Hi! Could you break down this sentence and explain what each part expresses/means in this context?
I found it on a naver blog where there were a lot of drawings with the same theme, I think 뭐 is being used as a filler/interjection but I don't really get what it means/expresses. Additionally I think 아니 here is a type of 아니시에이팅 but 아니 + 진짜 kind of threw me off, if you could provide insight it would be appreciated.
Alternatively could you do a lesson over common/colloquial sentence starters like 아니 (and explain 아니시에이팅) and 뭐 etc? Like I know 아니 can express surpise and so can 뭐 but I feel like there's more to it than just that. Thank you :)
(I'm so sorry for asking such a looong question, thank you for even taking the time to read it)
Hi! This is a great question so I’ll make it this week’s lesson!! I’ll put this in the advanced section of my masterlist. Let’s talk about 아니시에이팅 first!
아니시에이팅 sounds like the English word for “initiating” and starts with the Korean word 아니. This refers to when people begin their sentences with 아니. You probably know that 아니 is an informal way of saying “no,” but when if comes to “initiating,” it’s different.
TTMIK has a great video about 아니시에이팅 here— you should watch it! My explanation heavily relies on their’s so all the credit to them :) In short, 아니, when used at the beginning of a sentence can mean a number of different things. It can mean something like “wait” or “hold on,” but can also mean something like “I mean” or “well…” — that sort of thing. It’s good for expressing surprise or doubt, or to offer and explanation as TTMIK says in their video. Let’s see some example sentences!
가: 이 가방을 살래. = I want to buy this bag.
나: 아니, 왜 이렇게 비싼데? = Wait, why is it so expensive?
Here, 나 is expressing their surprise at the high price of the bag that 가 wants to buy. It’s kinda like how in English we say “why is it so expensive tho?” I get that kinda feeling from it.
가: 왜 이렇게 일찍 왔어요? = Why did you come so early?
나: 아니, 기차는 연착될 까 봐 집에 일찍 나갔어요. = Well, I was afraid the train was going to be delayed, so I left the house early.
Here, 나 is offering a reason as to why they showed up so early.
Finally, 아니 can be used as a way to get someone’s attention. It’s not really used for when you’re calling someone from far away, but when you’re in the middle of a conversation with someone and want to say something important, you can use 아니 to gently grab their attention:
가: 아니, 어머니 잘 지내고 계셔요? = By the way, is your mom doing well?
나: 네, 잘 지내고 계셔요. = Yes, she’s doing well.
Perhaps 가 is changing the subject or just wants to ask how 나’s mom is, and this is something 가 really wants to know, so they say 아니 to get 나’s attention.
Hope that all makes sense! Let’s move onto 뭐. I feel like 뭐, when used in these filler-like situations, is meant to express surprise as you mentioned. I think the sentence you wrote can be translated as “why are there so many drawings?” In a lot of cases, it actually seems to mean “why” rather than “what.” In English, we say things like “what are there so many drawings here for?” It sounds a little shocked or surprised, maybe a little confused to taken aback even. I feel like 뭐 in this case does the same. It’s also pretty colloquial; I’m not sure if I would call it slang but it’s definitely colloquial and I doubt you’d see it in writing or something like that.
I’ve seen some sentences on Naver Dictionary like:
뭐 이렇게 길어? = Why is it so long?
뭐 이렇게 놀래? = Why are you so surprised?
These seem to me like “what is it so long for?” or “what are you so surprised for?” They’ve got that kind of stronger, more surprised, or extra question-y type feel to it. Why’s it gotta be so long? What on earth are you so surprised for? It doesn’t have to have a super angry nuance necessarily, but it’s got that “what…for?” type feel in my opinion. You also see it paired with 이렇게 a lot, which means “so” in these particular cases. So it means stuff like “why are there so many drawings?”
I also don’t think I’ve seen 뭐 이렇게 used like this in a formal sentence. It seems pretty informal, so I would recommend keeping it for when you’re talking to those you’d speak informally with.
I’ve also see sentences where 뭐 이렇게 does kind of just seem like filler. If you search 뭐 이렇게 on Naver Dictionary and look at some of the sentences from V-Live, it seems like it’s used in incomplete sentences, like when you’re trailing off in the middle, so it does kinda feel like filler. Maybe it’s similar to how we say “like” a lot in English.
I must note that I’m not a native speaker and I’ve never been to Korea before, so perhaps I am missing something or misunderstanding what 뭐 is all about in these kinds of instances. But based on what I’ve seen (I have seen and heard 뭐 used this way a lot), this is what it sounds like to me. As always, if anyone has any more insight about either of these topics, please share! I hope this is helpful! 화이팅!
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