1 · Negation
Not: 안 before the verb
short negation
안 goes directly before the verb or adjective: 안 가요, "I don't go" or "I'm not going".
The simplest negative is 안, placed directly before the verb or adjective, with a space: 가요 → 안 가요, 비싸요 → 안 비싸요, 먹었어요 → 안 먹었어요. The verb itself does not change: tense and politeness stay where they were. There is no helper like "do" or "be" to build, and nothing else in the sentence moves.
안 means "not" as a matter of fact or of choice: it does not happen, I do not do it. 오늘 학교에 안 가요 is "I'm not going to school today", and the listener will understand that there is no school or that you have decided not to go. If you would like to go and cannot, that is 못, the next topic.
With a verb made of a noun and 하다, 안 goes before 하다, not before the whole verb: 공부해요 → 공부 안 해요, 운동했어요 → 운동 안 했어요. Putting it in front, 안 공부해요, is the classic beginner's mistake. Adjectives in 하다 are different, because their 하다 does not mean "do": 안 피곤해요, 안 깨끗해요. So are verbs like 좋아하다 whose first part is not a noun on its own: 안 좋아해요.
안 belongs to everyday speech and suits short, common words; in formal speech and in writing the long form -지 않다 is preferred. It is not used with 있다 in the sense of "there is" or "have", with 알다, or with the copula, which have their own negative words (없다, 모르다, 아니다). In a question, 안 often makes a gentle invitation or a check: 안 가요?, "aren't you going?".
The form
| verb | 가요 → 안 가요 |
| adjective | 비싸요 → 안 비싸요 |
| past | 안 먹었어요 |
| noun + 하다 | 공부해요 → 공부 안 해요 |
| adjective in 하다 | 피곤해요 → 안 피곤해요 |
| question | 안 가요? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
안 stands directly before the verb, separated by a space.
저는 고기를 안 먹어요.I don't eat meat.
The verb keeps its tense and its ending.
어제 커피를 안 마셨어요.I didn't drink any coffee yesterday.
In a verb made of a noun and 하다, 안 goes before 하다.
주말에는 일 안 해요.I don't work at weekends.
Adjectives in 하다, and verbs like 좋아하다, take 안 in front.
이 방은 안 따뜻해요.This room isn't warm.
A negative question with 안 often invites or checks gently.
점심 안 먹어요?Aren't you having lunch?
A closer look
Where exactly the negative goes
안 sticks to the verb, not to the sentence. Everything else stays where it was: 저는 오늘 학교에 안 가요. English moves "not" around with "do" and "be"; Korean needs neither, and there is no "don't" or "isn't" to build.
With noun + 하다 verbs, the noun can also take the object particle: 공부를 안 해요 and 공부 안 해요 are both normal. Some 하다 words cannot be split because the first part is not a noun on its own — 좋아하다, 싫어하다 — and these always take 안 in front: 안 싫어해요.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb is 있다 (there is, to have), 알다 or the copula
do not use 안; use the negative partners 없다, 모르다 and 아니다.
저는 그 사람을 몰라요.I don't know that person.
These three are so frequent that Korean has a separate word for the negative, and the separate word has pushed 안 out. See the topic on negative words.
How to spot it
- 안
- 안 해요
- 공부 안 해요
- 안 좋아해요
Example sentences
오늘은 날씨가 안 추워요.It isn't cold today.
저는 술을 안 마셔요.I don't drink alcohol.
동생은 아침을 안 먹었어요.My younger brother didn't have breakfast.
어제는 청소 안 했어요.I didn't clean yesterday.
그 영화는 안 무서웠어요.That film wasn't scary.
저는 매운 음식을 안 좋아해요.I don't like spicy food.
8 more example sentences
이 식당은 안 비싸요.This restaurant isn't expensive.
오늘은 회사에 안 가요.I'm not going to work today.
그 사람은 전화를 안 받았어요.He didn't answer the phone.
저는 요즘 운동 안 해요.I don't exercise these days.
내일 학교에 안 와요?Aren't you coming to school tomorrow?
지금은 안 바빠요.I'm not busy now.
아이가 밥을 잘 안 먹어요.The child is a poor eater.
그 가게는 일요일에 문을 안 열어요.That shop doesn't open on Sundays.
Worth knowing (1)
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Not good, rather than bad
안 좋아요 is the everyday way to say that something is bad, without the bluntness of 나빠요: 날씨가 안 좋아요, "the weather is bad"; 기분이 안 좋아요, "I'm in a bad mood". Korean often prefers "not good" to "bad", much as English says "not great".
요즘 몸이 좀 안 좋아요.I haven't been feeling very well lately.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
공부하다 is the noun 공부 (study) plus 하다 (do), and 안 negates the verb part: "study not-do". 안 공부해요 is understood, but it marks the speaker as a beginner at once.
An goes right before the verb — and in study-do verbs, right before do.
Your turn
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