[Korean grammar] 안 A/V-아/어요 (A/V-지 않아요) Negative Expressions

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저는 오징어를 안 먹어요.
(= 저는 오징어를 먹지 않아요.)
I don’t eat squid.

그 구두는 안 예뻐요.
(= 그 구두는 예쁘지 않아요.)
Those shoes aren’t pretty.

방이 안 넓어요.
(= 방이 넓지 않아요.)
The room is not spacious.

Grammar Focus:
This pattern is added to verbs and adjectives to negate an action or state. It approximates to ‘not’ in English. It is formed by adding 안 to the front of verbs and adjectives or -지 않아요 to the end of verb and adjective stems.




Because verbs that end in 하다 are comprised of 'Noun + 하다’，they are negated by adding 안 to the front of the verb, forming ‘Noun 안 하다’. Adjectives, on the other hand, are negated by adding 안 to the front, as in ‘안 + Adjective’. Note, however, that for the verbs 좋아하다 (to like) and 싫어하다 (to dislike), because they are not verbs in the form of ‘Noun + 하다’, but rather are indivisible, single verbs, they are written as 안 좋아하다/좋아하지 않다 and 안 싫어하다/싫어하지 않다.

Although 안 and -지 않다 can be used in declarative and interrogative sentences, they cannot be used in imperative or propositive sentences.
• 안 가십시오 (X), 가지 않으십시오 (X)
->가지 마십시오 (〇) Please don’t go.
• 안 먹읍시다 (X)，먹지 않읍시다 (X)
-> V지 맙시다 (〇) Let's not eat.

Conversation:
A: 불고기를 좋아해요? Do you like Korean bulgogi?
B: 아니요, 저는 고기를 안 먹어요. No, I don’t eat meat.

A: 토요일에 회사에 가요? Do you go to the office on Saturdays?
B: 아니요, 토요일에는 가지 않아요. No, on Saturdays, I don’t go to work.

A 집이 멀어요? Is your house far away?
B 아니요, 안 멀어요. 가까워요. No, it’s not far away. It’s close.

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