How Questions Work in Korean
Korean questions differ from English in several important ways:
- Word order does not change. Unlike English, Korean does not move the verb or auxiliary to the front.
- Wh-words stay in place. "What did you eat?" becomes "You what ate?" in Korean word order.
- Intonation and endings mark questions. Rising intonation or question particles signal that a sentence is a question.
Yes/No Questions
In everyday polite speech, yes/no questions look exactly like statements -- the only difference is rising intonation at the end:
| Statement |
Question |
| 한국어를 공부해요. (I study Korean.) |
한국어를 공부해요? (Do you study Korean?) |
| 커피를 마셔요. (I drink coffee.) |
커피를 마셔요? (Do you drink coffee?) |
| 학생이에요. (I am a student.) |
학생이에요? (Are you a student?) |
In formal speech, questions use a dedicated ending:
| Statement Ending |
Question Ending |
Example |
| ~ㅂ니다 (vowel stem) |
~ㅂ니까? |
갑니다 → 갑니까? (Do you go?) |
| ~습니다 (consonant stem) |
~습니까? |
먹습니다 → 먹습니까? (Do you eat?) |
| Korean |
English |
| 한국어를 공부합니까? |
Do you study Korean? (formal) |
| 커피를 마십니까? |
Do you drink coffee? (formal) |
| 학생입니까? |
Are you a student? (formal) |
Answering Yes/No Questions
| Korean |
English |
| 네, 학생이에요. |
Yes, I am a student. |
| 아니요, 학생이 아니에요. |
No, I am not a student. |
| 네, 좋아해요. |
Yes, I like it. |
| 아니요, 안 좋아해요. |
No, I don't like it. |
Note: 네 (ne) means "yes" and 아니요 (aniyo) means "no." In casual speech, 응 (eung) for yes and 아니 (ani) for no are used.
Wh-Questions: Interrogative Words
Korean has a full set of question words. Unlike English, these words stay in the position where the answer would go:
Question Word Reference
| Korean |
Romanization |
Meaning |
Example Question |
| 뭐 / 무엇 |
mwo / mueot |
what |
뭐 먹어요? (What do you eat?) |
| 누구 |
nugu |
who |
누구예요? (Who is it?) |
| 어디 |
eodi |
where |
어디에 가요? (Where do you go?) |
| 언제 |
eonje |
when |
언제 와요? (When do you come?) |
| 왜 |
wae |
why |
왜 울어요? (Why are you crying?) |
| 어떻게 |
eotteoke |
how |
어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?) |
| 얼마 |
eolma |
how much |
얼마예요? (How much is it?) |
| 몇 |
myeot |
how many / what (number) |
몇 개예요? (How many?) |
| 어떤 |
eotteon |
what kind of / which |
어떤 음악? (What kind of music?) |
| 어느 |
eoneu |
which (one) |
어느 나라? (Which country?) |
뭐 / 무엇 (What)
뭐 is casual; 무엇 is formal. Both mean "what."
| Korean |
English |
| 이거 뭐예요? |
What is this? |
| 뭐 먹어요? |
What are you eating? |
| 뭐 해요? |
What are you doing? |
| 무엇을 원하십니까? |
What do you want? (formal) |
누구 (Who)
누구 means "who." As a subject, it becomes 누가 (nuga):
| Korean |
English |
| 이 사람은 누구예요? |
Who is this person? |
| 누가 왔어요? |
Who came? |
| 누가 했어요? |
Who did it? |
| 누구를 좋아해요? |
Who do you like? |
| 누구랑 같이 가요? |
Who are you going with? |
Key point: 누구 + 가 → 누가 (subject form). 누구 + 를 → 누구를 (object form).
어디 (Where)
| Korean |
English |
| 어디에 가요? |
Where are you going? |
| 어디에서 살아요? |
Where do you live? |
| 화장실이 어디예요? |
Where is the bathroom? |
| 어디에서 왔어요? |
Where did you come from? |
언제 (When)
| Korean |
English |
| 언제 와요? |
When are you coming? |
| 생일이 언제예요? |
When is your birthday? |
| 언제 시작해요? |
When does it start? |
| 한국에 언제 갔어요? |
When did you go to Korea? |
왜 (Why)
| Korean |
English |
| 왜요? |
Why? (standalone) |
| 왜 안 먹어요? |
Why aren't you eating? |
| 왜 늦었어요? |
Why were you late? |
| 왜 한국어를 공부해요? |
Why do you study Korean? |
어떻게 (How)
| Korean |
English |
| 어떻게 해요? |
How do you do it? |
| 이름을 어떻게 써요? |
How do you write the name? |
| 학교에 어떻게 가요? |
How do you get to school? |
| 어떻게 지내세요? |
How are you doing? |
얼마 (How Much) / 몇 (How Many)
| Korean |
English |
| 이거 얼마예요? |
How much is this? |
| 얼마나 걸려요? |
How long does it take? |
| 몇 개 있어요? |
How many are there? |
| 몇 시에 만나요? |
What time shall we meet? |
| 몇 살이에요? |
How old are you? |
어떤 (What Kind) / 어느 (Which)
| Korean |
English |
| 어떤 음식을 좋아해요? |
What kind of food do you like? |
| 어떤 색이에요? |
What color is it? |
| 어느 나라 사람이에요? |
Which country are you from? |
| 어느 쪽이에요? |
Which way/side is it? |
Question Particles
Used with verb stems for formal polite questions:
| Korean |
English |
| 가십니까? |
Are you going? (formal) |
| 있습니까? |
Do you have / Is there? (formal) |
~나요? (Soft/Gentle Questions)
~나요? adds a soft, wondering tone. Often used with 있다/없다 and adjectives:
| Korean |
English |
| 시간 있나요? |
Do you have time? |
| 괜찮나요? |
Is it okay? |
| 맛있나요? |
Is it delicious? |
| 학생인가요? |
Are you a student? (gentle) |
~(으)ㄹ까요? (Shall We / I Wonder)
This ending has two main uses:
