아무도 아무것도 전혀 Negative Words: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Name the main negative polarity words and say what each one means.
• Pair each word with a negative predicate, including 없다 and 모르다.
• Place particles such as 에게 and 에 correctly with 아무.
• Tell 아무도 apart from 아무나, 누구나 and 누군가.
• Fix the most common mistake: using 아무도 or 전혀 with a positive verb.

Before you start: you should know the short negative 안 and the verbs 없다 and 모르다. If not, read 안 negation in Korean first. Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Do the 아무도 아무것도 전혀 Negative Words Mean?

The 아무도 아무것도 전혀 negative words mean "nobody," "nothing" and "not at all," and each one needs a negative predicate in the same sentence. A negative polarity item (부정극성어, bujeonggeukseongeo) is a word that is only grammatical when the sentence is negative. English "any" works this way in "I did not see anyone." In Korean the set is larger and stricter.

The core words fall into two groups. The first group is made from 아무 ("any") plus the particle 도 ("also, even"): 아무도 ("nobody"), 아무것도 ("nothing") and 아무 데도 ("nowhere"). The second group is made of adverbs of degree: 전혀 ("not at all"), 별로 ("not very"), 하나도 ("not one") and 거의 ("hardly").

A First Example

Two sentences show the pattern. Each line gives Korean, Revised Romanization (RR, the official Latin spelling, used here only as a learning aid) and the meaning.

• 아무도 안 왔어요. (amudo an wasseoyo.) [아무도 안 와써요] = "Nobody came." The polarity word 아무도 is paired with 안 and the verb 왔어요.
• 전혀 모르겠어요. (jeonhyeo moreugesseoyo.) [전혀 모르게써요] = "I do not know at all." The adverb 전혀 is paired with 모르다, a verb that is itself negative in meaning ("not know").

In both sentences the polarity word comes first and the negative element comes last. The next section explains the rule behind the pairing.

How Do the 아무도 아무것도 전혀 Negative Words Work?

The 아무도 아무것도 전혀 negative words work by sitting before a negative predicate and replacing the subject or object particle. The rule has three parts.

Part one: use a negative predicate. A negative predicate is one of these: 안 + verb, 못 + verb, stem + -지 않다, stem + -지 못하다, 없다 ("there is not"), 모르다 ("not know") or 아니다 ("is not"). Both 없다 and 모르다 count, because they carry the negative meaning in the word itself. That is why 아무도 없어요 ("There is nobody") has no 안.

Part two: the 아무 words replace the particle. 아무도 already contains 도, which fills the slot of 이/가. So the subject is written 아무도, never 아무가 or 아무도가. For objects, 아무것도 fills the slot of 을/를. Place particles stay: 아무 데도 (anywhere/nowhere), 아무에게도 or 아무한테도 ("to anyone/no one").

Part three: degree adverbs go directly before the predicate. 전혀 안 먹어요, 별로 안 좋아요, 하나도 안 비싸요. They do not take particles.

The highlighter shows 아무도 as 아무 plus 도, and 안 as the negative. The sentence has exactly one negative, and the polarity word depends on it.

Which Forms Does the Pattern Table Show?

The table lists the main polarity words, their meaning and a model sentence. Every sentence has a negative predicate.

The five buttons above play five rows of the table. Notice that 아무것도 is pronounced [아무걷또]: the final ㅅ of 것 is read as [ㄷ], and the following ㄷ becomes tense. With the table in view, the rule can be used to build a sentence from scratch.

How Do You Build 아무도 안 왔어요 Step by Step?

You build a sentence with a polarity word in four steps: write the positive sentence, replace the noun with the polarity word, make the predicate negative, and read the result. The example below builds "Nobody came."

1. Write the positive sentence. 학생이 왔어요. (haksaengi wasseoyo.) = "A student came." The subject 학생 carries 이.
2. Replace the noun. The meaning "nobody" is 아무도. Remove 학생이 and write 아무도. The 도 inside already takes the slot of 이.
3. Make the predicate negative. Put 안 before the verb: 안 왔어요. For inability, use 못.
4. Read the result. 아무도 안 왔어요. = "Nobody came."

