8 ways to say yes and no in Korean, and why 네 sometimes means no
Yes and no look like day-one words, and the Korean ones are, until the first time you ask a negative question and the answer comes back the wrong way round. Korean answers the question as asked: agree with it and you say 네 even when the English answer is no.
These eight cover the plain answers, the soft no that does most of the work in daily life, and the one trap worth learning early. All of them are in polite 요 speech, which is what you want with anyone you have just met.
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네.
ne.
Yes.
The everyday polite yes, and also the sound of listening: on the phone a Korean says 네, 네 while you talk the way an English speaker says 'mm-hm'. 예 (ye) is the stiffer version you hear in the army and in very formal settings.
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아니요.
aniyo.
No.
The polite no. The spelling is 아니요, not 아니오; the 오 version is an old written form that still turns up on signs. Among friends it shortens to 아니 (ani).
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네, 안 먹었어요.
ne, an meogeosseoyo.
No, I haven't eaten.
Literally: Yes, (I) didn't eat.
The trap. To 안 먹었어요? (you didn't eat?) a Korean answers 네 to agree with the question: right, I didn't. English flips it to 'no'. Answer the statement, not the fact, and you will be understood.
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맞아요.
majayo.
That's right.
Confirms a fact rather than answering a request. Someone guesses your hometown or repeats your order back to you and 맞아요 is the natural reply; 네 alone sounds a little flat there.
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아니에요.
anieyo.
It isn't. / Not at all.
Literally: (It) is not.
A different word from 아니요: this one is the verb 'to not be'. It is also the standard reply to 감사합니다, the Korean 'don't mention it', often with a little wave of the hand.
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괜찮아요.
gwaenchanayo.
I'm fine, thanks.
Literally: (It) is okay.
The soft no of shops and restaurants. Offered a bag, a sample or a refill, Koreans say 괜찮아요 and mean 'no thank you'. It also means 'it's okay' when you are asked if you are alright, so context carries it; add 아니요 in front when the no has to be clear.
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글쎄요.
geulsseyo.
Well, I'm not sure.
The non-answer. It hedges, buys time, and more often than not is a polite no in the making. If you ask someone out and hear 글쎄요, do not ask twice.
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그럼요.
geureomyo.
Of course.
The warm yes, the one that says the question did not even need asking. 당연하죠 (dangyeonhajyo, naturally) does the same job.
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One habit worth copying: Koreans rarely let a bare 네 or 아니요 stand alone. The answer comes with the verb repeated, 네, 있어요 or 아니요, 없어요, which is also how you avoid the negative-question confusion entirely.