안녕하세요? In this lesson, I'll teach you how to say "existence" in Korean. You will also learn the opposite expression as well. By the way, N means a noun throughout my lessons! Don't forget to download the free printable PDF worksheet to practice your Korean!
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1. Words
있다 exist: There is / There are / to have
있다 is an adjective that is used to describe "existence". So it can mean "to have" or "There is/are" depending on context. Even though we write it as "있다," we read it as [이따]. That is because the final consonant ㅆ affects ㄷ. The ㄷ became the strong, double consonant ㄸ. By the way, 있다 can work as a verb too. In that case, it means "to stay."
없다 not exist: There is not / There are not / There is no / not have
없다 is an antonym of 있다. So, it means "not have" or "There is no." 없 has two letters in the final consonant position, ㅂ(b) and ㅅ(s). ㅂ remains where it is. ㅅ affects ㄷ and turns it into ㄸ. So, we read it as [업따]/
책상 desk
의자 chair
연필 pencil
지우개 eraser
시계 clock/watch
휴대폰 cell phone, smartphone
2. Exist
N이/가 있어요. = I have a N. / There is a N.
이/가 is what we call the subject marker. You attach it to a noun and make that noun the subject of the sentence. 있어요 is the present tense form of 있다. When we use a verb, we can't just use its basic form. We should use the conjugated form. The expression "N이/가 있어요." means "have N" or "There is/are N" depending on context. Please click the speaker icon to listen to the expressions in Korean!
The noun "책상" ends with the final consonant "ㅇ". That is why we add 이 to it. "의자" has no final consonant at the end. So we attach 가.
3. Not Exist
N이/가 없어요 = I don't have N. / There is no N.
없다 reveals "not exist". So, it means "There is no" or "do not have." The present tense form of 없다 is 없어요. The expression "N이/가 없어요." means "not have N" or "There is no N" depending on context.
4. Question and Answer
To say a question form like"Do you have N?" or "Is there N?", you can use the same expression "N이/가 있어요" just with the question mark. Please click the speaker buttons to listen and repeat!
Can you hear how the intonation changed compared to the statements? Even though it is the same sentence in writing, the intonations are different when there is a period or a question mark. To answer, yes or no, you can use 네 or 아니요 like below.
네, 책상이 있어요. Yes, I have a desk.
네, 의자가 있어요. Yes, I have a chair.
아니요, 책상이 없어요. No, I don't have a desk.
아니요, 의자가 없어요. No, I don't have a chair.
However, it is unnecessary to repeat the same noun in the answers. It is because the speaker and listener both already know what they are talking about. You can just answer like below! Pretty simple, right?
네, 있어요. Yes, I have.
아니요, 없어요. No, I don't have.
In daily conversations, you can omit the subject marker 이/가 as well. Yes, a lot of things can be disappeared! People want to say things quickly. That is why there are so many omissions in talking. You can just say "N 있어요?"
책상 있어요? Do you have a desk? / Is there a desk?
의자 있어요? Do you have a chair? / Is there a chair?
5. Examples
Here are some examples for you. Try to read the sentences aloud as you go through. Also, use other nouns you've learned to make your own sentences!
1
저는 연필이 있어요. = 연필이 있어요. I have a pencil.
The sentence starts with 저는 which shows this sentence is about myself. But when the subject or the topic of the sentence is obvious, we can omit it. So, it is unnecessary to say "저는" when talking about yourself. People will know the context.
2
제프 씨, 시계가 있어요? Jeff, do you have a watch?
You can call someone somewhat politely by adding the word "씨" to their name. It is important to address someone by a proper appellation. If you want to know more about it, please check out the post "How to address Korean properly."
3
당신은 연필이 있어요? = 연필이 있어요? Do you have a pencil?
당신 (you) can be omitted in question. When you ask someone directly, "you" is included in context. Also, 당신 is not a super polite word, so it will be better just to say, "연필이 있어요?"
4
가: 시계 있어요? Do you have a watch?
나: 네, 있어요. Yes, I have.
You can omit 이/가 in a daily conversation. Of course, it is good to practice the proper grammar using 이/가. If we add 이 or 가 to 시계 which one do we have to use in this case? (The answer is 가 because 시계 ends with a vowel.)
5
가: 지우개가 있어요? Do you have an eraser?
나: 아니요, 없어요. No, I don't.
The full answer will be "아니요, 저는 지우개가 없어요." However, it is obvious you are talking about yourself and we know we are talking about an eraser, too. So all I and eraser (저는 지우개가) part can be gone.
6
가: 휴대폰이 있어요? Do you have a phone?
나: 네, 휴대폰이 있어요. Yes, I do.
가: 잠깐 빌려도 돼요? May I borrow it for a second?
휴대폰 is a cellular phone or smartphone. For smartphones, people also use the word "스마트폰" like in English. Shortly, people also just use the word "폰 (phone)." By the way, you can memorize the last sentence as a chunk to ask someone to borrow a thing. 잠깐 means for a second or shortly.
6. Wrap-up & Worksheets: "Have" in Korean
"N이/가 있어요." is an expression to say "have N" or "There is/are N."
"N이/가 없어요." is to say "not have N" or "There is no N."
Along with 이다 (이에요) and 아니다 (아니예요), "있어요" and "없어요" are fundamental expressions to know. Please download the free printable PDF Korean worksheets to practice these 있어요 and 없어요 expressions!
이/가 있어요 practice worksheet
이/가 있어요 quiz worksheet
How was the lesson today? (오늘 수업은 어땠나요?) Thank you for studying with My Korean Lesson! See you at the next lesson! 🤗 You'll learn about the Korean present tense!
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