안

Build it

When to use it

안 sits directly before the conjugated verb and negates it: 안 가요, 안 먹어요, 안 좋아요. It states that something simply is not the case — by choice, or as a plain fact.

The one structural surprise is 하다 verbs. In a noun + 하다 compound, 안 goes between the two parts: 공부 안 해요, not 안 공부해요. Adjectives ending in 하다 do not split — 안 피곤해요 is correct — because there is no separable noun inside.

Three common words refuse 안 altogether and use a separate negative word: 있다 becomes 없다, 알다 becomes 모르다, 맛있다 becomes 맛없다. Saying 안 있어요 or 안 알아요 marks a sentence as learner Korean immediately.

How to attach it

In use

1. 저는 오늘 학교에 안 가요.

   I’m not going to school today.

2. 아침을 안 먹었어요.

   I didn’t eat breakfast.

3. 주말에는 공부 안 해요.

   I don’t study at the weekend.

4. 날씨가 안 좋아요.

   The weather isn’t good.

5. 오늘은 하나도 안 피곤해요.

   I’m not tired at all today.

6. 저는 그 사람을 잘 몰라요.

   I don’t know that person well.

Compared with

• -지 않다

  Same meaning, different weight. 안 is short and conversational; -지 않다 is longer, slightly more formal, and preferred in writing. Neither is more polite.

  안 가요. (speech)  /  가지 않아요. (writing, or emphasis)

• 못 –

  안 says you do not; 못 says you cannot. English “don’t” hides this distinction, so learners often use 안 where the meaning is inability.

  안 갔어요. (I chose not to go)  /  못 갔어요. (I couldn’t go)

• 없다, 모르다

  These are not negated forms of 있다 and 알다 — they are separate words with their own conjugation. Treat them as vocabulary rather than grammar.

  시간이 없어요.  /  not 시간이 안 있어요

Watch out

• 주말에는 안 공부해요.

  주말에는 공부 안 해요.

  In a noun + 하다 verb, 안 goes between the noun and 해요. The same applies to 일 안 해요, 운동 안 해요, 청소 안 해요.

• 지금 시간이 안 있어요.

  지금 시간이 없어요.

  있다 has its own opposite, 없다. The same goes for 알다 and 모르다, 맛있다 and 맛없다.

• 어제 바빠서 안 갔어요. — meaning “I couldn’t go”

  어제 바빠서 못 갔어요.

  If circumstances stopped you, Korean wants 못. 안 would say you decided against it.

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