않다

Korean

Etymology

Contraction of 아니하다 (anihada).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):

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• Phonetic hangul:

Adjective

않다 • (anta) (infinitive 않아, sequential 않으니)

1. (adjective지 않다 (-ji anta)) auxiliary adjective used to negate the clause to which the main adjective belongs

   어렵지 않은 수업

   eoryeop-ji aneun sueop

   a lesson which is not difficult

Conjugation

Verb

않다 • (anta) (infinitive 않아, sequential 않으니)

1. (verb-지 않다) auxiliary verb used to negate the clause to which the main verb belongs

   듣지 않는 수업

   deutji anneun sueop

   a lesson which do not listen to

2. (transitive) to not do something

   공부를 않는다.

   gongbu-reul anneunda.

   don't study.

   Audio (South Korea)

   (file)

Conjugation

Usage notes

않다 (anta) inherits the nature of the main term that it negates. Therefore it behaves as an adjective when it negates an adjective, and behaves as a verb when it negates a verb.

The adverb 안 (an, “not”) is used to negate a verb, and has a more informal connotation. Compare:

• 야, 나 안 먹었어.

  ya, na an meogeosseo.

  Hey, I didn't eat.

• 교수님, 저는 먹지 않았습니다.

  gyosunim, jeo-neun meokji anatseumnida.

  I didn't eat, Professor.

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:

• 사과만 안 먹어.

  sagwa-man an meogeo.

  Apples are the only thing they don't eat.

• 사과만 먹지 않아.

  sagwa-man meokji ana.

  They don't only eat apples .

In the first case, only the verb 먹다 (meokda, “to eat”) is negated. In the latter, the entire clause 사과-만 먹다 (sagwa-man meokda, “to eat only apples”) is negated.

For a history of this construction, see 不冬.

Related terms

• 말다 (malda)
• 못하다 (mothada)
• 안 (an)