Adjectives · Regular (있다 type)

없다 conjugation

to not be (somewhere); to not have; there isn’t · eopda · sounds like [업따]

Short answer: “To not be (somewhere)” in Korean is 없다 (eopda), which also means to not have; there isn’t. Polite present: 없어요 (eopseoyo); past: 없었어요 (eopseosseoyo); future: 없을 거예요. It is regular.

Present없어요[업써요] · eopseoyo
Past없었어요[업써써요] · eopseosseoyo
Future없을 거예요[업쓸 꺼예요] · eopseul geoyeyo
Negative없지 않아요[업찌 아나요] · eopji anayo

Opposite: 있다 — to be (somewhere)

Note: the negative of 있다 is the separate word 없다 (없어요), and the other way round.

없다 in sentences

오늘은 시간이 없어요.I don’t have time today.
냉장고에 우유가 없었어요.There was no milk in the fridge.

All forms of 없다

Present
Polite (해요) is the everyday safe choice; formal (합니다) is for news, announcements and work; casual (반말) is for close friends and younger people.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-아/어요	없어요	[업써요]	eopseoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	없습니다	[업씀니다]	eopseumnida
casual-아/어	없어	[업써]	eopseo
plain (written)-다	없다	[업따]	eopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	없습니까?	[업씀니까]	eopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	없었어요	[업써써요]	eopseosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	없었습니다	[업썯씀니다]	eopseotseumnida
casual-았/었어	없었어	[업써써]	eopseosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	없었다	[업썯따]	eopseotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will probably be-(으)ㄹ 거예요	없을 거예요	[업쓸 꺼예요]	eopseul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	없을 겁니다	[업쓸 껌니다]	eopseul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	없을 거야	[업쓸 꺼야]	eopseul geoya

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (long)-지 않아요	없지 않아요	[업찌 아나요]	eopji anayo

Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
honorific — present-(으)세요	없으세요	[업쓰세요]	eopseuseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	없으셨어요	[업쓰셔써요]	eopseusyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	없으십니다	[업쓰심니다]	eopseusimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	없고	[업꼬]	eopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	없어서	[업써서]	eopseoseo
if …-(으)면	없으면	[업쓰면]	eopseumyeon
… but-지만	없지만	[업찌만]	eopjiman
because …-(으)니까	없으니까	[업쓰니까]	eopseunikka
… and / but (background)-는데	없는데	[엄는데]	eomneunde
even if …-아/어도	없어도	[업써도]	eopseodo
while …-(으)면서	없으면서	[업쓰면서]	eopseumyeonseo

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that) …-는	없는	[엄는]	eomneun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	없을	[업쓸]	eopseul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	없을 수 있어요	[업쓸 쑤 이써요]	eopseul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	없을 수 없어요	[업쓸 쑤 업써요]	eopseul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	없어야 해요	[업써야 해요]	eopseoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	없어도 돼요	[업써도 돼요]	eopseodo dwaeyo
…ing (noun)-기	없기	[업끼]	eopgi

How 없다 changes

없다 is built on 있다 / 없다, so like a verb it describes with -는: 없는, 없는데. Its other endings are regular: 없어요, 없으면.

How every verb type works → · Why it sounds like that →

Questions

How do you say “to not be” in Korean?

“To not be (somewhere)” is 없다 (eopda), pronounced [업따]. In a sentence: 오늘은 시간이 없어요. — I don’t have time today.

What is the past tense of 없다?

없었어요 (eopseosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 없다 (“to not be (somewhere)”). Formal: 없었습니다; casual: 없었어.

How do you say 없다 politely?

Everyday polite: 없어요 (eopseoyo). Formal: 없습니다. Casual, with close friends: 없어.

Is 없다 irregular?

No. 없다 is built on 있다 / 없다, so like a verb it describes with -는: 없는, 없는데. Its other endings are regular: 없어요, 없으면.

More 있다 / 없다 words like 없다

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Forms follow 한글 맞춤법 (Korean spelling rules); pronunciation follows 표준 발음법 and romanization follows 국어의 로마자 표기법 (Revised Romanization). Last updated October 16, 2026. How we check