Did not become; didn’t work in Korean 🇰🇷

안 됐어 info.

Tips to Remember:
• Break it down: “안” means “not” and “됐어” is the contracted past tense of “되다” (to become or work). Think “not becoming” or “it didn’t work.”
• You can associate “됐어” with “done” in English; adding “안” makes it “not done.”

Explanations:
• “안 됐어” is used as an informal statement meaning “didn’t work” or “did not become.”
• It comes from the verb “되다,” meaning “to become” or “to work/turn out.” In the past tense, “되다” becomes “되었어,” which is contracted to “됐어.”
• The prefix “안” negates the meaning, so “안 됐어” literally translates to “did not become” or “didn’t work.”

Other Words/Synonyms:
• Present informal: “안 돼” (an dwae) – meaning “doesn’t work” or “it’s no good.”
• Formal equivalent (past): “되지 않았어요” (doeji anasseoyo) – a more polite version.
• In the context of failure, you might also hear “실패했어” (silpaehaesseo) meaning “failed.”

Conjugations for the Verb “되다” (with its negative form “안 되다”):
• Infinitive: 안 되다 (an doeda) – “to not work/become”
• Present informal: 안 돼 (an dwae) – “it doesn’t work” or “it’s no good”
• Past informal: 안 됐어 (an dwaesseo) – “it didn’t work”
• Future informal: 안 될 거야 (an doel geoya) – “it won’t work”
• Present formal polite: 안 돼요 (an dwaeyo)
• Past formal polite: 안 됐어요 (an dwaesseoyo)
• Future formal polite: 안 될 거예요 (an doel geoyeyo)

Example Sentences:
1. My phone didn't work after I dropped it.
• Korean (informal): 내 핸드폰이 떨어진 후에 안 됐어. (Nae haendeuponi tteoreojin hue an dwaesseo.)
2. The plan didn’t work as expected.
• Korean (informal): 계획이 예상대로 안 됐어. (Gyehoegi yesangdaero an dwaesseo.)
3. It won’t work if you do it that way.
• Korean (informal): 그렇게 하면 안 될 거야. (Geureoke hamyeon an doel geoya.)

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