"재 한구거는 안 좋아요." Can I say it like this?

Question

I know I can say "재 한구거는 좋지 않아요", but can I also use 안?

Answer 1

I think you wonder if you can use "안" or not.

1. 제 한국어는 좋지 않아요
2. 제 한국어는 안좋아요.

You can use both of these.

Answer 2

(1) ~지 않아요 (eg: 좋지 않아요) and (2) 안 ~ (eg: 안 좋아요) are two different ways to say "Not X" in Korean

So you have to use form (1) above if you want to use 않, and if you want to use form (2), you have to use 안.

Another post about various ways of negating something in Korean is given here: What is the difference between -지 않다, -지 못하다, and -ㄹ/을 수 없다?

Answer 3

You can use both forms, but there is a slight difference in nuance.

• 제 한국어는 좋지 않아요. (My Korean is not good.)
• 제 한국어는 안 좋아요. (My Korean is bad.)

In most conversational situations, the second sounds a little more strongly, because "않다(the basic form: 아니하다)" is an auxiliary predicate, but "안" directly negates "좋다" Therefore, if you want to say more courteously, you should use the first. Otherwise, if you want to intensify its negative meaning, you can use the second.

In addition, that "제 한국어는 좋지 않아요/안 좋아요." sounds idiosyncratic. Mainly, We say "(저는) 한국어(를) 잘 못해요. (literally, I can't speak Korean well.)" You can say "제 영어 실력은 좋지 않습니다. (literally, my English ability is not good.)" This one sounds formal and natural.