Korean Words for "Put": 놓다, 두다, 넣다, 담다

Quick answer: Korean has no single word for "put." Use 놓다 (nota) to set something down on a surface, 두다 to leave something somewhere, 넣다 (neota) to put something inside something else, and 담다 to put food or goods into a container. The verb you pick depends on where the object ends up, not on your hand.

That's the one idea: in English, where the thing goes is carried by the preposition — put it on the table, in the bag, away in the drawer. In Korean, the preposition work is done by the verb itself. The particle is almost always just 에. So learners who memorize "put = 놓다" end up saying things that sound, to a Korean ear, like you're shoving a cup into the wood of a table.

Let's take them one at a time.

놓다 — set it down on a surface

놓다 is the hand-opening verb. Something was held; now it rests on a flat surface.

• 컵을 테이블 위에 놓으세요. — Put the cup on the table.
• 가방을 바닥에 놓고 앉았어요. — I put my bag on the floor and sat down.
• 손 놓지 마. — Don't let go of my hand. (반말)

That last one shows the core meaning: 놓다 is also "release, let go." When you 놓다 something, your hand stops holding it. There's a very common compound too — 올려놓다, "put up onto":

• 접시를 식탁에 올려놓을게요. — I'll put the plates on the table.

두다 — leave it there

두다 also means putting something down, but the focus moves from your hand to what happens afterward. The thing stays. It's "leave it," "keep it," "put it away."

• 가방은 여기 두세요. — Leave your bag here.
• 우산을 지하철에 두고 내렸어요. — I left my umbrella on the subway and got off.
• 약은 아이 손이 닿지 않는 곳에 두세요. — Keep the medicine where children can't reach it.

With 놓다 you can picture the motion. With 두다 you picture the thing sitting there afterward. That's why "I left my phone at home" is 핸드폰을 집에 두고 왔어요 — the phone is still there. (놓고 왔어요 is also natural and very common; 두고 왔어요 leans a little more toward "it's there now," 놓고 왔어요 a little more toward "I set it down and walked off." Koreans use both without thinking hard about it.)

넣다 — put it inside

넣다 is for going into something: a bag, a pocket, a drawer, a soup, a washing machine.

• 지갑을 가방에 넣었어요. — I put my wallet in my bag.
• 찌개에 두부를 넣었어요. — I put tofu in the stew.
• 얼음 많이 넣어 주세요. — Please put in a lot of ice.

That last line is one you'll actually use — it comes up constantly when ordering at a Korean café, along with 설탕 넣지 마세요 (no sugar, please).

If the destination has an inside, it's 넣다. Saying 가방에 놓았어요 for "I put it in my bag" isn't just awkward — it makes a listener picture you balancing the thing on top of the bag.

담다 — put it into a container, neatly

담다 is the one dictionaries flatten into "put in," which hides what it really does. 담다 means filling a container with its proper contents: food into a bowl, groceries into a bag, water into a bottle. There's a sense of the container doing its job.

• 그릇에 밥을 담았어요. — I served the rice into a bowl.
• 봉투에 담아 드릴까요? — Shall I put it in a bag for you? (what a shop clerk asks)
• 반찬을 작은 접시에 예쁘게 담았어요. — I arranged the side dishes nicely on small plates.

It also goes abstract, in a warm way:

• 마음을 담아 편지를 썼어요. — I wrote the letter with all my heart.

And if you shop online in Korean, you'll see 장바구니에 담기 — add to cart. Literally "put it in the shopping basket."

The quick comparison

The part that trips learners up: -아/어 놓다 and -아/어 두다

놓다 and 두다 both live a second life as helper verbs attached to another verb — a pattern you'll meet everywhere, much like -아/어 보다 for "try doing something". They mean "do it, and leave it done."

• 창문을 열어 놨어요. — I opened the window (and left it open).
• 표를 미리 사 뒀어요. — I bought the tickets in advance.
• 이름은 적어 뒀으니까 걱정하지 마세요. — I've written the name down, so don't worry.

The difference is small but real. -아/어 놓다 points at the state that's still there right now: the window is open, the door is unlocked. -아/어 두다 points forward: I did this so it's ready for later. That's why 사 두다 (buy in advance), 적어 두다 (note it down for later) and 알아 두다 (keep it in mind) feel so natural with 두다 — they're all about future use.

In fast speech both contract: 놓았어요 → 놨어요, 두었어요 → 뒀어요. You'll hear the short forms far more often.

What a mistake sounds like

A few real learner sentences, and what they do to a Korean ear:

• ✗ 커피에 우유를 놓았어요. → ✓ 커피에 우유를 넣었어요. (Milk doesn't rest on top of coffee.)
• ✗ 책상에 가방을 넣으세요. → ✓ 책상에 가방을 놓으세요 / 책상 위에 올려놓으세요.
• ✗ 여권을 호텔에 넣고 왔어요. → ✓ 여권을 호텔에 두고 왔어요.

None of these are catastrophic — you'd be understood. But each one makes the listener pause for half a second to re-picture the scene, and that pause is exactly what you're trying to remove from your Korean.

FAQ

How do you say "put" in Korean?

There's no one word. Choose by destination: 놓다 for a flat surface, 넣다 for inside something, 담다 for into a container, 두다 for leaving something somewhere. 놓다 and 넣다 cover most everyday situations, so start with those two.

What is the difference between 놓다 and 두다?

놓다 describes the act of setting something down and letting go of it. 두다 describes leaving it there — the focus is on the thing staying put. 여기 놓으세요 is "set it down here"; 여기 두세요 is "leave it here." For "I left my phone at home," Koreans say 집에 두고 왔어요 or 집에 놓고 왔어요; both are natural.

Is 넣다 the same as 담다?

They overlap but aren't identical. 넣다 is neutral insertion — anything into anything with an inside. 담다 means filling a container with what it's meant to hold, so it's the usual verb for serving food into bowls or packing goods into a bag. A shop clerk asks 봉투에 담아 드릴까요?, not 넣어 드릴까요.

Practice

Fill in the blank with 놓다, 두다, 넣다 or 담다, conjugated as shown.

1. 커피에 설탕 좀 ____ 주세요. (Please put some sugar in my coffee.)
2. 가방은 소파 위에 ____. (-으세요 — Please put your bag on the sofa.)
3. 우산을 버스에 ____ 왔어요. (-고 — I left my umbrella on the bus.)
4. 국을 그릇에 ____. (-았어요 — I served the soup into a bowl.)
5. 내일 쓸 거라서 미리 사 ____. (-었어요 — I bought it in advance because I'll use it tomorrow.)