What does 낫다 mean?
낫다 (nat-da) means: to recover / to be better.
Completely different root from 낳다 (to give birth) despite similar sound.
🔊 From the story above
어떡해 — Eotteoke vs Eotteokhae
있다가 만나요 — *it-da-ga man-na-yo*
어떻게 — *eo-tteo-ke*, "how"
어떻게 해 — *eo-tteo-ke hae*, "what do I do with this"
있다가 — *it-da-ga*, "while staying / and then leaving"
있다 — *it-da*, "to be / to stay somewhere"
이따가 — *i-tta-ga*, "later, in a bit"
나중에 — *na-jung-e*, "later"
🎙️ 낫다는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [낟따]로 소리나요 (경음화, 받침규칙). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 감기엔 따뜻한 생강차가 약보다 낫다.
gamgien ttatteutan saenggangchaga yakboda natda.
For a cold, warm ginger tea is better than medicine.
💡 Compares two options to state which is superior. - 어제보다 기침이 훨씬 낫네.
eojeboda gichimi hwolsin natne.
My cough is doing much better than yesterday.
💡 Used when recovering or feeling physical improvement. - 혼자 고민하는 것보다 친구한테 털어놓는 게 낫다.
honja gominhaneun geotboda chinguhante teoreonhneun ge natda.
It's better to confide in a friend than to worry about it alone.
💡 Used when giving advice or stating a preferable course of action.
Related words in Grammar
가정 ga-jeong소망 so-mang거리두기 geo-ri-du-gi완곡어법 wan-gok-eoh-beop잡수시다 jap-su-si-da