Korean Grammar Bank

HOW TO USE IF / IF NOT IN KOREAN

Just like in English, if in Korean can be used in two contexts:

  • To provide a condition to do or achieve something and
  • To describe the situation that would have been possible (but have not actually happened).

We can do this by adding ‘~면’ to the phrase that contains the condition or the description of something that would have been possible.

A CONDITION TO DO SOMETHING

In Korean, we use 면 to describe a condition to fulfil or to achieve something.

Generally, we just add ‘~면’ to the phrase although there are sometimes some exceptions.

PATTERN

-면 + Phrase

Let’s see what that looks like below:

EXAMPLEMEANINGNOTES
공부를 열심히 하면, 좋은 대학에 갈 수 있어 .If you study hard, you can get into a good college.‘~면’ is added to the verb ‘ 공부를 열심히 하다 (= study hard)’ after removing the ending ‘다’ from the verb.
밥을 다 먹으면 디저트를 먹을 수 있어.If you finish your meal, you will get the dessert.If the infinitive of the verb ends with consonants like ‘ㄱ, ㄲ, ㄷ, ㅌ,ㅎ’, ‘~으면’ is added after removing ‘다’ instead of ‘면’(ex: 먹다-> 먹으면, 볶다 -> 볶으면)
View More Phrases
숙제를 끝내면 친구와 놀 수 있어.If you finish your homework, you can play with your friends.
날씨가 좋으면 축구를 하자.If the weather is good, let’s play soccer.
비가 오면 행사를 취소해야돼.If it rains, we have to cancel the event.

IF, AN EVENT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE

For this grammar structure of ‘if’, the past tense is used just like in English.

The subordinate clause usually takes one of the following structures: would have / could have / should have.

PATTERN

Phrase + ~ 다면 ~ 텐데

Let’s check out some examples to understand this structure better.

gongbureul yeolsimhi haessdamyeon, joheun daehage gal su isseosseul tende.

공부를 열심히 했다면, 좋은 대학에 갈 수 있었을 텐데.

If you studied hard, you could have/would have gotten to a good college.
View More Phrases
숙제를 끝냈다면 친구와 놀 수 있었을 텐데.If you finished your homework, you would have played/could have played with your friends.
날씨가 좋았다면 축구를 할 수 있었을 텐데.If the weather was good, we would have/would have played soccer.
비가 왔다면 행사를 취소 했을 텐데.If it rained, we would have/could have cancelled the event.

Head over to our Past tense in Korean for a quick refresher!

We know how to deal with the Ifs, but what about the If not’s?

IF NOT, A CONDITION TO DO SOMETHING

The simplest way of negating ‘if’ in Korean is by adding ‘안 (=not)’ to the verb that has been conjugated with if.

Remember that a phrase led by ‘if not’ will also need a negation of verb in the subordinate clause, or use of antonym for the verb.

PATTERN

Verb + 안

IF PHRASEIF NOT PHRASE
공부를 열심히 하면, 좋은 대학에 갈 수 있어.
If you study hard, you can get into a good college.		 공부를 열심히 안 하면, 좋은 대학에 갈 수 없어
If you don’t study hard, you cannot get into a good college.
밥을 다 먹으면 디저트를 먹을 수 있어.
If you finish your meal, you will get the dessert.		 밥을 다 안 먹으면 디저트를 먹을 수 없어.
If you don’t finish your meal, you will not get the dessert.
View More Phrases
if phraseif not phrase
숙제를 끝내면 친구와 놀 수 있어.
If you finish your homework, you can play with your friends.		 숙제를 안 끝내면 친구와 놀 수 없어.
If you don’t finish your homework, you cannot play with your friends.
날씨가 좋으면 축구를 하자.
If the weather is good, let’s play soccer.		 날씨가 안 좋으면 축구를 하지 말자.
If the weather is not good, let’s not play soccer.
비가 오면 행사를 취소해야돼.
If it rains, we have to cancel the event.		 비가 안 오면 행사를 진행해야돼.
If it doesn’t rain, we have to open the event.

NOTE || Instead of using ‘not cancel, the antonym of ‘cancel’ is used as this is more natural in Korean.

Talking of negations, check out our Negative Forms page.

IF NOT, AN EVENT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE

For an even that would have been possible, here are some handy examples to look at first, to better understand how to use if not in Korean:

PATTERN

Phrase + ~다면 ~텐데

if phraseif not phrase
공부를 열심히 했다면, 좋은 대학에 갈 수 있었을 텐데.
If you studied hard, you could have/would have gotten into a good college.		 공부를 열심히 안 했다면, 좋은 대학에 갈 수 없었을 텐데.
If you didn’t study hard, you could not have gotten into a good college.
밥을 다 먹었다면 디저트를 먹을 수 있었을 텐데.
If you finished your meal, you would have gotten/could have gotten the dessert.		 밥을 다 안 먹었다면 디저트를 먹을 수 없었을 텐데.
If you didn’t finish your meal, you could not have gotten the dessert.
View More Phrase
if phraseif not phrase
숙제를 끝냈다면 친구와 놀 수 있었을 텐데.
If you finished your homework, you would have played/could have played with your friends.		 숙제를 안 끝냈다면 친구와 놀 수 없었을 텐데.
If you didn’t finish your homework, you could not have played with your friends.
날씨가 좋았다면 축구를 할 수 있었을 텐데.
If the weather was good, we would have/would have played soccer.		 날씨가 안 좋았다면 축구를 할 수 없었을 텐데.
If the weather was not good, we could not have played soccer.  
비가 왔다면 행사를 취소 했었을 텐데.
If it rained, we would have/could have cancelled the event.		 비가 안 왔다면 행사를 진행했었을 텐데.
If it didn’t rain, we could have opened the event.

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FAQs

When is the If/If not structure used in Korean?

We use it to 1) provide a condition to do or achieve something and 2) to describe the situation that would have been possible (but has not actually happened).

How do I use the If/If not structure?

Generally, you add ‘~면’ to the phrase but you should also note any exceptions depending on the verb end.

How do I use negations with If/If not in Korean?

The simplest way of negating ‘if’ in Korean is by adding ‘안 (=not)’ to the verb that has been conjugated with if.

Are there any other grammar for the negation?

You should remember that a phrase led by ‘if not’ will also need a negation of verb in the subordinate clause, or an antonym for the verb.

What are exceptions with If/If not structure?

If the infinitive of the verb ends with consonants like ‘ㄱ, ㄲ, ㄷ, ㅌ,ㅎ’, then ‘~으면’ is added after removing ‘다’.

Where can I find more free Korean resources?

Our Korean Grammar Bank has some fantastic free resources for you to check out.

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