I can say what I don't do in two ways — 안 봐요 and 보지 않아요 — and correctly answer “yes” to a question with “not”.
Not doing: 안 and -지 않아요
Not doing: 안 and -지 않아요
What for: to say what you don't do and to say no politely. There are two ways, both correct, with the same meaning: 안 before the verb — 안 봐요; the stem + -지 않아요 — 보지 않아요 (the stem is the dictionary form without -다). 안 is a separate word, written with a space. The forms are in the table.
With verbs made of a word + 하다 (공부하다, 운동하다, 청소하다), 안 goes right before 하다: 공부 안 해요; -지 않아요 attaches to the whole word: 공부하지 않아요. With adjectives in -하다 (깨끗하다, 조용하다), 안 goes before the whole word: 안 깨끗해요.
English “not” works with nouns too, but 안 doesn't: “I'm not a student” is 학생이 아니에요. “I don't have” is 없어요, “I don't know” is 몰라요. 별로 “not really” and 전혀 “not at all” go with a negative: 별로 안 비싸요.
A question with “not”: 네 means “yes, you're right”. 사과를 안 사요? — 네, 안 사요 (in English you'd say “No, I'm not”). If you are buying them — 아니요, 사요. See the table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “안 공부해요” → 공부 안 해요.
• NOT “동생은 안 의사예요” → 동생은 의사가 아니에요.
• NOT “형이 안 있어요” → 형이 없어요.
• NOT “아니요, 안 봐요” (if you don't watch) → 네, 안 봐요.
Two negatives, one meaning
Both ways are correct and mean the same thing. 안 is written as a separate word.
| Dictionary form | 안 + word | stem + -지 않아요 | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 보다 | 안 봐요 | 보지 않아요 | I don't watch |
| 먹다 | 안 먹어요 | 먹지 않아요 | I don't eat |
| 읽다 | 안 읽어요 | 읽지 않아요 | I don't read |
| 공부하다 | 공부 안 해요 | 공부하지 않아요 | I don't study |
| 깨끗하다 | 안 깨끗해요 | 깨끗하지 않아요 | not clean |
Answering a question with “not”
네 — “yes, you're right”: agreeing with what the question says.
| Question | If you don't | If you do |
|---|---|---|
| 저녁에 운동 안 해요? | 네, 안 해요. | 아니요, 해요. |
| 사과를 안 사요? | 네, 안 사요. | 아니요, 사요. |
Lesson notes
Not doing: 안 and -지 않아요
What for: to say what you don't do and to say no politely. There are two ways, both correct, with the same meaning: 안 before the verb — 안 봐요; the stem + -지 않아요 — 보지 않아요 (the stem is the dictionary form without -다). 안 is a separate word, written with a space. The forms are in the table.
With verbs made of a word + 하다 (공부하다, 운동하다, 청소하다), 안 goes right before 하다: 공부 안 해요; -지 않아요 attaches to the whole word: 공부하지 않아요. With adjectives in -하다 (깨끗하다, 조용하다), 안 goes before the whole word: 안 깨끗해요.
English “not” works with nouns too, but 안 doesn't: “I'm not a student” is 학생이 아니에요. “I don't have” is 없어요, “I don't know” is 몰라요. 별로 “not really” and 전혀 “not at all” go with a negative: 별로 안 비싸요.
A question with “not”: 네 means “yes, you're right”. 사과를 안 사요? — 네, 안 사요 (in English you'd say “No, I'm not”). If you are buying them — 아니요, 사요. See the table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “안 공부해요” → 공부 안 해요.
• NOT “동생은 안 의사예요” → 동생은 의사가 아니에요.
• NOT “형이 안 있어요” → 형이 없어요.
• NOT “아니요, 안 봐요” (if you don't watch) → 네, 안 봐요.