지 않다 (not, don't - formal)

This pattern is often called "long negation" because it takes up more space than the "short negation" 안. It attaches directly to the stem of a verb or an adjective. The best part? It does not matter if the stem ends in a vowel or a consonant. The rule stays exactly the same for everyone. Once you attach 지 to the stem, the word 않다 becomes the part that does all the heavy lifting. You will conjugate 않다 to show tense and politeness. For example, in the present tense, it becomes 지 않아요. In the past, it shifts to 지 않았어요. It acts like an anchor at the end of your sentence, providing a clear and firm negative meaning that is hard to miss.

1. 1Creating a negative sentence with 지 않다 is a simple three-step process that works every single time.
2. 2First, find your base verb or adjective and strip away the 다. This leaves you with the stem. For 먹다 (to eat), the stem is 먹. For 가다 (to go), it is 가.
3. 3Next, attach 지 directly to that stem. Now you have 먹지 or 가지. This part never changes, no matter who you are talking to or when the action happened.
4. 4Finally, add the auxiliary verb 않다 and conjugate it. If you want to be polite but friendly (A2 level favorite), you use 않아요. So, 먹다 becomes 먹지 않아요 (I don't eat).
5. 5If you are talking about the past, you change the ending of 않다 to 않았어요. So, 먹지 않았어요 means "I did not eat." For the future, use 않을 거예요. It is like a modular toy—just swap the ending of 않다 to fit your needs!

Use 지 않다 when you want to sound professional, objective, or slightly more formal. It is the standard choice for writing, such as in emails, essays, or reports. If you are in a job interview and need to say you don't have a specific skill yet, 그 기술은 아직 가지고 있지 않아요 sounds much more professional than the shorter version. It is also great for making general statements or describing facts. For instance, if you are a tour guide explaining that "this museum does not open on Mondays," you would use 열지 않아요. It provides a nice rhythmic balance to your sentences, especially when using longer verbs like those ending in 하다. It keeps the negation clearly separated at the end, making it very easy for the listener to follow your logic.

While it is versatile, do not use it for "cannot." If you want to say you are unable to do something, you need 지 못하다 or 못. 지 않다 is strictly about the lack of action or state, not the lack of ability. Also, be careful with common verbs that have their own special negative counterparts. For example, 있다 (to exist/have) usually negates to 없다, and 알다 (to know) negates to 모르다. Saying 알지 않아요 is grammatically possible but sounds very stiff and unnatural in most conversations. Think of it like saying "I am in a state of not knowing" instead of just "I don't know." Use it sparingly with very close friends or younger siblings, or you might sound like you are giving a lecture rather than having a chat!

One of the biggest trip-ups for learners is forgetting to conjugate the 않다 part. You cannot just say 저는 고기를 먹지 않다. That is like saying "I meat eat not." Always remember to add the polite ending ~아요 or ~습니다. Another common error is trying to use both 안 and 지 않다 in the same sentence. Stick to one! 안 먹지 않아요 would mean "I don't not eat," which is a double negative and probably not what you meant to say. Also, watch out for the spelling of 않다. It is spelled with a ㅎ at the bottom. It is a silent hero in pronunciation but very important for your spelling tests. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes when they are typing fast, so don't be too hard on yourself!

The main rival here is 안. The difference is mostly about "flavor" and length. 안 is short, punchy, and casual. It goes *before* the verb: 안 먹어요. 지 않다 is long, formal, and goes *after* the stem: 먹지 않아요. For 하다 verbs, 안 usually splits the word: 공부 안 해요. But 지 않다 stays neatly at the end: 공부하지 않아요. This makes 지 않다 much easier to use with complex verbs because you don't have to worry about where to stick the 안. It is like the difference between wearing sneakers (안) and wearing leather shoes (지 않다). Both get you where you are going, but they send a different message about where you are.