Lesson 9
In the previous lesson, we looked at how to use the -아/어/여도 되다 ending to tell someone that it is okay to do something or that he/she does not need/have to do something. In this lesson, you will learn the opposite: how to say “you should not…” or “you are not supposed to…” in Korean.
Conjugation
Verb stem + -(으)면 안 되다
-(으)면 안 되다 can be broken into two parts: -(으)면 and 안 되다. -(으) 면 means “if” (go to Level 2, Lesson 23 to review this), and 되다 means “to work”, “to function”, “to be possible”, or “can do”. Therefore, 안 되다 means “it cannot be done”, “it is not possible”, or “it is not okay”.
-(으)면 안 되다 literally means “it is not okay if…” or “it is not acceptable if…”, and it can be more naturally translated to “you should not…” or “you are not supposed to…” in English.
Examples
- 열다 = to open
열면 안 돼요. = You should not open it. / You are not supposed to open it.
열면 안 돼요? = Should I not open it? / Am I not supposed to open it?
열면 안 돼. = [to a child] You should not open it.
열어도 돼요. = It is okay to open it. / You can go ahead and open it.
열어도 돼요? = Can I open it?
- 만지다 = to touch
만지면 안 돼요. = You should not touch it. / You cannot touch it.
만지면 안 돼요? = [asking for permission] Am I not supposed to touch it?
만지면 안 돼. = [to a child] You should not touch it.
만져도 돼요. = It is okay to touch it. / You can go ahead and touch it.
만져도 돼요? = Can I touch it?
More Verb Conjugation Practice
- 던지다 = to throw
던지면 안 돼요.= You should not throw it.
던져도 돼요.= It is okay to throw it.
- 팔다 = to sell
팔면 안 돼요. = You should not sell it.
팔아도 돼요.= It is okay to sell it.
- 말하다 = to tell; to talk
말하면 안 돼요.= You should not tell/talk.
말해도 돼요. = It is okay to tell/talk.
Sample Sentences
지금 말하면 안 돼요?
= Shouldn’t I tell/talk now? / Am I not supposed to tell/talk now?
여기서 팔면 안 돼요?
= Shouldn’t I sell it here? / Am I not supposed to sell it here?
그거 던지면 안 돼요. 유리예요.
= You should not throw it. It is (made of) glass.