아니다 (to be not) can be used in the form 아니라 to to negate a preceding clause and connect it to a second one. This produces the structure ‘not X, but Y’:
N + (이/가) 아나라
민수가 아니라 영재예요!
That’s not Minsu, it’s Yeongjae!
저는 영국이 아니라 웨일즈에서 태어났어요.
I was born in Wales, not England.
저는 4형제가 아니라 3형제가 있어요..
I have three
siblings, not four.
A/V + 는 게 아니라
저는 한국 여자를 만나는 게 아니라 가르치는 경험을 쌓으러 한국에 왔어요.
I came to Korea to gain teaching experience, not to meet Korean girls.
한국말을 배우고 있는 이유는 사람들에게 좋은 인상을 주려는 게 아니라 친구를 만나려는 것이예요.
The reason I learned Korean was not to impress people but to make friends.
제가 김치를 싫어하는 게 아니라 그냥 다른 한식을 더 좋아해요.
It’s not that I
hate kimchi, it’s just that I like other Korean food more.
Let’s take a look at the Korean sentence pattern Verb + 딴 게 아니라. We use this to tell someone not to make a fuss about someone or something because it is nothing special. For example, my wife dropped by my office one day and saw a small box that contains a branded watch on my desk. What bothered her was the name of my lady secretary on the card. She found it fishy and asked if there was something going on between us. I said It is just a birthday gift, nothing else. A birthday gift in Korean is 생일 선물. 이다 is attached to it as the equivalent of the be verb and then we add 딴 게 아니라 (the part that expresses nothing else). The actual sentence is (그냥) 생일 선물이야(이에요). 딴 게 아니라. It is an assurance that the watch was a mere gift and nothing more than that.
도와주는 거야. 딴 게 아니라.
I am just helping her. There is no meaning in it.
그냥 셀카야. 딴 게 아니라.
It’s just a selfie, nothing else.
우리 아들 보고 싶어서 간 거야. 딴 게 아니라.
I went because I wanted to see my son. Not because of my ex-wife.
지하철에서 지갑을 발견해서 가지고 왔어요. V+ 을/ㄹ 게 아니라 If the stem of an action verb ends with a vowel or ‘ㄹ’, you should use ‘-ㄹ 게 아니라’. You use ‘-을 게 아니라’ when it ends with another consonant.
I brought a wallet that I found on the subway.
열차 번호가 몇 번인지 기억하세요?
Do you remember the number of the subway?
번호는 잘 모르겠는데 조금 전에 서울역 쪽으로 가는 지하철 두 번째 칸에 탔어요.
I’m not sure about the number, but I got on the second train of the subway to Seoul Station a moment ago.
아직 분실 신고가 들어온 게 없어요. 지갑을 주고 가시면 저희가 분실물 센터로 보내겠습니다.
I got no report of loss yet. If you
give us the wallet, we’ll send it to the Lost and Found Center.
아, 역무실로 올 게 아니라 분실물 센터로 가야 했군요.
Oh, I had to go to the Lost and Found Center, not coming here to the station office.
아니에요. 다음에도 분실물을 습득하시면 여기로 가져다주세요.
No, please bring them here again if you get lost items.
It is attached to the stem of an action verb to express you mean to choose the following behavior, not the one before. You include
regret or suggestion in the following clause.
날씨가 안 좋아도 호텔에만 있을 게 아니라 밖에 나가볼 걸 그랬어요.
I should have gone outside instead of just staying in the hotel, even if the weather was bad.
약만 먹을 게 아니라 병원에 가서 검사라도 받아 보세요.
Go get a checkup at a hospital, not just a pill.
머리를 집에서 자를
게 아니라 미용실에 가서 자르는 게 어때요?
Why don’t you go to the salon instead of cutting your hair at home?
Related words
발견 find (out)
가지다 to bring
(열차의 첫 번째) 칸 (the first) train
(신고가) 들어오다 to get (a report)
분실물 센터 Lost and Found Center
역무실 station office
분실물 lost item
습득 get, acquisition
가져다주다 to bring
Source: Yonsei University. Korean Language Institute
지하철에서 지갑을 발견해서 가지고
왔어요. V+ 을/ㄹ 게 아니라 If the stem of an action verb ends
with a vowel or 'ㄹ', you should use '-ㄹ 게 아니라'. You use '-을 게 아니라' when it ends with another consonant. 날씨가 안 좋아도 호텔에만 있을 게 아니라 밖에 나가볼 걸 그랬어요.
I brought a wallet that I found on the subway.
열차 번호가 몇 번인지 기억하세요?
Do you remember the number of the subway?
번호는 잘 모르겠는데 조금 전에 서울역 쪽으로 가는 지하철 두 번째 칸에 탔어요.
I'm not sure about the number, but I got on the second train of the subway to Seoul Station a moment ago.
아직 분실 신고가 들어온 게 없어요. 지갑을 주고 가시면 저희가 분실물 센터로 보내겠습니다.
I got no report of loss yet. If you give us the wallet, we'll send it to the Lost and Found Center.
아, 역무실로 올 게 아니라 분실물 센터로 가야 했군요.
Oh, I had
to go to the Lost and Found Center, not coming here to the station office.
아니에요. 다음에도 분실물을 습득하시면 여기로 가져다주세요.
No, please bring them here again if you get lost items.
It is attached to the stem of an action verb to express you mean to choose the following behavior, not the one before. You include regret or suggestion in the following clause.
I should have gone outside instead of just staying in the hotel, even if the weather was bad.
약만 먹을 게 아니라 병원에 가서 검사라도 받아 보세요.
Go get a checkup at a hospital, not just a pill.
머리를 집에서 자를 게 아니라 미용실에 가서 자르는 게 어때요?
Why don't you go to the salon instead of cutting your hair at
home?
Related words
발견 find (out)
가지다 to bring
(열차의 첫 번째) 칸 (the first) train
(신고가) 들어오다 to get (a report)
분실물 센터 Lost and Found Center
역무실 station office
분실물 lost item
습득 get, acquisition
가져다주다 to bring
Source: Yonsei University. Korean Language Institute
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