1. Suggestions ("Shall we...?")
| Korean |
English |
| 같이 갈까요? |
Shall we go together? |
| 뭐 먹을까요? |
What shall we eat? |
| 창문을 열까요? |
Shall I open the window? |
| 언제 만날까요? |
When shall we meet? |
2. Wondering ("I wonder if...")
| Korean |
English |
| 내일 비가 올까요? |
I wonder if it will rain tomorrow. |
| 괜찮을까요? |
I wonder if it will be okay. |
| 맛있을까요? |
I wonder if it's delicious. |
~지요? / ~죠? (Tag Questions -- "Right?")
~지요 (shortened to ~죠) is used when you expect agreement or confirmation:
| Korean |
English |
| 한국 사람이지요? |
You're Korean, right? |
| 이거 맛있죠? |
This is delicious, right? |
| 알죠? |
You know, right? |
| 내일 오시죠? |
You're coming tomorrow, right? |
Indirect Questions
Indirect questions (embedded questions) use ~(으)ㄴ지/는지 to embed a question inside another sentence:
| Tense |
Verb/Adj |
Pattern |
Example |
| Present (verb) |
가다 |
가는지 |
어디에 가는지 (where [someone] goes) |
| Present (adj) |
좋다 |
좋은지 |
좋은지 (whether it's good) |
| Past |
갔다 |
갔는지 |
어디에 갔는지 (where [someone] went) |
| Future |
갈 것이다 |
갈지 |
갈지 (whether [someone] will go) |
Common Patterns
| Korean |
English |
| 뭐인지 몰라요. |
I don't know what it is. |
| 어디에 사는지 알아요? |
Do you know where they live? |
| 언제 오는지 물어보세요. |
Please ask when they're coming. |
| 왜 그런지 모르겠어요. |
I don't understand why that is. |
| 뭐 먹을지 정했어요? |
Have you decided what to eat? |
| 갈지 안 갈지 모르겠어요. |
I don't know whether to go or not. |
Indirect Questions with 알다/모르다
| Korean |
English |
| 이름이 뭔지 알아요? |
Do you know what the name is? |
| 몇 시인지 몰라요. |
I don't know what time it is. |
| 어디에 있는지 알아요? |
Do you know where it is? |
| 누군지 기억 안 나요. |
I don't remember who it was. |
Question Word Summary Table
| Word |
Meaning |
Subject Form |
With 을/를 |
| 뭐 |
what |
뭐가 |
뭐를 |
| 누구 |
who |
누가 |
누구를 |
| 어디 |
where |
-- |
-- |
| 언제 |
when |
-- |
-- |
| 왜 |
why |
-- |
-- |
| 어떻게 |
how |
-- |
-- |
| 얼마 |
how much |
-- |
-- |
| 몇 |
how many |
-- |
-- |
Common Daily Questions
| Korean |
English |
| 이름이 뭐예요? |
What is your name? |
| 어디에서 왔어요? |
Where are you from? |
| 뭐 해요? |
What are you doing? |
| 왜요? |
Why? |
| 어떻게 생각해요? |
What do you think? |
| 이거 얼마예요? |
How much is this? |
| 몇 시예요? |
What time is it? |
| 화장실이 어디예요? |
Where is the restroom? |
| 이거 뭐라고 해요? |
What do you call this? |
| 한국어로 어떻게 말해요? |
How do you say it in Korean? |
Common Mistakes
| Mistake |
Correction |
Explanation |
| 뭐가 먹어요? |
뭐를 먹어요? |
"What" is the object, use 를 |
| 누구를 왔어요? |
누가 왔어요? |
"Who" is the subject, use 가 |
| 어디 가요? |
어디에 가요? |
Add particle 에 for direction |
| 왜 때문에? |
왜요? or 무엇 때문에? |
왜 already means "why" -- don't add 때문에 |
Practice
Form questions from these prompts:
- Ask what someone is eating. → ___
- Ask where the school is. → ___
- Suggest eating together. ("Shall we eat together?") → ___
- Ask how much something costs. → ___
- Say you don't know where it is. (indirect question) → ___