How to Say “Yes” and “No” in Korean: 네 [ne] and 아니요 [a-ni-yo]

How to Say “Yes” and “No” in Korean 👍👎

If you're just starting to learn Korean, knowing how to say “yes” and “no” is essential!
Let’s learn the basic and polite ways to respond like a native speaker.

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✅ How to Say “Yes” in Korean

Korean	Romanization	Meaning
네	ne	Yes

네 (ne) is the standard polite way to say “yes.”
It can also mean “I agree” or “That’s right.”

Example:
Q: 밥 먹었어요? (Did you eat?)
A: 네, 먹었어요. (Yes, I ate.)

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❌ How to Say “No” in Korean

Korean	Romanization	Meaning
아니요	aniyo	No

아니요 (aniyo) is the polite way to say “no.”
It can also mean “That’s not right” or “I disagree.”

Example:
Q: 학생이에요? (Are you a student?)
A: 아니요, 아니에요. (No, I’m not.)

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🧠 Quick Tip

Expression	Use When…
네	You agree / want to say yes
아니요	You disagree / want to say no

Casual forms:
Yes → 응 (eung)
No → 아니 (ani)
Use these only with close friends or people your age.

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Sometimes Korean and English say the opposite words for the same meaning.

Let’s look at an example:

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❓ Example Question

Korean:
너 아무 말도 안 했어?
(Did you not say anything?)

Let’s say the person really didn’t say anything.

• In English, the answer would be:
  👉 No. (I didn’t say anything.)
• In Korean, the answer would be:
  👉 응. (Yes – I agree that I didn’t say anything.)

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🧠 Why the Difference?

Language	How “Yes/No” Works
English	Based on facts/actions → "Did you?" → Yes (you did), No (you didn’t)
Korean	Based on agreement with the question → "You didn’t, right?" → 응 (yes, I agree)

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✅ Tip

When answering negative questions:

• In English: Think about the action.
• In Korean: Think about whether you agree with the question.

It may feel opposite, but you’ll get used to it!

👇👇👇👇👇See it in the video👇👇👇👇👇

https://youtube.com/shorts/DNCIe2Cawc0?si=tQjdaMZZGOo7WjCC