Lesson 29
In this lesson, we are going to take a look at a unique way to make an affirmative sentence through a double negative. The expressions we will study are 없지 않다 and 없지 않아 있다. They have basically the same meaning and can be used interchangeably, so let us look mainly at 없지 않다 for now.
없지 않다
없다 means “to not exist” and -지 않다 makes the sentence negative. So 없지 않다 translates to “it does not NOT exist” and therefore means “it does exist”. This phrase is common in Korean because 없다 itself is a stand-alone verb, unlike in English where 없다 is only expressed through the negative form of 있다 (= to exist).
The structure of 없지 않다 is similar to the way 작지 않다 (= to be not small) is used to say, “It is big” or 쉽지 않다 (= to be not easy) is used to say, “It is difficult.” Both 없지 않다 and 없지 않아 있다 can be used to say “있다" in a softer and more careful manner. The expression is often used in the form of 없지 않죠 or 없지 않아 있죠 to express agreement with what someone has just said.
Examples
그런 경우가 없지 않아요.
= That does happen from time to time.
= There are such cases from time to time.
= 그런 경우가 가끔 있어요.
위험 요소가 없지 않죠.
= There is definitely some risk.
= There is a degree of risk.
= 위험 요소가 어느 정도 있죠.
* 위험 요소 = risk factor
Words commonly used together with 없지 않다
Some words are used frequently with the expressions 없지 않다 and 없지 않아 있다. 감 (feeling, sensation), 느낌 (sensation), 경우 (case), 경향 (tendency), 부분 (part), and 면 (aspect) are used often.
Verb stem + -(으)ㄴ/는 감이 없지 않다 = It does feel like...
Verb stem + -(으)ㄴ/는 느낌이 없지 않다 = It does feel like...
Verb stem + -(으)ㄴ/는 경우가 없지 않다 = There are certainly some cases where...
Verb stem + -(으)ㄴ/는 경향이 없지 않다 = There is some tendency to...
Verb stem + -(으)ㄴ/는 부분이 없지 않다 = There are some parts that...
Verb stem + -(으/ㄴ)ㄴ 면이 없지 않다 = There are some aspects where...
In addition to these words, the word 것 is also quite commonly used with 없지 않다 in the form of -(으)ㄴ/는 게 없지 않다. In this case, 것 is used as 게, which is the shortened form of 것이. 것 has the same meaning as 부분 (part) or 면 (aspect).
Another expression commonly used with 없지 않다 is 아무래도, which means “after much thought”, “no matter what I try”, or “I cannot deny”. 아무래도 is used either at the beginning of the sentence, as in “아무래도 그런 면이 없지 않죠”, or right before 없지 않다, as in “그런 면이 아무래도 없지 않죠.”
Sample Sentences
그런 우려가 없지 않아 있죠.
= There is certainly such a concern.
= We do have that as a concern.
* 우려 = concern
좀 비싼 느낌이 없지 않죠.
= It does feel a bit expensive.
= I do feel like it is a bit expensive.
사업을 하다 보면 아무래도 손해를 보는 경우가 없지 않죠.
= As things are when running a business, there are certainly times when you have a deficit.
= While running a business, there are certainly instances where you lose money.
* 손해를 보다 = to suffer a loss
그리고 사고가 날 가능성도 없지 않죠.
= And there is definitely the possibility that an accident will happen.
* 가능성 = possibility
가족이랑 같은 직장에서 일하면 편한 부분도 없지 않아 있죠.
= If you work with a family member at the same workplace, there are certainly convenient aspects, too.
아무래도 그런 면도 없지 않죠.
= I cannot deny that there are those aspects, too.
솔직히 말하면 그런 게 없지 않죠.
= Honestly speaking, that is true to an extent.
= Honestly speaking, that does happen from time to time.
대기업에서는 일 처리 속도가 느린 면이 없지 않죠.
= At a large corporation, there is certainly the tendency for things to get done slowly.
* 대기업 = large company, conglomerate
** 처리 = handling, processing