1 · The basic sentence
Question words: 뭐, 누구, 어디 …
interrogatives
A question word stands where the answer will stand, and takes particles like any noun.
Korean question words do not move to the front of the sentence. They stand where the answer would stand, and the rest of the sentence keeps its order: 뭐 먹어요?, “what are you eating?”, is answered 빵 먹어요, “I’m eating bread”, with 빵 in the place of 뭐. The polite ending stays the same as in a statement.
The basic set: 뭐 (what; 무엇 in writing), 누구 (who), 어디 (where), 언제 (when), 왜 (why), 어떻게 (how), 몇 (how many, with a counter), 얼마 (how much, for prices and amounts), 어느 (which, of several) and 무슨 (what, what kind of). 몇, 어느 and 무슨 stand before a noun or a counter: 몇 시(what time)어느 나라(which country)무슨 요일(what day of the week)
They take particles like any noun. As a subject, 누구 becomes 누가: 누가 왔어요?, “who came?”. As an object, 뭐 often takes no particle in speech, or becomes 뭘, short for 뭐를. 어디 takes 에 for “to where” and 에서 for “at where”: 어디에 가요?, 어디에서 일해요?. With the copula: 이게 뭐예요?, 누구예요?, 얼마예요?.
A question word that is the subject never takes the topic particle, because it asks for new information: 누가 와요?, not 누구는 와요?. And the same words, said without the stress of a real question, mean “something”, “someone”, “somewhere”: 뭐 먹었어요? can be “what did you eat?” or “did you eat something?” — the intonation decides.
The form
| what | 뭐 해요? |
| who, and who as the subject | 누구예요? 누가 왔어요? |
| where to, where at | 어디에 가요? 어디에서 일해요? |
| when, why, how | 언제 와요? 왜 웃어요? 어떻게 가요? |
| how many, how much | 몇 개예요? 얼마예요? |
| which, what kind of | 어느 나라 사람이에요? 무슨 영화를 좋아해요? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
A question word stands where the answer will stand; the order does not change.
주말에 뭐 해요?What are you doing at the weekend?
As a subject, 누구 becomes 누가.
누가 전화했어요?Who called?
몇, 어느 and 무슨 stand before a noun or a counter.
지금 몇 시예요?What time is it now?
얼마 asks for a price or an amount.
이 사과 얼마예요?How much are these apples?
A question word as the subject takes 이 or 가, never 은 or 는.
어느 분이 김 선생님이세요?Which of you is Mr Kim?
A closer look
Something, someone, somewhere
The question words double as indefinite words. 뭐 마실래요? with the stress on 뭐 is “what would you like to drink?”; said lightly, with the stress on the verb, it is “would you like something to drink?”. 어디 가요? may be “where are you going?” or “are you going somewhere?” — and Koreans often use it as a greeting that needs no real answer.
The answer shows which was meant. A question word wants a word back (커피요); the indefinite question wants a yes or a no (네, 좋아요). When in doubt, answering the question word is never rude.
How to spot it
- 뭐
- 누구
- 누가
- 어디
- 언제
- 왜
- 어떻게
- 몇
- 얼마
- 어느
- 무슨
Example sentences
어디에 살아요?Where do you live?
생일이 언제예요?When is your birthday?
왜 한국어를 배워요?Why are you learning Korean?
학교에 어떻게 가요?How do you get to school?
오늘이 무슨 요일이에요?What day is it today?
가족이 몇 명이에요?How many people are there in your family?
8 more example sentences
이건 뭐예요?What is this?
저 사람은 누구예요?Who is that person?
어제 어디에서 만났어요?Where did you meet yesterday?
이 단어는 어떻게 읽어요?How do you read this word?
몇 살이에요?How old are you?
전부 얼마예요?How much is it altogether?
어느 쪽으로 가야 돼요?Which way should I go?
무슨 일 있어요?Is something the matter?
Worth knowing (1)
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What, or what kind
뭐 stands alone; 무슨 needs a noun after it: 뭐 좋아해요? (what do you like?), 무슨 음식 좋아해요? (what kind of food do you like?). 어느 picks one out of a known set: 어느 쪽이에요? (which way is it?).
무슨 음식을 좋아해요?What kind of food do you like?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The topic particle marks something both speakers already have in mind, and a question word asks for exactly what is not known yet. As the subject, 누구 therefore takes the subject particle, and 누구 with 가 contracts to 누가. The answer keeps it: 제 친구가 썼어요.
The question word sits where the answer goes, and nugu turns into nuga as the subject.
Your turn
11 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.