Lesson 13
부/불, which is written as 不 in Hanja, is the foundation for many useful words which are used every single day in Korean conversations.
부/불 (不) means “not” in English.
Sample Expressions
불 (not) + 안 (comfortable; relaxed) = 불안 不安 = anxiety; anxious
Ex)
불안해하지 마세요.
= Do not be anxious.
불 (not) + 편 (comfortable; convenient) = 불편 不便 = inconvenient; uncomfortable
Ex)
불편해요.
= It is inconvenient. / It is uncomfortable.
불 (not) + 완전 (complete) = 불완전 不完全 = incomplete
Ex)
불완전한 정보
= incomplete information
불 (not) + 균형 (balance) = 불균형 不均衡 = imbalance
Ex)
성비 불균형
= gender ratio imbalance
불 (not) + 만 (full) = 불만 不滿 = complaint
Ex)
저한테 불만 있어요?
= Do you have any complaints against me?
不 (불) is pronounced and written as 부 when the consonant that follows is either ㄷ or ㅈ.
Sample Expressions
부 (not) + 정확 (correct) = 부정확 不正確 = incorrect; inaccurate
Ex)
부정확한 발음
= inaccurate pronunciation
부 (not) + 주의 (attention) = 부주의 不注意 = carelessness
Ex)
제 부주의로 사고가 났어요.
= I was careless, so it caused an accident. / My carelessness caused an accident.
부 (not) + 당 (correct, right) = 부당 不當 = wrong; unfair; unjust
Ex)
부당한 일을 당했어요.
= Someone did something unfair to me.
부 (not) + 적절 (proper) = 부적절 不適切 = inappropriate
Ex)
부적절한 예문
= inappropriate example sentence
* Note
When 부 is understood as 副, it means “assistant”, “deputy”, or “vice” as in “vice president”.