Basics - Lesson 9 - Using Negative Copulas Lesson


<< Previous Lesson Next Lesson >>

Negative Copula

In Korean, when you are trying to say something is not something else, we use the negative copula anieyo. For instance, When saying 'A is not B', we would say :-

cho-nun songsaengnim-i anieyo ( I am not a teacher ).
hanguk hakkwa-ga anieyo ( Not the Korean department ).



 

Answering questions with Yes and No in Korean

This is a tricky aspect of the Korean language, it is quite different to how we would speak in English.
For example: -
Question in English = "Do you like Korea ?"
Answer in English = "Yes I do like it" or "No i dont"
Answer in Korean = "No, I do like it" or "Yes i dont"

As you can see...it can be confusing at first, so you will need to think carefully.


 

Where is it?

When asking where something is in Korean, you would say (X-subject) odieyo?
However, it is also possible to say (X-subject) odi issoyo?

When answering a Where is question, you must always use issoyo as a verb such that:-
hakkyo-ga kogi issoyo ( the school is over there ).


 

Using Korean sentences with but....

We have previously seen that shillye hamnida and the equivalent shillye-jiman mean "Excuse me,but" or "I'm Sorry, but...." .
There are lots of verbs where you may attach -jiman onto, here are a few of them:-

ka- ( go )   ka-jiman ( goes, but .......)  
ha- ( do )   ha-jiman ( does,but......)  
sa- ( buy )   sa-jiman ( buys,but.....)  
iss- ( is/are, have )   it-jiman ( has,but....)  
mashi- ( drink )   mashi-jiman ( drinks,but.....)  
mok- ( eat )   mok-jiman ( eats, but.......)  
anj- (sit )   anj-jiman ( sits, but.....)  


Note that for the word iss-jiman the double ss is re-written to itjiman


 

Using polite requests

In Korean, the word chom is used to mean "please", however do not mistake it to mean the same as the English word for please for all occurances. For instance, when you use chom in a request immediately before the verb at the end of the sentence, it takes on the effect of please.
It is most frequently using in relation to chu- when making requests, for example
Han songsaengnim chom pakkwo-juseyo( Can I speak to Mr Han ), or you might use it in Soju chom chuseyo ( Please give me the Soju ). As you can see, chom may be used to soften up requests by making it more polite.




<< Previous Lesson Next Lesson >>


Donate just £2 to use to help keep us FREE.

Korean city of seoul
92 out of 100 based on 17798 user ratings

Beginner classes online

History and significance of Hangul

Sunday, January 11, 2026
19659 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Learn Hangul: The Heart of the Korean Language

Sunday, January 11, 2026
17480 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 1 - Hangul Alphabet System

Sunday, January 11, 2026
14719 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 2 - Double Vowels (모음)

Sunday, January 11, 2026
18559 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 3 - Use of Consonants and Vowels

Sunday, January 11, 2026
18475 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 4 - Grammar

Sunday, January 11, 2026
13920 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 5 - Sentence Structure and order

Sunday, January 11, 2026
14032 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 6 - Asking for things

Sunday, January 11, 2026
12681 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Basics - Lesson 7 - Korean Names and Topics

Sunday, January 11, 2026
10762 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 8 - More on Grammar

Sunday, January 11, 2026
14673 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Basics - Lesson 9 - Using Negative Copulas

Sunday, January 11, 2026
17178 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 10 - Numbers and Counting

Sunday, January 11, 2026
18147 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 11 - Using -seyo

Sunday, January 11, 2026
11350 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 12 - Grammar 1 + 2

Sunday, January 11, 2026
16662 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 13 - Grammar 3 + 4

Sunday, January 11, 2026
13667 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 14 - Grammar 5 + 6

Sunday, January 11, 2026
12203 Shares
Completed? -
Beginner classes online

Lesson 15 - Family Members

Sunday, January 11, 2026
10136 Shares
Completed? -