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Certain terms or expressions have a strong (sometimes obligatory) preference for one negation type or another. For example, adjectives derived from 스럽다(-seureopda) are usually negated by 않다(anta), as do inherently negative verbs such as 없다(eopda, “to not have”) and 모르다(moreuda, “to not know”). By contrast, negated rhetorical questions obligatorily require 안(an).
안(an, “not”) negates only the verb or adjective, whereas 않다(anta) negates the entire embedded clause. While this difference is often not semantically meaningful, it can also lead to contrasting meanings, such as when the particle 만(man, “only”) is involved:
In the first case, only the verb 먹다(meokda, “to eat”) is negated. In the latter, the entire clause 사과만먹다(sagwa-man meokda, “to eat only apples”) is negated.