안 and 못: saying no
By Daniel Buckley · 11 minute read · TOPIK 1
Vocabulary
- 아직 - yet, still
- 고기 - meat
- 운동 - exercise
- 숙제 - homework
- 수영 - swimming
- 일 - work
- 알다 - to know
- 모르다 - to not know
- 맵다 - to be spicy
A friend invites you out tomorrow and you say no. In English, "I'm not going" could mean you've decided against it or that you have to work. Korean makes you pick: 안 가요 or 못 가요.
Both words go right in front of the verb. 안 says it doesn't happen, and 못 says something is stopping it. Each has a longer form that goes after the verb, and there are a few spots where 안 can't go at all.
안: it doesn't happen
Put 안 directly before the verb or adjective, with a space. The verb keeps whatever tense it had. 안 covers plain facts and things you choose not to do, and Korean doesn't separate those two.
Negating with 안
- 안 + verb or adjective.가요 → 안 가요먹었어요 → 안 먹었어요갈 거예요 → 안 갈 거예요비싸요 → 안 비싸요
오늘은 안 가요.
Today (I) do not go.
저는 고기를 안 먹어요.
I do not eat meat.
어제는 비가 안 왔어요.
Yesterday rain did not come.
이 가방은 안 비싸요.
This bag is not expensive.
내일은 안 바쁠 거예요.
Tomorrow (I) will not be busy.
못: something stops you
못 sits in the same spot and says you can't: ability or circumstances are in the way, whatever you'd like to do. In front of the verb like this, it goes on action verbs only. An adjective describes a state rather than something you attempt, so 못 비싸요 means nothing.
Negating with 못
- 못 + action verb.가요 → 못 가요먹었어요 → 못 먹었어요갈 거예요 → 못 갈 거예요
오늘은 못 가요.
Today (I) can't go.
매운 음식을 못 먹어요.
(I) can't eat spicy food.
어제 친구를 못 만났어요.
Yesterday (I) couldn't meet friend.
내일은 못 갈 거예요.
Tomorrow (I) won't be able to go.
The difference carries social weight. 안 먹어요 can sound like a firm refusal. 못 먹어요 softens it into inability, so it's the kinder answer when someone offers you food.
※ 못 rarely sounds the way it looks. 못 먹어요 is said 몬머거요, 못 해요 is said 모태요, and 못 가요 is said 몯까요.
Switch between 안 and 못 on any verb, in either tense.
안 가요
to go
저는 고기를 ___ 먹어요.
I don't eat meat. (My choice.)
돈이 없어요. 그 가방을 ___ 사요.
I have no money. I can't buy that bag.
오늘은 날씨가 ___ 추워요.
It's not cold today.
미안해요. 어제 숙제를 ___ 했어요.
Sorry. I couldn't do the homework yesterday.
하다 verbs: the negative goes inside
A verb made of a noun and 하다 is really two words, so 안 and 못 go between them. It's 공부 안 해요, and 안 공부해요 is the classic learner mistake.
This only applies when the part before 하다 is a noun that could take 을/를 by itself: 공부를 해요, 일을 해요. 좋아하다 isn't built that way, and neither are adjectives like 피곤하다 and 깨끗하다, so 안 stays out in front of those.
안 and 못 with 하다
- Noun + 하다: split it.공부해요 → 공부 안 해요일해요 → 일 안 해요운동했어요 → 운동 못 했어요
- Everything else: in front as usual.좋아해요 → 안 좋아해요피곤해요 → 안 피곤해요
오늘은 일 안 해요.
Today (I) do not work.
어제 운동 못 했어요.
Yesterday (I) couldn't exercise.
오늘은 수영 못 해요.
Today (I) can't swim.
저는 커피를 안 좋아해요.
I do not like coffee.
오늘은 안 피곤해요.
Today (I) am not tired.
※ Watch the space. 못 해요 means something is stopping you. Written as one word, 못해요 means you're bad at it or never learned, as in 수영을 못해요. That's lesson 15.
지 않다 and 지 못하다: the long forms
Each negative has a longer version that goes after the verb. Add 지 to the stem, then 않다 or 못하다, and conjugate that last word. The meaning matches 안 and 못.
In conversation the short forms are far more common. The long forms turn up in writing, speeches and the news, and they pair well with 합쇼체: 가지 않습니다. They don't need any of the 하다 splitting above, so 공부하지 않아요 is fine.
