Nota Conjugation: 놓다 Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 놓다 (nota)
• Meaning: to put down
• Level: A2
• Stem: 놓
• Class: regular
• Object marking: transitive
• Dictionary form sounds like: [노타]

What Does 놓다 Mean?

놓다 has two senses. The first is to put down or place something on a surface: 책상 위에 가방을 놓다. The second is to let go of, as in 손을 놓다 (release a grip) or 일을 놓다 (stop doing a task).

The fixed phrase 마음을 놓다 means to relax, as if you were putting your worry down.

Meanings:

• to put down; to place. Used for setting something down somewhere: 책상 위에 가방을 놓다.
• to let go of. Also means to release your grip, as in 손을 놓다, and to stop doing something in 일을 놓다.

How Is 놓다 Used?

놓다 is transitive. The object takes 을/를 and the place takes 에, usually after a location word such as 위: 식탁 위에 놓다. The destination takes 에, not 에서, because the object ends up there.

Politely asking someone to leave their things somewhere uses the honorific form 놓으세요.

How Do You Pronounce 놓다?

놓다 is romanized nota. It is pronounced [노타]: the ㅎ merges with the ㄷ of 다 into an aspirated ㅌ. Before a vowel the ㅎ is silent, so 놓아요 is read [노아요].

Example Sentences

This is the polite present form. The bag is the object and 책상 위에 the surface. The ㅎ is written but silent here. In casual speech the form is often shortened to one syllable plus 요, and that short spelling is also accepted as standard.

This is the honorific polite form. 여기에 짐을 놓으세요 is a polite request, using the honorific form. The speaker points to the place with 에.

This is the long negative form, 놓지 않아요. 아무 데나 means 'just anywhere', so the sentence describes a careful habit.

Nota Conjugation: What Are the Forms of 놓다?

Is 놓다 Regular or Irregular?

놓다 is regular. The ㅎ stays and the vowel is ㅗ, so the ending is 아: 놓아요, 놓았어요. See the look-alike lesson.

Common Mistake with 놓다

Wrong: ✗ 가방을 책상 위에서 놓아요

Correct: ✓ 가방을 책상 위에 놓아요

Why: The destination of 놓다 takes 에, not 에서, because the object ends up there. Learners reach for 에서 because it marks where an action happens, but with 놓다 the place is the object's new position.

Similar Words

In short: 놓다 for setting something down, 두다 for leaving it there, and 넣다 for putting it inside.

Putting Bags down before a Meeting

A visitor arrives carrying a bag. A coworker shows them where to leave it, then the visitor checks the position. The exchange uses the request, past and polite present forms.

Coworker

Visitor

Coworker

The bag is understood in the second line, so the visitor does not repeat 가방을. 도 adds the keys to the things being placed there. The coworker’s final polite present works as a gentle instruction because the visitor is deciding what to do with their belongings.

From Releasing a Hand to Relaxing

손을 놓다 can mean releasing someone’s hand or letting go of a handhold. 손 is literal when two people stop holding hands. In a tense drama scene, the relationship between the speakers can make the same physical action emotionally significant.

일손을 놓다 means to stop working, often temporarily. The phrase evokes setting aside your working hands. It does not necessarily mean quitting a job: someone may pause a task because of surprising news or an interruption.

마음을 놓다 means to feel relieved or stop worrying. The 마음, “mind” or “heart”, is not a physical object being placed somewhere. If you see the phrase after someone receives reassuring news, translate the relief rather than the literal image of setting down a heart.

Where Will 놓다 Be Useful?

At a reception desk, in an office or at someone’s home, 놓으세요 can direct a visitor to a spot for bags or belongings. Look for 여기에, “here”, or a location such as 책상 위에, “on the desk”. These tell you where the object should end up.

In everyday accounts of a lost item, 놓다 can describe where someone last set it down. The verb reports placement; it does not itself say the item is still there. The listener may need a further question about who moved it afterward.

In written instructions, 놓다 may follow another verb to describe doing something and leaving the result ready. That use adds a result that remains, rather than a second literal placement action. Learn the whole surrounding phrase before translating every 놓다 as “put down”.

Keep ㅎ in the Spelling

놓아요 keeps the written ㅎ even though it is not pronounced before the vowel ending. 놓으세요 and 놓으면 also keep the letter. The changes in sound do not turn 놓다 into the ㅎ-irregular adjective pattern, so do not remove ㅎ when building these written forms.

The contrast between 놓는 and 놓은 is useful when reading: the former is the present modifier, and the latter describes a completed placement before a noun. Both retain the stem spelling 놓. The pronunciation table shows how their different following sounds affect what you hear.

For places, compare 놓다 with 빼다. A placement destination uses 에, while the source of a removal commonly uses 에서. A sentence can still mention where a person performs an action with 에서; the key question is whether the place identifies the action’s setting or the object’s destination.

The everyday objects lesson gives names for things you may put down, carry or look for at home.

Mini Drill: Place or Remove?

1. Complete the destination: 책상 위____ 놓아요.
2. Give the polite request form of 놓다.
3. Change 놓다 to the polite past.
4. Give the present modifier form, keeping the written stem.

Quick Self-Test

1. Does 마음을 놓다 describe moving a physical object?
2. Which verb specifically means putting something inside: 놓다 or 넣다?
3. Is the ㅎ deleted from the spelling of 놓아요?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Does the Polite Present Use 아?

The last vowel of the stem is ㅗ, which takes 아.

What Does 손을 놓다 Mean?

It means to let go of a grip.

What Does 마음을 놓다 Mean?

It is a fixed phrase meaning to relax.

Can I Use 에서 with 놓다?

No. Use 에 for the place where the object ends up.

Which Words Are Related to 놓다?

• 넣다 (neota)
• 들다 (deulda)
• 잡다 (japda)
• 빼다 (ppaeda)
• Korean verb dictionary

What Should You Learn Next?

Compare with 넣다 and 두다, and then see 들다 and 잡다 for holding.

Class lesson: Regular Korean Verbs That Look Irregular. Tool: Korean verb conjugator.