Do not -지 말다

-지 말다 is attached to a verb, it means ‘do not’, it makes a imperative sentence. -지 말다 can be used with these endings depending on who you are talking to. A good thing is that you don’t need to worry about the conjugation!!! You can simply put a verb with -지 말다.

1. -지 마 is 반말(plain form), so it is used to someone who is your friend and younger people. If you haven’t learned 반말, please click here. And sometimes you will hear -지 마라 in a K-drama, -지 마라 form is more formal than -지 마.
2. -지 말아요( is used for when you talk to someone who is similar age(maybe older than you). And you will hear -지 마요 in K-songs, it is short form for -지 말아요.
3. -지 마세요(-지 말+(으)세요 => ㄹ drop) is an honorific form, so it is used to someone who are older than you or public.

For example,
to a friend or young person
하지 마. Don’t do.
가지 마. Don’t go. (Let’s watch 가지 마, 가지마 by 브라운 아이즈.)
떠나지 마. Don’t leave.

to a person who is a little older than you.
그런 말하지 말아요. Don’t say that.
가지 말아요. Don’t go.
잊지 말아요. Don’t forget. (You can hear it in “잊지 말아요.Don’t forget” by 백지영)

For someone who are way older than you.
들어가지 마세요. Do not enter.
담배를 피우지 마세요. Do not smoke.
울지 마세요. Do not cry.
떠나가지 마세요. Do not leave. (I found an old song that I listened to when I was young ^^. 떠나가지 마세요 by 언타이틀)

#지마 #지마라 #지마세요 #마세요 #말아요 #말다 #지말다 #마요 #하지마 #가지마 #지말으세요 # 그런말하지마 #do not in Korean #don’t in Korean #말다 don’t #지말다 don’t #지 마세요 grammar #지 마 meaning