Korean 있다 and 없다: Existence and Possession

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concept: ko-a1-existence-itda lang: ko ui: en title: Korean 있다 and 없다: Existence and Possession description: >- Learn how Korean 있다 and 없다 express existence, location, and possession, with 이/가 subjects, 에 locations, natural examples, and common mistakes. generation: article: version: native-ui-reference-v3.1 model: openai-codex/gpt-5.6-sol at: 2026-07-11T15:23:27Z reviews: spell-check: status: clean at: 2026-07-11T15:23:27Z score: 0 score-english: null score-coverage: null criteria: v7 language-mixing: status: clean at: 2026-07-11T16:00:00Z criteria: v2

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In Brief

Use 있어요 when someone or something exists, is present, or is in a place; use 없어요 when they do not exist or are absent. The thing in question usually takes 이/가, and a location takes 에: 책이 방에 있어요 means “The book is in the room.” Korean uses the same structure for possession, so 시간이 있어요 literally presents time as existing but naturally means “I have time.”

Overview

The dictionary forms 있다 and 없다 cover several ideas that English expresses with different verbs. Depending on context, 있다 can correspond to “exist,” “be somewhere,” “be available,” or “have.” 없다 gives the opposite meanings: “not exist,” “not be there,” “be unavailable,” or “not have.” Their everyday polite forms are 있어요 and 없어요.

This is a core A1 pattern. The main difference from English is the point of view: English says “I have money,” making “I” the subject (the person or thing that the sentence is built around). Korean commonly says 돈이 있어요, treating “money” as the thing that exists. The owner may be omitted when the conversation already makes it obvious.

Context therefore matters. 고양이가 있어요? can ask “Is there a cat?” or “Do you have a cat?” The Korean sentence does not have to state an English-style “you.” Learn the Korean pattern as a complete way of organizing the idea rather than replacing each word one by one.

How It Works

Core forms

있다 and 없다 combine with the everyday polite -아/어요 ending as follows:

Meaning	Dictionary form	Everyday polite	Formal polite
exist; be present; have	있다	있어요	있습니다
not exist; be absent; not have	없다	없어요	없습니다

A Korean statement can become a yes/no question without changing its word order. In writing, the question mark makes the difference; in speech, the voice generally rises:

• 시간이 있어요. — I have time.
• 시간이 있어요? — Do you have time?

In standard pronunciation, 있어요 is heard roughly as 이써요 and 없어요 as 업써요. Keep the standard spellings 있어요 and 없어요.

Saying that something exists

The basic pattern is:

noun + 이/가 + 있어요/없어요

A noun is a word for a person, thing, place, or idea. Attach 이 after a final consonant and 가 after a vowel. 이/가 marks the grammatical subject here—the thing whose existence or absence is being stated.

Noun ending	Positive	Negative
consonant	책이 있어요. — There is a book.	책이 없어요. — There is no book.
vowel	의자가 있어요. — There is a chair.	의자가 없어요. — There is no chair.

Korean normally does not require a separate word corresponding to English “there” in “there is.” 문제가 있어요 is enough for “There is a problem.”

Saying where someone or something is

Mark a place with 에, the location particle (a short marker attached to a place). In this use, 에 can be translated as “in,” “at,” or “on,” depending on the noun:

person/thing + 이/가 + place + 에 + 있어요/없어요

• 휴대폰이 가방에 있어요. — The phone is in the bag.
• 민수가 집에 있어요. — Minsu is at home.
• 책이 책상 위에 없어요. — The book is not on the desk.

The verb normally comes last. The subject and location can sometimes switch positions because the particles still identify their jobs: 가방에 휴대폰이 있어요 is also natural and often answers “What is in the bag?” English speakers should not add 에 to the thing that exists. It belongs to the place.

When the place is already known, it can disappear: 여기에 있어요 means “It is here,” with the thing understood from context. When the thing is known, 집에 있어요 can mean “I’m at home,” “He’s at home,” or “She’s at home.”

Expressing possession

For ordinary possession, Korean again uses existence:

possessed thing + 이/가 + 있어요/없어요

• 차가 있어요. — I have a car. / There is a car.
• 돈이 없어요. — I do not have money. / There is no money.
• 형제가 있어요? — Do you have siblings?

The owner is usually recovered from the conversation. If it must be stated, 에게 or conversational 한테 can mark the person “to whom” something exists:

• 저에게 시간이 있어요. — I have time. (grammatical, but often more explicit than needed)
• 지수한테 자전거가 있어요. — Jisu has a bicycle.

For a simple answer about yourself, 저는 차가 있어요 is often more natural than 저에게 차가 있어요. Here 저는 sets “as for me” as the topic, while 차가 remains the grammatical subject.

이/가 versus 은/는

The beginner default is 이/가 for the thing that exists. 은/는, the topic or contrast marker (it tells the listener what the sentence is about or sets up a comparison), also appears frequently:

• 커피가 있어요. — There is coffee. / We have coffee.
• 커피는 있어요. — There is coffee, at least. / As for coffee, we have it.
• 저는 시간이 없어요. — As for me, I do not have time.

Do not treat 은/는 as a random substitute for 이/가. At first, use 이/가 to introduce what exists and use 은/는 when establishing a topic or making a contrast.

