아직 안 끝났어?
a-jik an kkeun-na-sseo · literally “(You're) not finished yet?”
Situation: A friend checks in on your assignment: '아직 안 끝났어?' (You're not done yet?) You aren't done, and want to say 'No, not yet.'
✕ What AI tells you
Follows English logic: 'No, not yet' becomes '아니, 아직 안 끝났어.' and 'Yes, I'm done' becomes '응, 끝났어.'
Why it fails: Korean 응/네 and 아니/아니요 answer whether the question is right, not whether the fact is positive. Starting with 아니 tells the listener 'you're wrong', so they may think you've finished — then the rest of your sentence says the opposite.
✓ What Koreans actually say
With a negative question, agree or disagree with the question itself. If it's true (you're not done), start with 응/네. If it's wrong (you are done), start with 아니/아니요. When unsure, skip yes/no and just state the fact.
응, 아직 안 끝났어.
eung, a-jik an kkeun-na-sseo
You're still not done — agreeing with '아직 안 끝났어?'
아니, 끝났어.
a-ni, kkeun-na-sseo
You've actually finished — disagreeing with the question
네, 아직 안 먹었어요.
ne, a-jik an meo-geo-sseo-yo
Polite reply to '아직 식사 안 하셨어요?' (Haven't you eaten yet?) when you haven't
Cultural nuance, in depth
English yes and no follow the fact: if you're not done, you say 'no' whatever the question was. Korean 네 and 아니요 work more like 'Right' and 'That's not right' — they respond to the speaker's sentence. So when someone asks a negative question (아직 안 끝났어?, 안 매워요?, 내일 안 와요?), agreeing that the negative is true means saying 네/응. This trips up learners in both directions, and a mismatch can lead to real misunderstandings: a manager who hears '아니요' to '보고서 아직 안 보냈어요?' (You haven't sent the report yet?) will assume it has been sent. The safest habit is to follow 네 or 아니요 with the full verb, so the meaning survives even if the first word lands wrong: 네, 아직 안 보냈어요 / 아니요, 아까 보냈어요.
- #yes-no
- #negative-questions
- #grammar
- #misunderstood
More on daily life
- Daily Lifev0.1
괜찮아요
gwaen-cha-na-yo · “It's okay / It's fine”
AI gets it wrong:In reply to an offer, 괜찮아요 almost always means 'No thanks, I'm fine without it.' Learners also use it to accept things and end up refusing by accident.Say instead:아니요, 괜찮아요.See why → - Daily Lifev0.1
밥 먹었어요?
bap meo-geo-sseo-yo · “Did you eat (rice)?”
AI gets it wrong:Most of the time it's a casual check-in, close to 'How's it going?' The speaker usually isn't asking about your menu and isn't necessarily inviting you.Say instead:네, 먹었어요. 식사하셨어요?See why → - Daily Lifev0.3
사랑해요
sa-rang-hae-yo · “I love (you/it)”
AI gets it wrong:사랑하다 is a heavy word, used for people, family and deep devotion. Saying it about a pastry sounds like an ad slogan or an over-the-top joke rather than a natural reaction.Say instead:와, 너무 맛있어요!See why →