아니요
aniyo · TOPIK 1
no (polite)
아니요 = 아니 (not so) + 요 (polite ending): a no with manners
아니 comes from 아니다, to not be. Adding 요 makes it polite, the same 요 that ends polite sentences. Sound hook: ah-knee-yo, as in Ah, NEE-YO? No, thank you. Drop the 요 and you get casual 아니.