To say something does not exist or that you do not have it, Korean does not negate 있다 — it switches to a completely different word, 없다. Just as 이다's negative is the separate word 아니다, 있다's negative is the separate word 없다. There is no productive ×안 있다; the negation here is lexical. This page is the full paradigm of 없다 across the four speech levels, and it mirrors 있다 form-for-form — including the verbal attributive 없는 (never ×없은).
The stem and its harmony
The stem is 없-, ending in the double batchim ㅄ (ㅂ + ㅅ). Vowel harmony gives 어 (the stem vowel ㅓ is neither ㅏ nor ㅗ), so 없 + 어요 → 없어요 — pronounced ㅂ stays as the coda while the ㅅ liaises onto the following vowel and tenses. Every polite form below is built on that.
The full paradigm
Rows are tense/aspect; columns are the four speech levels. Each cell shows Hangul with its Revised-Romanization reading beneath.
| Tense / aspect | 해요체 (polite) | 합니다체 (formal) | 반말 (casual) | 한다체 (plain/written) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | 없어요 eopseoyo | 없습니다 eopseumnida | 없어 eopseo | 없다 eopda |
| Present question | 없어요? eopseoyo | 없습니까? eopseumnikka | 없어? eopseo | 없냐? / 없니? eomnya / eomni |
| Past | 없었어요 eopseosseoyo | 없었습니다 eopseotseumnida | 없었어 eopseosseo | 없었다 eopseotda |
| Future / conjecture | 없겠어요 eopgesseoyo | 없겠습니다 eopgetseumnida | 없겠어 eopgesseo | 없겠다 eopgetda |
| Probable future (-을 거예요) | 없을 거예요 eopseul geoyeyo | 없을 겁니다 eopseul geomnida | 없을 거야 eopseul geoya | 없을 것이다 eopseul geosida |
| Attributive (present) | 없는 — eomneun (맛없는 음식, 재미없는 책, 없는 사람) — the verbal -는, never ×없은 | |||
| Connectives | 없고 (eopgo, "and") · 없어서 (eopseoseo, "so / because") · 없으면 (eopseumyeon, "if") · 없으니까 (eopseunikka, "since") | |||
The negation is lexical, not 안
This is the point English speakers most need to hear. To turn 있어요 ("there is") negative, you do not say ×안 있어요 — that is unnatural. You swap the whole word for 없어요. Korean draws its most basic negatives from dedicated lexical items rather than a productive prefix:
| Affirmative | Negative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 있다 | 없다 | there is → there isn't / have → don't have |
| 이다 | 아니다 | is → isn't (identity) |
| 알다 | 모르다 | know → don't know |
지금은 시간이 없어요.
jigeumeun sigani eopseoyo
I don't have time right now.
냉장고에 우유가 없어요.
naengjanggoe uyuga eopseoyo
There's no milk in the fridge.
Why the attributive is 없는, not 없은
Like 있다, 없다 patterns as a verb when it modifies a noun, so its present attributive is the verbal -는 → 없는 (pronounced [엄는]), never ×없은. That is why the "un-fun / tasteless" compounds are 맛없는, 재미없는, 멋없는 — mirroring 맛있는, 재미있는 exactly. The 있다/없다 pair moves as a unit: same harmony vowel, same -는 attributive, opposite meaning.
이 영화 진짜 재미없는 영화야.
i yeonghwa jinjja jaemieomneun yeonghwaya
This movie is a genuinely boring one. (casual)
여기 아무도 없는 것 같아요.
yeogi amudo eomneun geot gatayo
It seems like there's no one here.
Both senses: existence/location and possession
사장님은 지금 자리에 없습니다.
sajangnimeun jigeum jarie eopseumnida
The boss isn't at his desk right now. (formal)
저는 아직 차가 없어요.
jeoneun ajik chaga eopseoyo
I don't have a car yet.
어제는 아무 일도 없었어요.
eojeneun amu ildo eopseosseoyo
Nothing happened yesterday.
