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Don't do it: Negative commands

You can tell someone not to do something with a negative command.

Building negative commands

Section titled “Building negative commands”

Action Verb Stem + 지 말다

  1. Get the action verb stem.
  2. Attach 지 말다, and conjugate it.

하지 마세요.

Don't do it.

가지 마세요.

Don't go.

저를 미워하지 마세요.

Don't hate me.

저를 보지 말아 주세요.

Please don't look at me.

포기하지 마.

Don't give up. (Casual)

Note: 지 마 is only acceptable in casual speech (반말).

그건 먹지 마요.

Don't eat that. (Informal polite)

Note: 지 마요 is only acceptable in informal polite speech (존댓말).

This 지 말다 form also works with other grammar forms:

가지 말까요?

Shall I not go?

계란을 사지 말자.

Let's not buy eggs.

Section titled “Related concepts: 아니고 and 말고”

You can use 아니고 and 말고 when you want to say “not (noun)”. These are usually used between two nouns for this purpose.

Using 아니고

Section titled “Using 아니고”

아니고 comes from the descriptive verb 아니다 (to not be), and literally means “it's not... and...”.

Noun이/가 아니고:

저는 한국인이 아니고 독일인이에요.

I'm German, not Korean.

Using 말고

Section titled “Using 말고”

말고 comes from the action verb 말다 (to stop doing, to not do) and literally means “don't do... but...".

Noun 말고:

콜라 말고 물을 주세요.

Give me water, not cola.

Sources & References