You will know it worked when the sentence has no 가/이 after 아무도 and exactly one negative word. The usual slip at this point is writing 아무도 왔어요, which drops the negative, or 아무도가 안 왔어요, which keeps the old particle.

Here is the same method with an object. Start with 음식을 먹었어요 ("I ate food"). Replace 음식을 with 아무것도 and add 안: 아무것도 안 먹었어요. (amugeotdo an meogeosseoyo.) [아무걷또 안 머거써요] = "I ate nothing." The skill is identical. Only the noun and its particle change. A different question comes next: how do these words differ from words that look close?

How Are Negative Polarity Words Different from Similar Forms?

The negative polarity words mean "none" and need a negative. Words that look similar, such as 아무나, 누구나 and 누군가, mean "anyone," "everyone" and "someone" and use a positive predicate. The table compares them.

The first two rows differ by one particle and by the whole picture. With 도 ("not even one"), the sentence is negative: 아무도 안 왔어요. With 나 ("whichever one"), the sentence is positive: 아무나 올 수 있어요. For the particle 도 in depth, see also particle 도. For another word that needs a negative, see 밖에 only particle. For the "some" and "any" words in general, see korean indefinite pronouns 누군가 아무. With the comparison clear, the next question is how strong each word is and where it behaves unusually.

When Do You Use It, and When Not?

Use a negative polarity word when you want to deny something completely, and watch for four special cases. Context tells you how strong the denial is.

• A scale of strength. From soft to strong: 별로 ("not very"), 거의 ("hardly"), 전혀 ("not at all"), 하나도 and 조금도 ("not one, not a bit") and 절대 ("never"). 하나도 안 비싸요. (hanado an bissayo.) = "It is not expensive at all." The scale is a rule of thumb, not a measurement.
• Negative-meaning predicates. 아무도 없어요. (amudo eopseoyo.) [아무도 업써요] = "There is nobody." The verb 없다 is already negative, so no 안 is needed.
• Positive uses. 전혀 다른 사람이에요. (jeonhyeo dareun saramieyo.) [전혀 다른 사라미에요] = "He is a completely different person." Here 전혀 meets 다르다, which means "not the same," so the sentence stays positive in form. The word 거의 also works with positive verbs: 거의 다 했어요 means "I am almost done."
• Short replies. 별로예요. (byeolloyeyo.) = "It is not great." The word 별로 stands as a casual verdict. A: 영화 어땠어요? B: 별로요. ("How was the movie?" "Not great.") The same polite reply with 전혀요 means "Not at all."

There are also cases where these words should not be used. In questions, "anyone" is not 아무도. Ask 누구 있어요? ("Is anyone there?"). The question 아무도 없어요? literally asks "Is there nobody here?" and is what people call into an empty room; 아무도 있어요? is always wrong. Also, do not use 아무도 for "everyone." For "everyone," say 모두 or 다.

An honest limit: this lesson covers the most common polarity words and their pairing rules. It does not cover rare written words such as 결코 and 도무지, which follow the same rule and appear in formal texts, and it does not cover the longer patterns with -(이)라고는 and -ㄹ 수가. Before moving on, check the mistakes that cost learners the most points.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make?

Learners most often forget the negative, because English "nobody came" has no negative verb. Five mistakes appear again and again, and each has a quick repair.

1. Using a polarity word with a positive verb. Learners often assume 아무도 already means "nobody did." Actually, the verb must be negative. Write 아무도 안 왔어요, not 아무도 왔어요.
2. Keeping the old particle. Write 아무도 안 왔어요, not 아무도가 안 왔어요. The 도 inside 아무도 replaces 이/가. The same applies to 아무것도 and 을/를.
3. Mixing up 아무도 and 아무나. 아무도 올 수 있어요 is wrong, because 아무도 needs a negative. Use 아무나 올 수 있어요 for "anyone can come."
4. Using 별로 as "very." 별로 좋아요 does not mean "very good." With a positive adjective, 별로 sounds incomplete. Use 아주 좋아요 for "very good" and 별로 안 좋아요 for "not very good."
5. Translating "anyone" in a question. Write 누구 있어요? for "Is anyone there?" Do not write 아무도 있어요?

