After learning the negative sentence of “안,” the next sentence is the negative of “impossible”.

For this, “못/-지 못하다” is used.

Let’s practice sentences expressing “impossible” this time.

How to use “못、-지 못하다”.

Nothing to do with ability.

못 has nothing to do with ability or skill, it can represent the impossible.

Represent the impossible.

안
오늘은 학교에 안 가요.
I’m not going to school today.

못
오늘은 학교에 못 가요.
I can’t go to school today.

The nuance is that it is impossible for some reason, such as catching a cold for example.

There are two types of 못.

There are two types of 못 negative sentences as well as 안.

못/-지 못하다 + Av

1．못 + 動詞
못 가다
못 사다
못 만나다

2．動詞の語幹 + -지 못하다
가지 못하다
보지 못하다
먹지 못하다

※Av = an action verb

Use short expressions and long sentences.

The short sentence

저는 6시까지는 못 갑니다.
I can’t get there before 6:00.
(가다)
지금은 서울역에서는 지하철을 못 타요.
You can’t take the subway from Seoul station right now.
(타다)
여기서는 버스를 못 내려요.
You can’t get off the bus here.
(내리다)
우리 집에서는 12시 이후 TV를 못 봐요.
We can’t watch TV after midnight in our house.
(보다)

While it is easy to use because you only need to place an 못, it has the drawback that it cannot be combined with some vocabulary.

The long sentence

내일도 친구를 만나지 못해요.
I can’t see my friend tomorrow too.
(만나다)
아직 지원금을 받지 못해요.
We have not yet received any support money.
(받다)
너무 시끄러워요. 그래서 공부하지 못해요.
It is very noisy. So I can’t study.
(공부하다)
아직은 계획을 세우지 못합니다.
I can’t make plans yet.
(세우다)

-지 못하다 is a negative sentence that can be used for any verbs, although the sentence is longer.

Things to watch out for in sentences of ‘못’ and common mistakes.

못 cannot be used for “~하다”.

The basic rule is that 못, cannot be used for “~하다” like 안.

감기에 걸렸어요. 그래서 못 운동해요.
I caught a cold. So I can’t exercise. (×)
집에 식칼이 없어요. 그래서 못 요리합니다.
I don’t have a knife at home. So I can’t cook. (×)

In such cases, use “-지 못하다”.

감기에 걸렸어요. 그래서 운동하지 못해요.
I caught a cold. So I can’t exercise. (ㅇ)
집에 식칼이 없습니다. 그래서 요리하지 못합니다.
I don’t have a knife at home. So I can’t cook. (ㅇ)

This makes “~하다” a negative sentence of “못”.

Is it difficult to immediately determine the difference between unskillful and impossible?

What is the difference between unskillful and impossible?

못하다 mearns unskillful.

・Not equipped with the ability.
・The skill is not of a high enough standard.

못하다 without a separator indicates unskillful.

난 운전을 못해요.
I have not driving skill.

In this case talking about not having a driver’s license or having unskilled driving skills.

못 하다 mearns impossible.

・The situation that cannot be done.
・There are reasons why it can’t be done.
If there is a separator, it means that it cannot be done for some reason.
오늘은 차를 운전 못 합니다.
I can’t drive today.

It has nothing to do with her skills, such as when she drinks alcohol.

한국어

By the way, it is almost impossible to distinguish the difference between “못 하다” and “못하다” by sound alone.

So you have to judge the meaning from the context before and after and the situation.