르다 for 노래를 부르다, then 춤추다, which works the same way for dancing. Or browse the Korean verb dictionary.

Class lesson: Korean 하다 Conjugation: 하다 to 해요. Tool: Korean verb conjugator.