지 않다 grammar - ji anhda grammar

Sometimes we want to talk about things we don’t do or say something is not that way. In other words, we need the grammar for negation!

In a previous lesson, we looked at using 안 + verb/adj to mean (do) not verb/adj. Such as in:
오늘은 별로 안 더워요.
⇒ It’s not that hot today.

This post will look at another, slightly longer way to say the same thing!
오늘은 별로 덥지 않아요.
⇒ It’s not that hot today.

You might be wondering why use a longer pattern when you can just use 안? What’s the difference between these two grammar points anyway?

Well, officially there’s no difference in meaning between the two. In practice, however, native speakers will often tell you that one sounds more natural in a given situation. I’ve occasionally been told this longer form sounds softer, but that’s just based on some people’s feelings and is not an inherent part of this pattern. The best strategy is to try to notice when people use one over the other and then copy them.

Now let’s look at how to use ~지 않아요!

Basics of ~지 않아요

Just like other endings we’ve seen, this pattern attaches to the end of a verb/adj. stem. It doesn’t matter if the stem ends with a 받침 or is irregular or whatever, the pattern doesn’t change.

가다 ⇒ 가지 않아요 (do not go)
살다 ⇒ 살지 않아요 (do not live)
춥다 ⇒ 춥지 않아요 (not cold)
나쁘다 ⇒ 나쁘지 않아요 (not bad)

Notice the space between 지 and 않아요! If texting with native speakers (or other informal settings) is your main source of input, you might get used to skipping the space. But the space is the proper form! It’s a small mistake, but you’ll lose points on official tests if you write it as all one word.

Examples:

1. 셀카를 찍지 않아요.

2. 우리 동생이 부산에 살지 않아요.

3. 가: 수요일에 몇 시에 출근하세요?
나: 수요일에는 출근하지 않아요.

4. 가: 이 귀걸이가 예쁘지 않아요?
나: 어머! 어디서 샀어요?

5. 가: 집까지 걸어갈 수 있어요?
나: 네, 집이 멀지 않아요~

1. I don’t take selfies.

2. My younger sibling does not live in Busan.

3. A: What time do you go to work on Wednesdays?
B: I do not go to work on Wednesdays.

4. A: Aren’t these earrings pretty?
B: Oh! Where did you buy them?

5. A: Can you walk home?
B: Yes, my house is not far~

Remember, this grammar pattern is for statements and questions, not for commands! If you want to tell someone “don’t do…”, use ~지 마세요 instead (see previous lesson here).

Past & Future Tense ~지 않았어요/않을 거예요

As I showed in the first examples, this can be combined with the past tense ~았/었어요. Since this form of past tense is a sentence ending, it’s applied to the end of the sentence. In this case that means the negation grammar pattern, not the verb stem.

안 했어요 = 하지 않았어요 O
했지 않아요 X

만들다 ⇒ 만들지 않았어요 (did not make)
먹다 ⇒ 먹지 않았어요 (did not eat)
연락하다 ⇒ 연락하지 않았어요 (did not get in touch with)
쓰다 ⇒ 쓰지 않았어요 (did not use)

Similarly, the pattern can be combined with the future tense ~을 거예요 to make ~지 않을 거예요. Remember, in this case the tense is applied to ~지 않다, not the verb it’s attached to.

후회하다 ⇒ 후회하지 않을 거예요 (will not regret)
쉽다 ⇒ 쉽지 않을 거예요 (will not be easy)
도와 주다 ⇒ 도와 주지 않을 거예요 (will not help)
완벽하다 ⇒ 완벽하지 않을 거예요 (will not be perfect)

Examples:

1. 저는 파마를 하지 않았어요.

2. 가: 빌리 씨 아직 오지 않았어요. 누가 전화할 수 있어요?
나: 이미 전화했어요. 그런데 받지 않았어요.

3. 가: 수업 어땠어요?
나: 아직 끝나지 않았어요.

4. 가: 닭갈비 어때요?
나: 저는 고기를 먹지 않아요.
다: 어제 인스타그램에 삼겹살 사진을 올리지 않았어요?
나: …오늘부터 고기를 먹지 않을 거예요.

1. I didn’t get a perm.

2. A: Billy still hasn’t come yet. Can someone call him?
B: I already called him. But he didn’t answer.

3. A: How was class?
B: It’s not finished yet.

4. A: How about dakgalbi?
B: I don’t eat meat.
C: Didn’t you post a photo of samgyupsal on instagram yesterday?
B: …I’m not going to eat meat starting today.

Final Notes

One more thing I want to mention is that a benefit of using ~지 않아요 over 안 is that you don’t have to think about where exactly it goes in the sentence. With 안, you have to remember to split up verbs like 공부하다 (to study), 신청하다 (to sign up), 청소하다 (to clean) in order to put 안 in front of 하다. But since ~지 않아요 just goes on the end of the verb stem, you don’t have to worry about if a word is an action verb that gets split up or not! That makes it a bit less confusing to use.