Just like 있다, the negated existence marks the thing with 이/가 (차가, 시간이) — never 을/를. "I don't have a car" is "as-for-me, a car doesn't exist."
The honorific counterparts
When the subject is honored, 없다 also splits in two, parallel to 계시다 vs 있으시다: an honored person who is absent uses 안 계시다 (사장님은 안 계세요, "the boss isn't in"); an honored person who lacks something uses 없으시다 (아버님은 시간이 없으세요, "Father doesn't have time"). The person-vs-possession split is the same one 있다 makes.
Common Mistakes
1. Saying ×안 있어요 for "there isn't." The negation is lexical — use 없어요.
❌ 지금 시간이 안 있어요.
Wrong — 'there isn't / don't have' is 없어요, not ×안 있어요.
✅ 지금 시간이 없어요.
jigeum sigani eopseoyo
I don't have time right now.
2. Using ×없은 for the present modifier. 없다 takes the verbal -는.
❌ 재미없은 책이었어요.
Wrong — the present attributive is 없는: 재미없는 책.
✅ 재미없는 책이었어요.
jaemieomneun chaegieosseoyo
It was a boring book.
3. Marking the thing with 을/를. With 없다, the thing you lack is the subject (이/가).
❌ 저는 차를 없어요.
Wrong — 없다 takes an 이/가 subject: 차가 없어요.
✅ 저는 차가 없어요.
jeoneun chaga eopseoyo
I don't have a car.
4. Over-honoring absence with 없으시다. For an honored person who isn't present, use 안 계시다, not 없으세요.
❌ 할아버지는 지금 집에 없으세요.
Wrong — for an absent honored person use 안 계세요, not 없으세요.
✅ 할아버지는 지금 집에 안 계세요.
harabeojineun jigeum jibe an gyeseyo
Grandfather isn't home right now.
Key Takeaways
- 없다 is the suppletive negative of 있다 — a single word meaning "doesn't exist / doesn't have," not ×안 있다.
- Stem 없- takes 어 by harmony → 없어요; the formal is 없습니다 [업씀니다].
- The present attributive is the verbal -는 → 없는 (맛없는, 재미없는), never ×없은.
- It covers both existence/location and possession (thing marked 이/가), and its honorifics are 안 계시다 (absent person) and 없으시다 (honored person who lacks).
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- 있다 (to exist / to have): Full ParadigmTOPIK 1 — The complete look-up paradigm of 있다 — Korean's one verb for both 'there is / is at' and 'I have' — across all four speech levels, with the crucial detail that it takes the verbal -는 attributive (있는, never ×있은), which is exactly why it's 재미있는, not ×재미있은.
- 계시다 vs 있으시다: Honorific Existence TableTOPIK 3 — The two honorific counterparts of 있다 that English collapses into one 'be': 계시다 honors a PERSON who is present, while 있으시다 honors an OWNER whose possession exists — so a question or an amount of time can be 있으시다 but can never 계시다.
- Negation Table: 안, 못, -지 않다, -지 못하다TOPIK 1 — Korean's four negation strategies laid out as SHORT (pre-verbal 안 / 못) vs LONG (-지 않다 / -지 못하다), with the split English merges: 안 = choosing not to, 못 = being unable to. Plus the three traps — 못 doesn't negate adjectives, 하다-verbs split under 안, and 'don't!' is -지 마세요, not 안.
- Words That Are Already Negative: 없다, 아니다, 모르다TOPIK 1 — A closed set of verbs whose negation is a whole different word — 있다→없다, 이다→아니다, 알다→모르다 — so 안 and -지 않다 are blocked, plus the 이/가 complement 아니다 demands.
- Possession Patterns: 있다/없다 with 이/가TOPIK 1 — Korean has no verb 'to have' — it says '[owner]은/는 [thing]이/가 있다/없다,' literally 'as-for-me, the thing exists.' The possessed thing is the grammatical subject with 이/가, never an object with 을/를 — the case frame that surprises every English speaker.