Lesson 24
In Level 2 Lesson 30, you learned how to use -지 마세요 after verb stems to tell someone NOT to do something. The key verb of -지 마세요 is 말다, which means “to not do something” or “to drop the intention of doing something”.
Ex)
가지 마세요. = Do not go.
하지 마세요. = Do not do it.
방해하지 마세요. = Do not interrupt me.
In this lesson, you will learn to use the verb 말다 in the form “말고” to make expressions such as “not this one but THAT one”, “not here but over there”, or “do not buy it, and use this one [instead]”.
* Note that -고 is the same ending in the word 그리고, meaning “and”.
Conjugation
When saying “not A, but B” where A is a noun and B is a noun, use 말고 between the two nouns.
Ex) A 말고 B
When saying “do not do A, but/and do B” where A is a verb and B is a verb, add -지 after the verb stem of Verb A just as you would with sentences ending in -지 마세요.
Ex) [Verb A]-지 말고 [Verb B]
Here are some examples of using 말고 with nouns.
1. 우유 말고 커피 주세요.
= Give me NOT milk BUT coffee.
= Do not give me milk, give me coffee.
2. 이거 말고 저거 살게요.
= Not this one, but that one over there, I will buy it.
= I will buy that one over there, not this one.
Here are some examples when 말고 is used with verbs.
1. 걱정하지 말고 그냥 해 봐요.
= Do not worry and just give it a try.
2. 늦지 말고 일찍 오세요.
= Do not be late and come early.
Sample Sentences
전화하지 말고 문자 메시지 보내 주세요.
= Do not call me but [rather] send me a text message.
저 기다리지 말고 먼저 가세요.
= Do not wait for me and leave first.
= Please go first without waiting for me.
차가운 물에 넣지 말고 뜨거운 물에 넣으세요.
= Do not put it in cold water but put it in hot water.
내일은 여기 말고 다른 곳에서 만날 거예요.
= Tomorrow, we are going to meet NOT here, BUT in a different place [instead].
= Tomorrow we are going to meet at a different place rather than here.
지금 사지 말고 조금만 기다리세요.
= Do not buy it now and wait just a little while.