Korean Question Words + How to use them!
I had been getting a lot of asks and messages recently about question words in Korean – and essentially how to use them, so I’ve compiled a list of question words, I’ll give you an example as well the meaning. SO! Let’s get started :)
♡ 무슨*? – which / what kind of ~ this is generally used when there is more than one option of something. It asks for specifics when there is a selection of options 무슨 책을 샀어요? - which book did you buy? 무슨 침대에서 잘거에요? - which bed are you going to sleep on? 무슨 말이에요? - what are you saying?
♡ 뭐 / 무엇? – both mean ‘what’ but 무엇 is more formal (and often used in writing) than 뭐 ~ in this case, 뭐 / 무엇 is generally the object of the sentence, so the object particles 을 / 를 can be added 뭐 하고 있어요? - what are you doing? 뭘 먹고 싶어요? - what do you want to eat? 무엇을 입었어요? - what did you wear? when using 이다 in a sentence with what, it’s better to use 뭐 rather than 무엇 ex. 이거 뭐예요? vs. 이거 무엇이에요?
♡ 어느* / 어떤*? - which ~ not to be confused with 무슨, 어떤 and 무슨 are used quite similarily here’s an example of how they’re different: 무슨 영화를 보고 싶어요? - what kind of movie do you want to see? vs. 어떤 영화를 보고 싶어요? - which movie do you want to see? ~ *무슨 / 어느 / 어떤 are all placed before nouns 어느 나라 왔어요? - which country are you from? 어느 집에서 살아요? - which house do you live in? 어떤 음악을 듣는 걸 좋아하세요? - which music do you like listening to?
♡ 어디? - where ~ used for places or destinations, (에)서 or 가 is usually added 어디에서 만날거예요? - where will we meet? 어디가 아파요? - where does it hurt? 어디서 먹고 싶어요? - where do you want to eat?
♡ 왜? - why ~ used for asking reason, pretty self-explanatory 이 가수를 왜 마음에 들어요? - why do you like this singer? 한국어를 왜 공부하고 있어요? - why are you studying Korean? 어제 학교에 왜 안 갔어요? - why didn’t you go to school yesterday?
♡ 얼마 / 몇 / 얼마나? - how much ~ 얼마 + 이다 (how much) ~ 얼마나 + adverb (how many) ~ 몇 + Korean counters (how many) 표는 얼마예요? - how much is the ticket? 밥을 얼마나 많이* 먹었어요? - how much rice did you eat? *많이 is added to emphasize the amount of rice eaten 몇살이에요? - how old are you? (lit. how many years?)
♡ 언제? - when ~ used to ask when something is happening ~ 언제 + 부터 (since when?) ~ 언제 + 까지 집에 언제 갈거예요? - when will you go home? 언제부터 한국어를 공부했어요? - since when have you been studying Korean? 한국에서 언제까지 있을거예요? - until when will you stay in Korea?
♡ 누구 / 누가? - who ~ the difference between 누구 and 누가 is 누가 is a conjunction of 누구가 which puts emphasis on 누구 being the topic 그거 누가 만들었어요? - who made that? (이거) 누구예요? - who is (this)? 누가 전화했어요? - who called?
♡ 어때 / 어떻게? - how ~ now I hate to say it, but these are really similar but SO different. they both come from the verb 어떻다 but 어떻게 is rather used as an adverb (because of the -게) and 어때 is just normal conjugation 기분이 어때요? - how are you feeling? 남친 어때요? - how about your boyfriend? 한국어를 어떻게 배웠어요? - how did you learn Korean? 어떻게 not to be confused with 어떡해 which is a contraction of 어떻게 하다 - which has a similar meaning to “what should I do?” Also popular in Kdramas
And that’s that! There you have it - Korean Question Words + How to use them! If you need help with Hangul go here. Or help with conjugating, go here. If you need more help or there’s something you found confusing, don’t hesitate to ask me, I will always be here to help - no question is a stupid question. But I hope you enjoyed this lesson and I hope it helps you improve your Korean sentences! Happy Learning :)
~ SK101
practice on quizlet