How to Say "Have" in Korean: 있어요 and 없어요

English needs three different phrases for "I have time," "there's a cat on the sofa," and "the restroom is upstairs." Korean needs one verb. Learn how to say have in Korean and you get the other two for free. This beginner-friendly guide walks you through 있어요 and its opposite, 없어요, with native audio for every pattern.

How do you say "have" in Korean?

You say 있어요 (isseoyo). It means "I have," "there is," or "it is (somewhere)," depending on what you put in front of it. The opposite is 없어요 (eopseoyo): "I don't have," "there isn't," or "it's not here." Their dictionary forms are 있다 (itda) and 없다 (eopda).

The trick is that everyday Korean doesn't really say "I have time." It says "time exists (for me)." That one shift explains the particles, the word order, and the most common mistake below.

Hear 있어요 and 없어요 from a native speaker

Start with the "have" meaning, the one you need first. Listen in pairs: every 있어요 line below has an 없어요 partner right after it.

Why is it 시간이 있어요 and not 시간을 있어요?

Because 있다 is not an action you do to something. It describes something that exists. So the thing you have gets the subject marker 이/가, not the object marker 을/를. "시간이 있어요" is literally "time exists."

Saying where something is with 에 있어요

Put 에 on the place and 있어요 at the end. For a precise spot, name the object and then the position word: 소파 위에 (sopa wie, "sofa + top" = on the sofa), 냉장고 안에 (naengjanggo ane, "fridge + inside" = in the fridge).

Notice the order can flip. Start with the thing (화장실이 2층에 있어요) and you are saying where it is. Start with the place (2층에 화장실이 있어요, icheunge hwajangsiri isseoyo) and you are saying what is there. For finding places on the street, see how to ask for directions in Korean.

The shop and restaurant question: 있어요?

Raise your voice at the end and 있어요 becomes the most useful question a traveler has: "do you have…?" or "is there…?" You don't need a separate question word.

있다 is hiding inside words you already know

Some of the first adjectives you learn are really "noun + 있다." 맛 is taste, so 맛있어요 is "taste exists": delicious. Swap in 없다 and you flip the meaning. Once you see this, you get two words for the price of one.

A small aside from my classroom: Koreans also use 있잖아요 (itjanayo, "you know what…") to open a story. If a friend leans in and says 있잖아, something good is coming.

When the person is someone you respect: 계세요

For elders, teachers, or your boss, Korean swaps 있다 for a special honorific verb when you talk about where that person is: 계시다 (gyesida), polite form 계세요 (gyeseyo). You already know it from 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo), "stay in peace," the goodbye you say to someone who is staying behind.

Notice the split. 계세요 is for where the person is. When they own something, use 있으세요 instead: 할머니는 시간이 있으세요 (halmeonineun sigani isseuseyo), "Grandma has time." Politeness goes deeper than one verb, and our Korean honorifics guide shows the rest of the system.

Common mistakes with 있어요 and 없어요

That is how to say have in Korean: 이/가 있어요 for "have" and "there is," 에 있어요 for location, 없어요 for every negative, and 계세요 for people you respect. Now try it: name what is in your room (책상 위에 책이 있어요, chaeksang wie chaegi isseoyo: "there's a book on the desk"), then drill the house and home words.