1 · The basic sentence
A is not B: 아니에요
the negative copula
“Is not” has a word of its own, 아니에요, with 이 or 가 on the noun before it.
The negative of 이에요 and 예요 is not built with 안, as other verbs are, but with a word of its own: 아니에요, “is not”. The noun before it takes the particle 이 after a consonant or 가 after a vowel: 저는 학생이 아니에요, “I am not a student”; 이건 커피가 아니에요, “this is not coffee”.
Unlike 이에요, 아니에요 is a separate word and is written with a space before it: 학생이 아니에요. The formal form is 아닙니다, and the formal question 아닙니까?. In speech the particle is often dropped: 학생 아니에요.
On its own, 아니에요 is also the polite way to wave something off. After a thank-you or an apology it means “not at all”, “it’s nothing”. And as an answer to a question built with 이에요, it says no: 학생이에요? — 아니요, 학생이 아니에요.
English speakers make two mistakes. They reach for 안 — but 안 negates verbs and adjectives, never a noun with the copula, so 안 학생이에요 is wrong. And they forget the particle, or choose the wrong one: the noun before 아니에요 takes 이 or 가, not 을 or 를.
The form
| after a consonant | 학생이 아니에요. |
| after a vowel | 의사가 아니에요. |
| particle dropped in speech | 학생 아니에요. |
| formal | 학생이 아닙니다. |
| on its own: not at all | 아니에요. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The noun before 아니에요 takes 이 after a consonant.
저는 중국 사람이 아니에요.I am not Chinese.
After a vowel the particle is 가.
이건 제 우유가 아니에요.This is not my milk.
아니에요 is a separate word, with a space before it.
오늘은 휴일이 아니에요.Today is not a holiday.
In formal speech the form is 아닙니다.
여기는 출구가 아닙니다.This is not the exit.
On its own, 아니에요 answers a thank-you or an apology: “not at all”.
정말 고마워요. — 아니에요.Thank you so much. — Not at all.
A closer look
Answering a copula question
아니요 is the word for “no”; 아니에요 is “it is not”. Both come from the same root, and a full answer often uses both: 이거 물이에요? — 아니요, 물이 아니에요. 주스예요. “Is this water? — No, it isn’t water. It’s juice.”
After a thank-you, 아니에요 sounds modest and warm, close to “oh, it was nothing”. Textbooks often teach 천만에요 for “you’re welcome”, but in conversation it sounds stiff, and most speakers simply say 아니에요.
How to spot it
- 아니에요
- 아닙니다
- 이 아니에요
- 가 아니에요
Example sentences
저는 학생이 아니에요. 회사원이에요.I am not a student. I am an office worker.
그 사람은 제 남자 친구가 아니에요.He is not my boyfriend.
이건 소금이 아니에요. 설탕이에요.This isn’t salt. It’s sugar.
오늘은 월요일이 아니에요.Today is not Monday.
죄송해요. — 아니에요, 괜찮아요.I’m sorry. — Not at all, it’s fine.
그건 제 차가 아니에요.That is not my car.
7 more example sentences
이건 진짜 가죽이 아니에요.This is not real leather.
저 사람은 우리 반 학생이 아니에요.That person is not a student in our class.
제 휴대폰이 아니에요. 친구 거예요.It’s not my phone. It’s my friend’s.
그건 제 잘못이 아니에요.That is not my fault.
여기는 금연 구역이 아니에요?Isn’t this a no-smoking area?
저는 이 동네 사람이 아닙니다.I am not from this neighbourhood.
지금은 쉬는 시간이 아니에요.It isn’t break time now.
Worth knowing (1)
-
The topic particle for contrast
When the sentence contrasts one thing with another, the noun before 아니에요 often takes 은 or 는 instead of 이 or 가: 그건 제 책은 아니에요 means “that is not my book, at any rate” — it may well be somebody else’s.
저는 의사는 아니에요. 간호사예요.I’m not a doctor, actually. I’m a nurse.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
안 negates verbs and adjectives. A noun with the copula has its own negative, 아니에요, and the noun takes 이 or 가 in front of it. English says “not a student”; Korean says “a student is-not”.
Not an but anieyo — with i or ga on the noun before it.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.