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# [Korean Sentence Pattern #03] N이/가 없어요 (There isn’t / I don’t have)
- URL: https://www.youngssam-korean.com/korean-sentence-pattern-03-ni-ga-eobseoyo-there-isnt-i-dont-have/
- Published: 2026-09-21T14:53:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-21T14:53:01.000Z
- Description: Learn how to use N이/가 없어요 to say what you don’t have or what isn’t there. Practice everyday examples, compare 있어요 and 없어요, and build Korean sentences about your own life.
- Author: YoungSsam
- Tags: Sentence Building

Learn to use N이/가 없어요 when something isn’t there or you don’t have something. Practice with everyday words, then make sentences that are true for you.

You’re ready to write, but you don’t have a pen. You open the fridge, but there’s no milk. A friend wants to chat, but you don’t have time.

In Korean, one pattern works for all three situations:

> **N이/가 없어요.**  
> There is no N. / I don’t have N.

N means a noun—the person or thing you’re talking about.

Let’s start with something you might say during a busy day.

## 1\. What does 없어요 mean?

Your friend asks if you have a few minutes. You have another meeting, so you say:

> **시간이 없어요.**  
> I don’t have time.

Here are the pieces:

- **시간** \= time
- **이** \= a subject marker
- **없어요** \= doesn’t exist / isn’t there

Korean describes time as something that isn’t available. In natural English, we say “I don’t have time.”

Now imagine you’re looking for milk in the fridge.

> **우유가 없어요.**  
> There’s no milk.

The situation helps us understand the meaning. 우유가 없어요 could also mean “I don’t have any milk” if someone asks you for some.

## 2\. From 있어요 to 없어요

In the [previous lesson](https://www.youngssam-korean.com/korean-sentence-pattern-02-ni-ga-isseoyo-there-is-i-have/), you practiced **있어요**. To express the opposite, replace it with **없어요**.

| With 있어요                      | With 없어요                               |
| ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| 시간이 있어요. — I have time.       | 시간이 없어요. — I don’t have time.          |
| 차가 있어요. — I have a car.       | 차가 없어요. — I don’t have a car.          |
| 우유가 있어요. — There’s milk.      | 우유가 없어요. — There’s no milk.            |
| 질문이 있어요. — I have a question. | 질문이 없어요. — I don’t have any questions. |

The noun and its marker stay the same. Only the ending changes.

**없어요 already has a negative meaning**, so you don’t need to add 안 to make this pattern negative.

> 시간이 없어요. ✓  
> 시간이 안 없어요. ✗ *For the meaning “I don’t have time.”*

## 3\. Choose 이 or 가

Look at the last syllable of your noun.

**If it ends in a consonant (받침), use 이.**

- 돈 → 돈**이** 없어요. — I don’t have money.
- 펜 → 펜**이** 없어요. — I don’t have a pen.
- 약속 → 약속**이** 없어요. — I don’t have any plans.

**If it ends in a vowel, use 가.**

- 차 → 차**가** 없어요. — I don’t have a car.
- 우유 → 우유**가** 없어요. — There’s no milk.
- 휴지 → 휴지**가** 없어요. — There’s no toilet paper.

Keep a space before 없어요:

> 펜이 없어요. ✓  
> 펜이없어요. ✗

## 4\. Pick a word from your day

What’s something you don’t have right now?

Try one of these nouns:

| Noun | Meaning  | Sentence  |
| ---- | -------- | --------- |
| 시간   | time     | 시간이 없어요.  |
| 돈    | money    | 돈이 없어요.   |
| 현금   | cash     | 현금이 없어요.  |
| 우산   | umbrella | 우산이 없어요.  |
| 충전기  | charger  | 충전기가 없어요. |
| 차    | car      | 차가 없어요.   |
| 질문   | question | 질문이 없어요.  |

Imagine when you would use your sentence.

At a store that only accepts cash:

> **현금이 없어요.**  
> I don’t have any cash.

