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아니 (ani) in Korean — what it means and how idols actually say it

· 2 min read

아니 (ani) means no / wait, no. It is a "no" that mostly opens a correction — "no, what I mean is…". In the 102 idol clips we have scripted, it appears 1105 times — here is how it sounds in real speech, not a textbook.

What ani means

아니 = no / wait, no. The forms you will hear most: 아니야, 아니 근데, 아니 진짜.

아니 in real lines

설마 이걸로 던지는 거 아니겠지? seolma igeollo deonjineun geo anigetji? You are not gonna throw that, are you? — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — eating cuts (EP.3) · hear this line
나 다음 판에 죽여도 돼 -아니야 na daeum pane jugyeodo dwae -aniya I'd be okay with dying the next round -No — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — mafia game cuts (EP.2) · hear this line
아니 승철이 질문 더 해야 되는데 ani seungcheori jilmun deo haeya doeneunde No, we need to ask SEUNGCHEOL more questions — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — back to school cuts (EP.1) · hear this line
아니 박수가 너무 습관이야 어떡해 ani baksuga neomu seupgwaniya eotteokae I keep clapping out of habit, oh no — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — retro variety cuts (EP.14) · hear this line

How to say it

Two light syllables, a-ni. Stretched to 아니이~ it becomes disbelief; clipped to 아니, it is the "no wait" that starts a correction. Check any line with the pronunciation tool.

Casual or polite?

Casual. 아니요 (or 아뇨) is the polite "no". 아니 at the start of a sentence is a filler and is used with anyone.

What it pairs with in our clips

  • 거 아니야 — 170 times · example
  • 아니야 아니야 — 116 times · example
  • 아니 아니 — 76 times · example
  • 아니 근데 — 65 times · example