한 Learn Korean Online Hub

Have and have not

Day 7 of 90~10 minAsk whether something is there and say you have it
Romanisation help

One verb today, and it does two jobs: 있어요 (isseoyo) means both 'there is' and 'I have', and 없어요 (eopseoyo) means both 'there is not' and 'I do not have'. With them you can ask whether a shop has something, whether someone is free, and whether something is fun or tasty.

There is, I have

Put a noun in front and you have a question or an answer:

isseoyo.
There is. / I have (it).
The ㅆ links over to the next syllable: i-sseo-yo.
eopseoyo.
There is not. / I do not have (it).
Written with ㅄ: the ㅂ closes the first syllable and the ㅅ starts the second, so eop-seo-yo.
mul isseoyo?
Is there any water? / Do you have water?
물 is water. Just the noun and 있어요, with a rising tone.
igeo isseoyo?
Do you have this?
Day 4's 이거, with a photo or a sample in your hand. Ideal in shops.
Why it works

Korean has no separate verb for possession. To say you have water it says that water exists, with you understood as the place where it exists, so 물 있어요 covers both 'there is water' and 'I have water'. The thing that exists is the subject, which is why, when a marker appears, it is day 4's 이/가: 물이 있어요. And as with 모르다 on day 5, the negative is a verb of its own, 없어요, not 있어요 with a not in front.

Having time

The same verb is how Koreans ask whether you are free:

sigan isseoyo?
Are you free? / Do you have time?
시간 is time. Often the start of an invitation, so expect a suggestion to follow.
sigan eopseoyo.
I have no time.
Blunt on its own. Put day 6's 죄송해요 in front to soften it.
gwaenchanayo, sigan isseoyo.
It is fine, I have time.
Day 5's 괜찮아요, reassuring someone who has apologised for keeping you.
jilmun isseoyo?
Any questions?
질문 is question. Teachers say it at the end of a class; 네, 있어요 means you have one.
Why it works

None of these sentences says who has the time, and none needs to. Korean leaves out anything the situation already makes clear, so I, you and it disappear from most everyday speech. 시간 있어요? to a friend can only mean 'do you have time', and 시간 있어요 in reply can only mean 'I do'. Markers drop out in the same way in conversation, which is why you hear 시간 있어요 far more often than 시간이 있어요.

Fun and tasty

Add 있어요 or 없어요 to a noun and you get a description:

jaemiisseoyo.
It is fun. / It is interesting.
재미 is fun or interest, so literally 'fun exists'. Films, lessons, people and places can all be 재미있어요.
jaemieopseoyo.
It is boring.
'Fun does not exist.' Fine about a film; said about a person, it stings.
masisseoyo.
It is delicious.
맛 is taste, so 'taste exists'. The single most useful compliment in Korea.
madeopseoyo.
It does not taste good.
Note the d: ma-deop-seo-yo. Better thought than said at someone's table.
Why it works

Korean builds many descriptions this way: a noun that names a quality, plus 있다 or 없다 to say whether the quality is present. 재미있어요 is 'fun exists' and 맛없어요 is 'taste does not exist', where English needs separate adjectives such as fun and boring, tasty and tasteless. Because each pair shares its noun, learning one word gives you its opposite for free. The two parts have fused into a single word, written without a space, and they now behave as one descriptive verb.

joesonghamnida.
I am sorry.
yeogiyo.
Excuse me (over here).
cheoncheonhi malhae juseyo.
Please speak slowly.
arayo.
I know.

📋 Today’s words 12

isseoyo.
There is. / I have (it).
eopseoyo.
There is not. / I do not have (it).
mul isseoyo?
Is there any water? / Do you have water?
igeo isseoyo?
Do you have this?
sigan isseoyo?
Are you free? / Do you have time?
sigan eopseoyo.
I have no time.
gwaenchanayo, sigan isseoyo.
It is fine, I have time.
jilmun isseoyo?
Any questions?
jaemiisseoyo.
It is fun. / It is interesting.
jaemieopseoyo.
It is boring.
masisseoyo.
It is delicious.
madeopseoyo.
It does not taste good.

Check yourself

8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.

🖌 Writing practice optional