When your phone battery is low:

> **충전기가 없어요.**  
> I don’t have a charger.

When your teacher asks if you have questions:

> **질문이 없어요.**  
> I don’t have any questions.

Choose one sentence you could use today, and say it aloud.

## 5\. Talking about yourself with 저는

You can put **저는** at the beginning when you want to identify yourself as the topic.

> **저는 차가 없어요.**  
> I don’t have a car.

저 means “I” or “me.” 는 marks the topic.

A literal way to understand this is “As for me, a car doesn’t exist.” The natural English meaning is “I don’t have a car.”

Notice that 차 takes **가**, even though English uses “a car” as the object of “have.”

> 저는 차가 없어요. ✓  
> 저는 차를 없어요. ✗

If the conversation already makes it clear that you’re talking about yourself, you can simply say:

> **차가 없어요.**  
> I don’t have a car.

## 6\. Say what’s missing from a place

Maybe you have milk at home, but there’s none in the office fridge. Add a location to make your meaning more specific.

> **Place + 에 + N이/가 없어요.**

에 tells us where something is—or, here, where it isn’t.

> **냉장고에 우유가 없어요.**  
> There’s no milk in the fridge.

> **방에 에어컨이 없어요.**  
> There’s no air conditioner in the room.

> **화장실에 휴지가 없어요.**  
> There’s no toilet paper in the bathroom.

You can use this when you check a room, look for supplies, or explain what you need.

## 7\. Use 없어요 in a conversation

A useful way to practice is to answer questions with 있어요.

**Borrowing something**

> A: 우산이 있어요?  
> Do you have an umbrella?
> 
> B: 아니요, 우산이 없어요.  
> No, I don’t have an umbrella.

**Making plans**

> A: 오늘 시간이 있어요?  
> Do you have time today?
> 
> B: 아니요, 오늘은 시간이 없어요.  
> No, I don’t have time today.

**Checking what’s available**

> A: 냉장고에 우유가 있어요?  
> Is there any milk in the fridge?
> 
> B: 아니요, 우유가 없어요.  
> No, there isn’t any milk.

Once the noun is clear, a shorter answer works too:

> **아니요, 없어요.**  
> No, I don’t. / No, there isn’t.

## 8\. What about 없어요?

With rising intonation, **없어요?** becomes a question.

> **시간이 없어요?**  
> You don’t have time?

> **우유가 없어요?**  
> Is there no milk?

You might ask this to check that something is unavailable, or because you expected it to be there.

Compare:

> **우유가 있어요?**  
> Is there any milk?
> 
> **우유가 없어요?**  
> Is there no milk?

For your first conversations, practice asking with **있어요?** and answering with either **있어요** or **없어요**.

## 9\. Make three sentences about your life

Complete these prompts with your own words.

1. Something you don’t have:  
**저는 \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_이/가 없어요.**
2. Something that isn’t in your room:  
**제 방에 \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_이/가 없어요.**
3. Something you don’t have today:  
**오늘은 \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_이/가 없어요.**

Here’s one possible set:

> **저는 자전거가 없어요.**  
> I don’t have a bicycle.

> **제 방에 텔레비전이 없어요.**  
> There’s no TV in my room.

> **오늘은 약속이 없어요.**  
> I don’t have any plans today.

Read your sentences aloud. Then look away and try saying them again.

## 10\. Combine what you have and what you don’t have

You can now use two patterns to describe your life more fully.

> **차가 없어요. 자전거가 있어요.**  
> I don’t have a car. I have a bicycle.

> **커피가 있어요. 우유가 없어요.**  
> There’s coffee. There’s no milk.

> **오늘은 시간이 없어요. 내일은 시간이 있어요.**  
> I don’t have time today. I have time tomorrow.

What would your two sentences be?

Choose something you have and something you don’t have. Say both in Korean—and you’ve made a small conversation about your own life.

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