A quick self-check: is there exactly one negative word, and does the polarity word come before it? If so, the pattern is right. Practice makes this check automatic.

Practice and Answers

Try the four items before you read the answer key. Cover the answers with your hand.

1. Choose the form. 저는 어제 ___ 안 먹었어요. (아무것도 / 아무나)
2. Fix the error. 아무도 왔어요. Rewrite it so that it means "Nobody came."
3. Translate. "It is not very good." Use 별로.
4. Write your own. Write one sentence with 아무도 or 아무것도 and a negative verb, and one sentence with 전혀 or 하나도. Say the English meaning of each.

Answer key

1. 아무것도. The sentence is 저는 어제 아무것도 안 먹었어요 and means "Yesterday I ate nothing." 아무나 is positive and does not fit.
2. 아무도 안 왔어요. The negative 안 is added before the verb.
3. 별로 안 좋아요. (byeollo an joayo.) [별로 안 조아요] The negative 안 comes before the adjective.
4. Answers vary. Check that each sentence has exactly one negative word, such as 아무도 몰라요 (nobody knows) and 하나도 안 어려워요 (it is not difficult at all). Remember that 몰라요 is already negative in meaning.

One more rule of thumb: if the English sentence has "nobody," "nothing," "not at all" or "not very," Korean needs a polarity word and a negative predicate.

Next Lessons after the 아무도 아무것도 전혀 Negative Words

After the 아무도 아무것도 전혀 negative words, study the negative questions, then the answers to them. This lesson teaches the pairing rule for polarity words. It does not teach the full set of negation forms, which is on the hub page.

1. Start with negative questions in Korean, which explains how 네 and 아니요 work after a negative question.
2. Continue with answering yes or no questions in Korean.
3. Review the basics in 안 negation in Korean, and the other word that needs a negative in 밖에 only particle.
4. Return to Korean negation to see every lesson in the set.

With these steps, the 아무도 아무것도 전혀 negative words become automatic: choose the polarity word, add one negative predicate, and drop the old particle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does 아무도 need a negative verb?

Yes. 아무도 means "nobody" only when the predicate is negative: 아무도 안 왔어요, 아무도 없어요, 아무도 몰라요. A positive verb after 아무도 makes the sentence wrong. English puts the negative in "nobody," but Korean puts it on the verb, so 아무도 안 왔어요 is literally "anyone did not come."

What is the difference between 아무도 and 아무나?

아무도 goes with a negative and means "nobody." 아무나 goes with a positive and means "anyone at all": 아무나 올 수 있어요 ("anyone can come"). Both start with 아무, but the particle decides the meaning. Think of 도 as "not even one" and 나 as "whichever, no limit."

Can 전혀 be used with a positive verb?

Mostly no, but there is a small group of exceptions. 전혀 다르다 ("completely different") and 전혀 새롭다 ("totally new") are normal, because 다르다 already contains a sense of "not the same." For ordinary verbs, 전혀 needs a negative: 전혀 몰라요, 전혀 안 먹어요.

How strong are 별로, 거의, 전혀 and 하나도?

Roughly from soft to strong: 별로 ("not very"), 거의 ("hardly"), 전혀 ("not at all"), 하나도 and 조금도 ("not one, not a bit"), 절대 ("never, absolutely not"). The scale is a rule of thumb, not a measurement. Each word still needs a negative predicate, except 거의, which also means "almost."

How do I say "Is anyone there?" in Korean?

Use the plain question word: 누구 있어요? Never say 아무도 있어요?, because 아무도 needs a negative. Koreans also call out 아무도 없어요? into an empty room; it literally asks "Is there nobody here?", like English "Anybody home?" For "anyone" in an ordinary question, use 누구, 뭐 or 어디 with no negative.