Example Sentences#

1. 차라리 카페 가서 수다 떠는 게 낫지 않아?¹
   Wouldn’t it be better to go to a cafe and chat instead?

   • 낫다 means ‘to be better’.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

2. 오늘도 내리지 않은 결심이²
   Today, once again, an unmade decision

   • 내리다 means ‘to lower’, ‘to bring down’, or ‘to make (a decision)’.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

3. 앨리스: “하지만 저는 미친 사람들 사이에 가고 싶지 않아요,” 앨리스가 말했다.³
   Alice: “But I don’t want to go among mad people,” said Alice.

   • 싶다 is an adjective meaning ‘to be desirous of’, and when used after the connective ending -고, it expresses a desire to do something or to be in a certain state.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

4. 얼마 지나지 않아 전쟁이 일어났고, 젊은이들이 군대로 갔습니다.⁴
   Not long after, war broke out, and the young men went to the army.

   • 지나다 means ‘to pass (time)’.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

5. 하지만 얼마 지나지 않아 맹인은 두 개씩 집어먹기 시작했다.⁵
   But not long after, the blind man began eating two at a time.

   • 지나다 means ‘to pass (time)’.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

6. 이 모든 게 이어져, 끝나지 않는 춤⁶
   All of this connects, a never-ending dance

   • 끝나다 means ‘to end’ or ‘to finish’ in an intransitive sense. It is formed from 끝 (end) and 나다 (to emerge, appear, or occur), indicating that the action happens by itself without an external agent.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

7. 길 남기지 않는 발자국 되고파⁷
   I want to be footprints that leave no trail

   • 남기다 means ‘to leave behind’ or ‘to leave remaining’. It is the causative form of 남다 (to remain), formed by adding the causative suffix -기-.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

8. 우리는 끝없는 검은 바다 한가운데 있는 고요한 무지의 섬에 살고 있으며, 멀리 나가는 것은 우리에게 맞지 않았습니다.⁸
   We live on a quiet island of ignorance in the middle of an endless black sea, and it was not meant for us to venture far.

   • 맞다 means ‘to be suitable’.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

9. 그들은 여자를 만지지 않기로 다짐했기 때문이다.⁹
   They had promised not to touch a woman.

   • 만지다 means ‘to touch’.
   • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

10. 그러나 그의 승리는 길지 않았습니다.¹⁰
    However, his victory did not last long.

    • 길다 means ‘to be long’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

11. “아이가 호랑이를 무서워하지 않네?”¹¹
    “Oh, the baby isn’t scared of the tiger?”

    • 무서워하다 means ‘to be scared of’. It is derived from the adjective 무섭다 (to be scary) using the pattern -어하다, which transforms adjectives into verbs to describe the feeling or perception of an emotion from an external viewpoint.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

12. 맨날 카페만 가면 지겹지 않아?¹
    Aren’t you tired of always going to cafes?

    • 지겹다 means ‘to be boring’ or ‘to be tedious’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

13. 멈추지 않고 나아가고 싶어²
    I want to keep moving forward

    • 멈추다 means ‘to stop’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

14. “그렇지 않으면 여기에 오지 않았을 테니까.”³
    “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come.”

    • 그렇다 means ‘to be so’ or ‘to be like that’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

15. 노인의 아들은 다리가 부러져 군대로 가지 않았습니다.⁴
    The old man’s son did not go to the army because he broke his leg.

    • 가다 means ‘to go’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

16. “아니에요, 저는 그러지 않았어요.⁵
    “No, I didn’t do that.

    • 그러다 is a verb meaning ‘to do so’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

17. 과학은 각자 다른 방향으로 나아가고 있으며, 지금까지는 우리에게 큰 해를 끼치지 않았습니다.⁸
    Each science is progressing in different directions and has not caused us great harm until now.

    • 끼치다 means ‘to cause’ or ‘to inflict’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

18. 그는 말없이 따라갔고, 한 시간 동안 아무 말도 하지 않았다.⁹
    He followed silently, and did not say a word for an hour.

    • 하다 means ‘to say’ in this context.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.

19. 그러나 그의 힘은 큰, 움직이지 않는 산에 부딪히면서 약해졌습니다.¹⁰
    However, his power weakened as he hit a big, immovable mountain.

    • 움직이다 means ‘to move’.
    • -지 않다 is a negation pattern, with 지 attached to the verb stem and 않다 as an auxiliary verb for negation.