Page 1 of 5 Learn Korean Ep. 4: To be and To exist Of course to be and to exist are different verbs, but they re often confused by beginning students when learning Korean. In English we sometimes use the verb to be to mean to exist, such as in the sentence there is a book on the table. The is in that sentence comes from the verb to be, but we understand it to mean there exists when we read it. In Korean, to be ( 이다 ) and to exist ( 있다 ) are two separate verbs entirely, so it s important to know when we re referring to something being (equaling something else) or existing. In this lesson we ll go over the differences between 이다, to be, and 아니다, to not be. We ll also cover 있다, to exist, as well as its opposite, 없다, to not exist. 이다 to be 아니다 to not be 이다 means to be, but you can also think of it as meaning to be equal to. If you wanted to say That is a cat, you would use 이다 because what you are really saying is That is equal to a cat. 그 것은 고양이예요. That is a cat. 저는 미국 사람이에요. I am an American. 저는 좋은 학생입니다. I am a good student. When using 이다, it attaches directly to the word it comes after, as you can see in the example sentences above.
Page 2 of 5 아니다 means to not be, and is therefore the opposite of 이다. While English simply turns words like to be or to exist negative by adding not, Korean sometimes has separate words for them, as you ll see again when we go over 있다 and 없다. Because 아니다 is the opposite of 이다, you can also think of it meaning to not be equal to. 그 것은 고양이가 아니에요. That is not a cat. When using 아니다, the subject marker (이 when followed by a consonant, and 가 when followed by a vowel) comes after the noun you are describing (the subject marker may be left off in casual speech). 이다, however, does not use the subject marker. 난 바보 아니야! I am not stupid! 난 is an abbreviation of 나는. This sentence would be for casual situations only. 저는 미국 사람이 아니에요. I am not an American. When using 아니다, there will be a space between itself and the word it comes after, as you can see in the example sentences above. Common conjugations for 이다 and 아니다 이다 입니다 (more polite) 입니까? (more polite as a question) 이에요 (polite when following a consonant) 예요 (polite when following a vowel) 이야 (casual when following a consonant) 야 (casual when following a vowel) 아니다 아닙니다 (more polite)
Page 3 of 5 아닙니까? (more polite as a question) 아니에요 (polite) 아니야 (casual) Note that while 이다 has different conjugations depending on whether it follows a consonant or a vowel, 아니다 does not. 있다 to exist 없다 to not exist Just as 이다 and 아니다 are opposites, 있다 and 없다 are also opposites. Because 있다 means to exist, it is commonly used to mean to have, as in I have money. 없다 is also commonly used to mean to not have, as in I do not have money. When using either of these, it s most common to use the subject marker after what it is that you re saying exists or doesn t exist. It is also fine to use the topic marker (은 after a consonant and 는 after a vowel), though this usage is less common and has a slightly different meaning; I go over the differences between the subject marker and the topic marker in Episode 9, but for the time being just use the subject marker with 있다 and 없다. 저는 돈이 많이 있어요. I have a lot of money. This seems to mean As for me, there is a lot of money, though because 있다 and 없다 can mean to have, this sentence would better translate to I have a lot of money. 많이 is an adverb that means a lot (of). An example would be the sentence, 많이 먹었어요! I ate a lot! 저는 돈이 많이 없어요. I do not have a lot of money. 저기 고양이가 있어요.
Page 4 of 5 There is a cat there. 저기 means there, as in over there. 그는 학교에 있다. He is at school. Although we re saying is in this sentence, what we mean is exists, so 있다 is used in this sentence and not 이다. If we were to write this sentence using 이다, it would mean something like this: He is equal to at school. Even if we remove at from that sentence, it is still incorrect. 에 is a marker that shows where something or someone exists at. It is also used to mean to, as in to a location (e.g. I go to school. ) I ll go over this marker more in a later lesson. 그는 학교에 없다. He is not at school. You can also think of this sentence as meaning He does not exist at school. 깨끗한 옷이 하나도 없어요. I don t have even one clean article of clothing. 깨끗하다 means to be clean. 옷 means an article of clothing, or just clothes. 하나도 means even one, since 하나 means one and 도 means even or also. 일주일 뒤에 시험이 있어요. I have a test after a week. 일주일 means a week or one week. 뒤 means after, and is also used after the word you re referring to. 시험 means a test. 그는 항상 학교에 있는 사람이에요. He is a person who is always at school. Note that this sentence uses both 있다 and 이다. 항상 is an adverb that means always. 있는 is just 있다 changed into a different form so it can be used to describe something or someone. Here, it s describing a person ( 사람 ). Changing verbs like this to describe
Page 5 of 5 other people and things is more of an advanced topic, and I ll go over it later in another lesson. Common conjugations for 있다 and 없다 있다 있습니다 (more polite as a statement) 있습니까? (more polite as a question) 있어요 (polite) 있어 (casual) 없다 없습니다 (more polite as a statement) 없습니까? (more polite as a question) 없어요 (polite) 없어 (casual) Well, that s all for this lesson. Practice by making your own sentences using what we ve gone over today. I hope this lesson could be useful in helping you to achieve your goals for learning the Korean language.