"To Have" in Korean? or "To Not Have" in Korean? That is the Question.

“To Have” in Korean? or “To Not Have” in Korean? That is the Question.

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by

Thomas
in

"To Have" in Korean? or "To Not Have" in Korean? That is the Question.

있다 “Have” in Korean

없다 “Not have” in Korean

 

있다 has countless uses in Korean. The two main uses of 있다 are “Have” and “Be/Exist at a location.” 없다 is the opposite of 있다. In English we have to say “I don’t have.” Korean has a single word for “Not have” which is 없다.

This lesson will teach you 있다 “Have” in Korean and 없다 “Not have” in Korean.
Ex. “She has a hat.” or “I have a lovely bunch of coconuts.”
“She doesn’t have a hat.” or “I don’t have a lovely bunch of coconuts.”

 

 

있다 “To have” in Korean (Present Tense)

있다 is “To have” in Korean.
So 있다 is used to say things like: “I have shoes.” or “She has a hat.”

있다 is a descriptive verb. This means 있다 describes a noun marked by the Korean subject particles 이/가.

 
 

있다 “Have” Plain Dictionary Form Sentence Structure

 있다 has not been conjugated yet and is the form you would find in the dictionary.
If a Korean verb ends in the syllable 다 then it is in the dictionary form.
The dictionary form is usually not used while speaking.

 

Sentence Structure:

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   있다

나는 신발이 있다
I는 shoes이 have.
I have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 있다
I는 hat가 have.
I have a hat.

 
 

있다 “Have” with Korean Honorifics (Present Tense)

The 있다 forms below have been conjugated based on Korean Honorifics. Korean honorifics is a system which forces the speaker to change verb endings and word choice based on the relationships of the people she or he is speaking to. People older than you, in a higher position that you, and strangers often get the higher Korean honorific speech.

These sentences structures are examples of what you can use in everyday life when speaking to people.

 

Informal Level 있어

To conjugate 있다 to the informal level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있
있 + 어 = 있어

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   있어

나는 신발이 있어
I는 shoes이 have.
I have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 있어
She는 hat가 has.
She has a hat.

Remember the pronunciation of 있어 is [이써]

 

Polite Level 있어요

To conjugate 있다 to the polite level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있
있 + 어요 = 있어요

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   있어요

나는 신발이 있어요
I는 shoes이 have.
I have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 있어요 She는 hat가 has. She has a hat.

Remember the pronunciation of 있어요 is [이써요]

 

Honorific Level 있습니다

To conjugate 있다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

있다 – 다 = 있
있 + 습니다 = 있습니다

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   있습니다

나는 신발이 있습니다
I는 shoes이 have.
I have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 있습니다 She는 hat가 has. She has a hat.

Remember the pronunciation of 있습니다 is [이씀니다]

 

Learn Korean Language Tips

If the topic is known, you don’t need to say it.
Also, if the subject is known, you don’t need to say it.

Ex.
A: Do you have shoes?
B: 나는 신발이 있어요.

Changes to:

A: Do you have shoes?
B: 신발이 있어요.

Or:

A: Do you have shoes?
B: 있어요.

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없다 “To not have” in Korean

(Present Tense)

없다 is the opposite of 있다.
없다 is “Not have” in Korean.
없다 is the dictionary form.
In English we would just add the word “don’t” before “have.”
Ex. I don’t have a car.
Korean skips the word “don’t” in this situation and just uses one word, 없다.
 
 
 

없다 “Not have” Plain Dictionary Form Sentence Structure

 없다 has not been conjugated yet and is the form you would find in the dictionary.
If a Korean verb ends in the syllable 다 then it is in the dictionary form.
The dictionary form is usually not used while speaking.
Sentence Structure:

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   없다

나는 신발이 없다
I는 shoes이 don’t have.
I don’t have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 없다
I는 hat가 doesn’t have.
She doesn’t have a hat.

 
 
 

없다 “To not have” with Korean Honorifics (Present Tense)

The 없다 forms below have been conjugated based on Korean Honorifics. Korean honorifics is a system which forces the speaker to change verb endings and word choice based on the relationships of the people she or he is speaking to. People older than you, in a higher position that you, and strangers often get the higher Korean honorific speech.

These sentences structures are examples of what you can use in everyday life when talking to people.

 

Informal Level 없어

To conjugate 없다 to the informal level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없
없 + 어 = 없어

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   없어

나는 신발이 없어
I는 shoes이 don’t have.
I don’t have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 없어
She는 hat가 doesn’t have.
She doesn’t have a hat.

Remember the pronunciation of 없어 is [업서]

 

Polite Level 없어요

To conjugate 없다 to the polite level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없
없 + 어요 = 없어요

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   없어요

나는 신발이 없어요.
I는 shoes이 don’t have.
I don’t have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 없어요.
She는 hat가 doesn’t have.
She doesn’t have a hat.

Remember the pronunciation of 없어요 is [업서요]

 

Honorific Level 없습니다

To conjugate 없다 to the honorific level follow this formula:

없다 – 다 = 없
없 + 습니다 = 없습니다

Topic은/는   Subject이/가   없습니다

나는 신발이 없습니다
I는 shoes이 don’t have.
I don’t have shoes. 
그녀는 모자가 없습니다
She는 hat가 doesn’t have.
She doesn’t have a hat.

Remember the pronunciation of 없습니다 is [업씀니다]

 

Learn Korean Language Tips

Remember if the topic is known, you don’t need to say it.
Also, if the subject is known, you don’t need to say it.

 

 

있다 “Have” Vs. 있다 “Exist/Be at a location”

Remember that 있다 has more than one meaning.
This is why it is important to use the Korean marking particles:
이/가 for when 있다 means “Have” in Korean
에(at) for when 있다 means “Exist/be at a location” in Korean
Please study these examples to see how very different the meaning of a sentence can be based on the Korean marking particle used:
나는 집에 있어요. = I am at home.
나는 집이 있어요. = I have a home.
나는 식당에 있어요. = I am at a restaurant.
나는 식당가 있어요. = I have a restaurant.

 

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