Grammar
Why Do Yes and No Seem Reversed in Korean?
네 does not mean yes. It means "what you said is right". With an ordinary question those come to the same thing, so nothing looks strange. With a negative question they split, and that is every case that feels reversed.
This is one rule rather than a list of exceptions, and there is one situation where it turns around.
Where it looks normal
시간 있어요? / 네, 있어요. / 아니요, 없어요.
si-gan i-sseo-yo? / ne, i-sseo-yo. / a-ni-yo, eop-sseo-yo.
Do you have time? / Yes, I do. / No, I don't.
네 agrees with the question and the question was positive, so agreeing means yes. English and Korean line up and nobody notices there is a rule.
Where it flips
Now make the question negative. English answers the fact. Korean answers the question.
안 바빠요? / 네, 안 바빠요. / 아니요, 바빠요.
an ba-ppa-yo? / ne, an ba-ppa-yo. / a-ni-yo, ba-ppa-yo.
Aren't you busy? / Right, I'm not. / Actually, I am.
네 there is not "yes I am busy". It is "you are right, I am not busy". And 아니요 is not "no", it is "that is not right, I am busy".
English does the opposite: "No, I'm not busy" and "Yes, I am". So the two languages land on opposite words for the same fact, which is where the feeling of reversal comes from.
The rule in one line
네 confirms what the other person was claiming. 아니요 corrects it. Ask yourself whether what they were putting forward is right, not whether the fact is true.
The one place it turns around
A negative question is not always a real question. 맛있지 않아요? is usually a check rather than an enquiry: the speaker thinks it is good and is asking you to agree.
맛있지 않아요? / 네, 맛있어요.
ma-sit-jji a-na-yo? / ne, ma-si-sseo-yo.
It is good, isn't it? / Yes, it is.
네 there agrees with what the speaker thinks, which is that the food is good. The rule has not changed, only what was being asserted. So the axis is not which negative was used. It is whether you were being asked something or invited to agree, and that is worth hearing before you answer.
How to not get caught
- Answer with the verb. 네, 안 바빠요 is safe because the verb carries the fact. A bare 네 will be heard as agreeing with the negative, whatever you meant by it.
- Listen for 안. That is the marker telling you the question was negative and the flip is about to matter.
- Do not translate your answer. Deciding in English and converting is exactly what produces the wrong word here.
The one that catches everyone
A waiter asks 안 드세요? (Aren't you eating?) when you have not started. Answering 네 means you are not eating. If you meant that you are about to, the answer is 아니요, 먹을 거예요.
Getting it wrong is recoverable but not free: answer 네 to 안 드세요? and the food may not arrive. It is completely avoidable once you have heard the rule.
The short version
네 agrees with what was said and 아니요 corrects it. Attach the verb to your answer and the ambiguity disappears, because the verb states the fact regardless of which word you opened with.
See which of the four forms you actually have
Most people can make a statement and stall on the answer. This shows which of the four forms are yours. Free, no account needed.
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