The long forms
- 지 않다 does the job of 안.가요 → 가지 않아요갔어요 → 가지 않았어요비싸요 → 비싸지 않아요
- 지 못하다 does the job of 못.가요 → 가지 못해요먹었어요 → 먹지 못했어요
Pick a verb
가다가가지 않아요
Pick a verb
가다가가지 못해요
오늘은 날씨가 좋지 않아요.
Today weather is not good.
저는 고기를 먹지 않습니다.
I do not eat meat.
그 사람은 오지 않았어요.
That person did not come.
어제는 일하지 못했어요.
Yesterday (I) couldn't work.
※ 지 못하다 can also follow an adjective, which 못 in front can't do. It says something falls short of how it should be, as in 깨끗하지 못해요. It sounds formal, so day to day you'd use 안.
Listen and type
1 / 3
Play it as often as you like.
Where 안 can't go
안 and 못 only negate verbs and adjectives, and some of those have a better option. A few everyday words have their own opposite, and that's what Koreans use.
Use something else
- Nouns: 이/가 아니에요, from lesson 2.학생이에요 → 학생이 아니에요친구예요 → 친구가 아니에요
- 있다: the opposite is 없다.시간이 있어요 → 시간이 없어요맛있어요 → 맛없어요재미있어요 → 재미없어요
- 알다: the opposite is 모르다.알아요 → 몰라요
- Commands: 지 마세요.가세요 → 가지 마세요
- Long adjectives: usually the long form.아름다워요 → 아름답지 않아요
저는 학생이 아니에요.
I am not student.
오늘은 시간이 없어요.
Today (I) don't have time.
저는 그 사람을 몰라요.
I don't know that person.
이 영화는 재미없어요.
This movie is not fun.
The last two rows need a word. 안 가세요 doesn't mean "don't go". It says someone you respect isn't going, so commands need 지 마세요, which lesson 27 covers.
안 also gets clumsy before long adjectives, especially those ending in 롭다 or 스럽다. 안 아름다워요 sounds awkward to many Koreans, so reach for 아름답지 않아요.
Not yet, and answering negative questions
아직 means "still", and with a past negative it's how Korean says "not yet". Where English moves to "haven't", Korean stays with the plain past.
아직 안 먹었어요.
Still did not eat. (English: I haven't eaten yet.)
아직 못 봤어요.
Still couldn't see. (English: I haven't managed to see it yet.)
Negative questions take getting used to. 네 means "that's right" more than "yes", so it agrees with what was said. If you're not going and someone asks 안 가요, you answer 네.
- A
오늘 안 가요?
Today do not go?
- B
네, 못 가요. 일이 있어요.
Right, can't go. Work exists.
- A
밥은 먹었어요?
Meal ate?
- B
아니요, 아직 안 먹었어요.
No, still did not eat.
Common mistakes
저는 안 공부해요.
저는 공부 안 해요.
Noun + 하다 splits, and the negative goes in the gap.
오늘은 가지 안아요.
오늘은 가지 않아요.
않아요 is spelled with ㄶ. 안 is the short negative, and it takes no endings.
저는 안 학생이에요.
저는 학생이 아니에요.
안 and 못 never go on a noun.
One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.
Check yourself
Quick check
1 / 6
저는 고기를 ___. (먹다) I don't eat meat.
안 plus the 해요 form, with a space.
Summary
Saying no
- 안: it doesn't happen, or you choose not to.안 가요공부 안 해요가지 않아요
- 못: you can't.못 가요공부 못 해요가지 못해요
- Their own opposites:학생이 아니에요시간이 없어요몰라요
| Dictionary | Stem | 지 않아요 |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 | 가 | 가지 않아요 |
| 먹다 | 먹 | 먹지 않아요 |
| 하다 | 하 | 하지 않아요 |
| 공부하다 | 공부하 | 공부하지 않아요 |
| 듣다 | 듣 | 듣지 않아요 |
| 좋다 | 좋 | 좋지 않아요 |
| 춥다 | 춥 | 춥지 않아요 |
Now you can say
오늘은 못 가요.
Today (I) can't go.
아직 안 먹었어요.
Still did not eat. (English: I haven't eaten yet.)
저는 몰라요.
I don't know.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say "not" in Korean?
- For verbs, put 안 in front to say something doesn't happen (안 가요, "I'm not going"), or 못 to say you can't (못 가요, "I can't go"). For nouns, use 이/가 아니에요 (학생이 아니에요, "I'm not a student"). 안 and 못 don't go in front of a noun.
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