안 좋아
an joa
In Korean, "not good" is said as 안 좋아 (an joa).
The phrase is used to describe something that is of poor quality or a situation that is unpleasant. You can also use 나쁜 품질의 specifically when discussing the poor quality of a product or service.
What does it mean word for word?
In the form 안 좋아, the particle 안 means "not" and 좋아 is the conjugated form of the verb 좋다, which means "to be good".
Which one should you use?
While 안 좋아 describes the state or quality of an object or situation, you should use 안 좋아해 to express that a person "does not like" something. If you wish to express a mild or neutral opinion rather than a direct statement of poor quality, you can use 별로입니다.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase polite, you can add the suffix -요 to 안 좋아 to get 안 좋아요. In highly formal contexts, the form 안 좋습니다 is used. Note that 안 좋아해 is a different grammatical construction used to mean "don't like (it)" rather than describing a state.
How do you pronounce it?
an joa
Did you know?
- In Korean culture, saying something is 'not good' is often considered too blunt, so people frequently use 별로 to soften the blow.
- The root verb 좋다 is used not only for quality but also to describe weather or a person's mood, making 안 좋아 an ambiguous phrase depending on the context.
- The word 안 used in 안 좋아 is a contraction of 아니, a word that dates back to Old Korean.
Examples in context
- 식당의 서비스가 안 좋았습니다.The restaurant's service was not good.
- 이 영화 별로야.This movie is not good.
- 상태가 안 좋아.sangtaega an joa.The condition is not good.
- 기분이 안 좋아.gibuni an joa.I am in a bad mood.
- 날씨가 별로 안 좋아.nalssiga byeollo an joa.The weather is not very good.
Example conversation
Minjun and Jieun are talking about a movie they just watched.
- 민준 Min-jun지은아, 이 영화 어때?jieuna, i yeonghwa eotte?Jieun, what do you think of this movie?
- 지은 Ji-eun내 생각에 스토리가 안 좋아.nae saenggage seutoriga an joa.I think the story is not good.
- 민준 Min-jun맞아, 너무 지루해.maja, neomu jiruhae.True, it's too boring.
- 지은 Ji-eun시간이 너무 아까워.sigani neomu akkawa.It's such a waste of time.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 안, CC BY-SA 4.0.
