LinguaSaying what something is not
The copula has a negative partner: 아니에요, is not. It does not attach to the noun; it stands apart as its own word, and the noun in front of it takes the particle 이/가 – 이 after a consonant, 가 after a vowel. So 학생이에요 becomes 학생이 아니에요, and 의사예요 becomes 의사가 아니에요. Notice that the particle is not the topic 은/는: with 아니에요 the noun is the thing being denied, and that role belongs to 이/가.
Correcting a guess, and adding with 도 and 그리고
The most natural use of 아니에요 is to correct: 학생이에요? – 아니요, 학생이 아니에요. 회사원이에요. The denial and the correction come as a pair, and the topic is not repeated. To say also, replace the particle with 도: 저도 학생이에요 I am a student too; 도 takes the place of 은/는 or 이/가 rather than adding to them. To join two whole sentences, start the second with 그리고, and.
| Statement | Negation |
|---|---|
| 학생이에요 | 학생이 아니에요 |
| 의사예요 | 의사가 아니에요 |
| 경찰이에요 | 경찰이 아니에요 |
| 배우예요 | 배우가 아니에요 |
| 한국 사람이에요 | 한국 사람이 아니에요 |
저는 가수가 아니에요, 배우예요I am not a singer, I am an actor.
동생도 학생이에요My younger sibling is a student too.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 이/가 아니에요 | is not (negative copula) | 저는 학생이 아니에요 I am not a student. |
| 가수 | singer | 언니는 가수예요 My older sister is a singer. |
| 요리사 | cook, chef | 아버지는 요리사예요 My father is a cook. |
| 경찰 | police officer | 경찰이 아니에요, 군인이에요 He is not a police officer, he is a soldier. |
| 배우 | actor | 저 사람은 배우예요 That person is an actor. |
| 기자 | journalist, reporter | 친구는 기자예요 My friend is a journalist. |
| 군인 | soldier | 형은 군인이에요 My older brother is a soldier. |
| 주부 | homemaker | 어머니는 주부예요 My mother is a homemaker. |
| 그리고 | and (between sentences) | 저는 학생이에요. 그리고 친구는 회사원이에요 I am a student. And my friend is an office worker. |
| 도 | also, too (particle) | 친구도 회사원이에요 My friend is an office worker too. |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 4
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 2
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which particle goes on 학생 before 아니에요?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.