Examples in Context

Korean	English	Note
시간이 있어요.	I have time.	The owner is understood from context.
오늘은 시간이 없어요.	I do not have time today.	오늘은 makes today the topic or contrast.
돈이 없어요.	I do not have any money.	Possession expressed as absence.
근처에 편의점이 있어요.	There is a convenience store nearby.	The location comes first.
냉장고에 우유가 없어요.	There is no milk in the refrigerator.	냉장고에 marks the location.
열쇠가 가방 안에 있어요.	The keys are inside the bag.	안에 means “inside.”
여기에 있어요.	It is here.	The omitted subject is clear in context.
지금 집에 있어요.	I’m at home now.	Korean commonly omits “I.”
고양이가 있어요?	Do you have a cat? / Is there a cat?	Context selects the English meaning.
네, 고양이 한 마리가 있어요.	Yes, I have one cat.	한 마리 counts one animal.
형제자매가 없어요.	I do not have any siblings.	The owner is understood.
질문이 있어요.	I have a question.	A useful classroom expression.
문제가 있어요.	There is a problem.	No equivalent of English “there” is needed.
주말에 약속이 있어요.	I have plans this weekend.	주말에 gives the time, not a physical location.
화장실이 어디에 있어요?	Where is the restroom?	어디에 asks for its location.

Common Mistakes

Copying English “have” word order

• Wrong: 제가 시간을 있어요.
• Right: 저는 시간이 있어요. / 시간이 있어요.
• Why: The possessed item takes 이/가: it is time that “exists.” If you state the owner as the topic, use 저는.

Marking the place with 이/가 instead of 에

• Wrong: 책이 방이 있어요.
• Right: 책이 방에 있어요.
• Why: 책이 is the thing located somewhere; 방에 is the place. A location takes 에 in this pattern.

Using 있다 as the ordinary identity verb

• Wrong: 저는 학생이 있어요. (“I am a student.”)
• Right: 저는 학생이에요.
• Why: 있다 expresses existence, location, or possession. Identity sentences such as “I am a student” use 이다, appearing here as 이에요.

Adding 안 to 없다

• Wrong: 돈이 안 없어요. (for “I don’t have money.”)
• Right: 돈이 없어요.
• Why: 없다 is already negative. 안 없어요 creates a marked double negative and can mean “it is not absent,” not the simple beginner meaning “do not have.”

Translating every omitted subject as “I”

• Misleading: Treating 집에 있어요 as always meaning “I am at home.”
• Better: Translate it as “I/he/she/it is at home” according to context.
• Why: Korean frequently omits a known person or thing. English usually forces you to supply one in translation.

Using 에서 for a static location

• Wrong: 친구가 카페에서 있어요. (ordinary “My friend is at the café.”)
• Right: 친구가 카페에 있어요.
• Why: With plain existence or location, use 에. 에서 normally marks the place where an action happens, as in 카페에서 공부해요 (“I study at the café”).

Usage Notes

있어요/없어요 are standard polite everyday forms, suitable for most conversations with people you do not speak casually to. With close friends or someone younger, the informal forms 있어/없어 are common. Announcements, presentations, customer service, and formal writing often use 있습니다/없습니다.

Korean often prefers a topic plus a smaller subject: 저는 시간이 있어요 literally has “as for me” as the topic and “time” as the subject. English uses one subject and a verb—“I have time”—so trying to assign one Korean word to every English word can be misleading.

The positive and negative forms are not always perfectly symmetrical in implied meaning. For example, 친구가 있어요 usually means “I have a friend/friends,” while 친구가 없어요 may sound like “I have no friends.” The exact force depends on context, number words, and what has already been discussed.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following details at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter early.

Respectful 계시다 for people

When the person whose presence you describe deserves respect, Korean often replaces 있다 with the honorific verb 계시다:

• 선생님이 교실에 계세요. — The teacher is in the classroom.
• 부모님이 집에 계세요. — My parents are at home.

Do not use 계시다 for objects. 책이 책상에 있어요 remains correct. Also note that possession involving a respected owner can require different honorific choices depending on the sentence; beginners can safely learn 계세요 first for a respected person’s location.

Nouns modified by 있는 and 없는

Before a noun, the forms become 있는 and 없는. This is an attributive form—a form that directly describes a following noun:

• 시간이 있는 사람 — a person who has time
• 돈이 없는 학생 — a student who has no money
• 재미있는 영화 — an interesting movie

The last example shows that 있다 also appears inside familiar descriptive words such as 재미있다 (“to be interesting”). Likewise, 맛있다 means “to be delicious.” These compounds have their own meanings and should be learned as vocabulary, even though their endings behave like 있다.

경험이 있다: having experience

Korean can use 있다/없다 with abstract nouns as well as physical objects:

• 한국에 간 경험이 있어요. — I have experience of going to Korea. / I have been to Korea.
• 그런 적이 없어요. — I have never had such an experience.

These patterns interact with later grammar for experience. The core existence idea remains visible: an experience or occasion exists—or does not.

Topic contrast changes the message

Advanced use of 은/는 can imply a contrast without spelling it out. 시간은 있어요 may mean “I do have time (but perhaps not money or energy).” Similarly, 돈은 없어요 can suggest “I don’t have money, though something else may be available.” This implied contrast is why particle choice affects tone, not only grammatical correctness.

Practice Tips

1. Build three versions of each sentence. Choose an item such as 우유 and say 우유가 있어요, 우유가 없어요, and 우유가 있어요? This practices positive, negative, and question forms without changing the structure.
2. Describe real locations around you. Use five place phrases such as 책상 위에, 가방 안에, and 집에, then state what is or is not there. Real objects make the roles of 이/가 and 에 easier to remember.
3. Answer without unnecessary pronouns. When asked 시간이 있어요?, practice 네, 있어요 or 아니요, 없어요. This develops the Korean habit of omitting information that is already clear.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Polite Ending -아/어요 — explains the everyday polite ending in 있어요 and 없어요.