9 Ways to Say "Not" in Korean: 안, 못, 없어요, 아니에요

Quick answer: The everyday way to say "not" in Korean is 안 (an) placed right before the verb — 안 가요 means "I'm not going." Use 못 (mot) when you're unable to do something, and remember that a few verbs don't take 안 at all: 있어요 becomes 없어요, 이에요 becomes 아니에요, and 알아요 becomes 몰라요.

English does almost all of its negating with one little helper: don't, doesn't, didn't, can't, isn't. You stick it in front of the verb and you're finished. Korean splits that one job across at least four systems — a short adverb, a long verb ending, a separate "unable" word, and a handful of verbs that carry their own negative twin. That's why learners who can build a perfectly good sentence suddenly stall when they need to make it negative.

The one idea to walk away with: in Korean, negation is part of the verb, not a helper word floating in front of the sentence. Once you stop translating "don't" and start asking "which negative does this verb take?", the whole thing settles down.

Here are the nine patterns you actually need.

1. 안 + verb — the default "not"

오늘은 안 가요. — "I'm not going today."

This is the one you'll use most in speech. 안 goes immediately before the verb, with a space, and nothing comes between them. It covers simple choice and simple fact: 저는 고기를 안 먹어요 ("I don't eat meat").

2. 공부 안 해요 — the 하다 verb split

요즘 운동 안 해요. — "I don't exercise these days."

This is the trap. With noun + 하다 action verbs (운동하다, 공부하다, 일하다), 안 goes between the noun and 하다 — not in front of the whole thing. 안 운동해요 sounds broken to a Korean ear, the way "I not-exercise" would sound to you. Say 공부 안 해요, 일 안 해요, 청소 안 해요.

3. 안 좋아해요 — but not every 하다 verb splits

저는 그 영화를 안 좋아해요. — "I don't like that movie."

The quick test: if the part before 하다 is an action noun that can stand alone (운동, 공부, 전화), it splits. Descriptive 하다-words (피곤하다, 유명하다) and verbs that aren't noun + 하다 at all (좋아하다, 싫어하다) never split — say 안 피곤해요, 안 좋아해요. 좋아 안 해요 is simply wrong.

4. -지 않아요 — the longer, calmer "not"

저는 술을 마시지 않아요. — "I don't drink."

Same meaning as 안, but longer and a touch more formal or deliberate. You'll see it far more in writing, news, and careful explanations. It's also the easy way out of the 하다 problem: 운동하지 않아요 needs no splitting at all.

5. 못 + verb — "can't," because something stops you

내일은 못 가요. — "I can't go tomorrow."

못 means you'd do it if you could, but circumstances say no: no time, no money, no permission, no ability. Compare 안 먹어요 ("I don't eat it" — my choice) with 못 먹어요 ("I can't eat it" — allergy, too spicy, already full). Picking 안 when you meant 못 can sound cold, like you simply couldn't be bothered. If you want the fuller "am able to" pattern, see -(으)ㄹ 수 있다 and -(으)ㄹ 수 없다.

6. 잘 못해요 — "I'm not good at it"

저는 노래를 잘 못해요. — "I'm not good at singing."

When 못하다 means "to be poor at something," it's written as one word with no space, and 잘 ("well") usually comes in front to soften it. This is the standard modest answer when someone compliments your Korean: 아니에요, 아직 잘 못해요 ("No, I'm still not good at it").

7. 없어요 — the negative of 있어요

오늘은 시간이 없어요. — "I don't have time today."

있다 ("to exist, to have") doesn't take 안. It has its own negative word, 없다, and that's the only correct option. 안 있어요 is not a sentence a Korean person would say. Same for 돈이 없어요, 약속이 없어요, 사람이 없어요.

8. 아니에요 — the negative of 이에요

저는 학생이 아니에요. — "I'm not a student."

To say "X is not Y," you don't negate 이에요 — you swap in 아니다. Note the particle: the noun before 아니에요 takes 이/가, not 을/를. 그건 제 가방이 아니에요 ("That's not my bag"). Learners often produce 학생이 안 이에요, which lands as clearly non-Korean.

9. 몰라요 / 모르겠어요 — the negative of 알아요

저도 잘 모르겠어요. — "I'm not sure either."

알다 ("to know") has its own negative, 모르다. 안 알아요 is wrong. 몰라요 is the plain "I don't know"; 모르겠어요 is softer and more polite, which is why it's the safer choice with strangers and at work — the mirror image of 알겠습니다.

Bonus: 아직 안 — "not yet"

아직 안 먹었어요. — "I haven't eaten yet."

Korean has no present perfect, so "haven't done it yet" is simply 아직 ("still, yet") plus a past-tense negative. 아직 안 왔어요 ("He hasn't come yet"), 아직 안 끝났어요 ("It's not over yet"). Add 별로 for a gentle "not really": 오늘은 별로 안 바빠요 ("I'm not that busy today").

Why this stays hard

Two reasons. First, English negation is one slot and Korean negation is a decision tree — you have to know what kind of verb you're holding before you can negate it. Second, 안 is so short that learners hear it, copy it, and then over-apply it to 있다, 이다, and 알다, where it simply doesn't live.

The fix is concrete: learn the three suppletive pairs as vocabulary, not grammar. 있다/없다, 이다/아니다, 알다/모르다. Drill them until 없어요 comes out of your mouth before you've thought about it. Everything else is just 안 before the verb, with the 하다 split as the one rule to watch.

One more thing worth knowing: to tell someone not to do something, neither 안 nor 못 works. That's -지 마 / -지 마세요, as in 가지 마 ("don't go") — a staple of the short commands you hear constantly in K-dramas.

FAQ

What is the difference between 안 and 못 in Korean?

안 is choice, 못 is inability. 안 먹어요 means "I don't eat it" — you've decided not to. 못 먹어요 means "I can't eat it" — something prevents you, like an allergy or a full stomach. If a friend invites you out and you simply don't want to go, 안 가요 can sound blunt; 못 가요 is the kinder answer.

How do you say "I don't know" in Korean?

몰라요 in 해요체, or 모르겠어요 if you want it softer and more polite. Never 안 알아요 — 알다 has its own negative verb, 모르다, so 안 doesn't attach to it. With a close friend you can drop to 반말 and say 몰라.

Is 안 or -지 않다 more polite?

Neither is more polite by itself; politeness comes from the ending you attach (안 가요 and 가지 않아요 are both 해요체). -지 않다 just sounds longer, more written, and more measured, so it shows up often in formal speech, writing, and careful explanations. In everyday conversation, 안 is what you'll hear.

Practice

Fix or translate. Answers below.

1. Fix: 저는 안 공부해요.
2. Say in Korean: "I don't have time today."
3. Say in Korean: "I couldn't go yesterday."
4. Fix: 저는 학생이 안 이에요.
5. Say in Korean: "I haven't eaten yet."