wae jibe an ga?

to go

Breakdown of wae jibe an ga?

• ~에: destination particle
• 집: home
• 왜: why
• 안: not

Questions & Answers about wae jibe an ga?

What role does 안 play in 왜 집에 안 가?

안 is the basic adverb of negation in Korean. Placed directly before the verb stem, it simply means “not.” So 안 가 = “not go,” equivalent to the more formal 가지 않다.

There’s no subject in 왜 집에 안 가. Who is being talked about?

Korean often drops the subject when it’s obvious. In this case, the implied subject is you (너/당신). So it really means “Why aren’t you going home?”

Why doesn’t the verb end with -요? How would I make it polite?

This is the plain (dictionary) form used in casual or close relationships. To make it polite, attach -요:
• Casual polite: 왜 집에 안 가요?
• Formal polite: 왜 집에 안 가십니까?

Why is 집에 used instead of just 집?

The particle 에 marks a destination or location. When you “go to” a place, you almost always add 에 (or sometimes 으로/로) after the place noun. Without 에, 집 would just be a noun with no role as destination.

Could I use 집으로 instead of 집에? Would it change the meaning?

Yes, 집으로 안 가 is grammatically correct and also marks direction (“toward home”). But 집에 가다 is by far the more common way to say “go (to) home.” 으로/로 emphasizes “toward,” while 에 simply indicates “at/to.”

What’s the difference between 안 가 and 못 가?

안 가 means “not go” by choice (volitional negation).
못 가 means “cannot go” due to inability or external obstacle (inability negation).

Why not say 왜 집에 안 가니 instead of 왜 집에 안 가?

Adding -니 (the casual interrogative ending) makes the question slightly softer or more inquisitive: 왜 집에 안 가니?
Dropping it entirely (왜 집에 안 가?) sounds blunter or more abrupt—but is common among very close friends or family.

How would I turn this into a past-tense question: “Why didn’t you go home?”

Change 가 to its past stem 갔 and keep 안 before it:
• Casual: 왜 집에 안 갔어?
• Polite: 왜 집에 안 갔어요?