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    Korean Question Words

    Uploaded by

    sylviapark

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 6

    Korean Question Words – Asking about

    what you want to know


    Last modified: May 13, 2024 | 7 min read | By Joseph Gerocs

    In this lesson, we’re going to cover the Korean question words. You can use these
    words to ask Korean questions, which is really important for having a Korean
    conversation.

    Once you learn Korean question words from this lesson, you will be able to ask your
    Korean friends many questions and understand the questions in Korean they’ll want to
    ask you. The vocabulary below is written in Hangeul with their romanized version.
    However, we highly encourage learners to start their language journey by learning the
    Korean alphabet.

    How to say “question” in Korean


    You can use the words 질문 (jilmun) and 문제 (munje) to say “question” in Korean.

    Both words mean “question,” but 문제 (munje) talks more about questions or
    problems that you can answer in textbooks.

    Now, let’s head on to specific question words in Korean.

    Korean Question Words


    To get correct answers to your questions, it’s important to learn how to ask these
    questions correctly. We’ll discuss what each question word is called in Korean and
    how to use them in sentences.

    What are the common question words in Korean?

    There are a bunch of ways to ask questions, depending on the situation. However, in
    the video below, we will first focus on the most common ones and how to use them to
    ask questions.

    What are the common question words in Korean?


    List of Question Words in Korean
    Here are the most common question words in the Korean language. Using these
    will help speed up your Korean language learning by allowing you to have
    conversations with your Korean friends right away. These words are also beneficial if
    you’re in South Korea and need to ask questions in Korean to the locals.
    English Korean
    What 뭐 (mwo)
    When 언제 (eonje)
    Where 어디 (eodi)
    Who 누구 (nugu)
    Why 왜 (wae)
    Which 어느 (eoneu)
    How 어떻게 (eotteoke)
    What kind of 어떤 (eotteon)
    What (kind of) 무슨 (museun)
    How many/much/long 얼마나 (eolmana)
    How much 얼마 (eolma)
    How many 몇 (myeot)
    How to Use “Who,” “What,” “When,” “Where,” “Why,”
    and “How” in Korean
    To make your learning as easy as possible, we’ll also show you a sample sentence of
    each question word. Let’s first start with the common question words used, which are
    also known as the 5 Ws and H questions, specifically, the question words who, what,
    when, where, why, and how.

    There may also be some notes near the question words if there are special cases.
    We’ve included the English translation and the sentence in romanized Korean so you
    can easily take note of the Korean words and phrases used.

    “What” in Korean – 뭐 (mwo)

    The word for “what” in Korean is 뭐 (mwo), which is the shortened form of 무엇
    (mueot). You’ll likely see 뭐 used in most situations, but it’s useful to learn both
    words.

    이름이 뭐예요? (ireumi mwoyeyo?)

    What is your name?

    “When” in Korean – 언제 (eonje)


    The word for “when” in Korean is 언제 (eonje). The example question below is one
    of the basic questions you’ll hear when having a Korean conversation. To know how
    to properly respond to this question, we have separate articles that you can read. These
    are about months, time, and days of the week in Korean, as well as different Korean
    time expressions.

    한국에 언제 왔어요? (eonje hanguge wasseoyo?)

    When did you come to Korea?

    You can put this question word in various parts of the sentence, but typically it is
    placed just before the verb. Often you’ll see Korean particles such as 부터 (buteo) and
    까지 (kkaji) to indicate “from” and “until” when something happens.

    “Where” in Korean – 어디 (eodi)

    If you want to ask “where” in Korean, you can say it as 어디 (eodi).

    This is another common question that you’re bound to hear if you’re learning the
    Korean language. To reply, you need to know the name of your country in Korean.
    You can find a list of countries in Korean on this page. Some of the countries sound
    like the country’s name in English, and some don’t. Knowing about Korean
    addresses can also be helpful when learning about this question.

    어디에서 왔어요? (eodieseo wasseoyo?)

    Where are you from?

    “Who” in Korean – 누구 (nugu)

    If you want to know someone’s name or identity, you can ask “who” in the Korean
    language as 누구 (nugu).

    제일 친한 친구는 누구예요? (jeil chinhan chinguneun nuguyeyo?)

    Who is your best friend?

    “Why” in Korean – 왜 (wae)

    You can also use the question word 왜 (wae) on its own to say “why” in Korean. For
    example, you can ask 왜 (wae) or 왜요 (wae-yo). The former is informal, and the
    latter is a standard version way to say “why” in Korean that you can use with anyone.
    You can place this word anywhere before the verb. Most of the time, it appears in
    front of the verb.

    한국어를 왜 배워요? (hangugeoreul wae baewoyo?)

    Why do you study Korean?

    “Which” in Korean – 어느 (eoneu)

    If there are several choices in a scenario, you can say 어느 (eoneu), translating
    to “which” in Korean.

    어느 대학교를 다니세요? (eoneu daehakgyoreul daniseyo?)

    Which university do you go to?

    “How” in Korean – 어떻게 (eotteoke)

    You’d often hear this as an expression, but 어떻게 (eotteoke) translates to “how” in
    Korean.

    남자친구를 어떻게 만났어요? (namjachingureul eotteoke mannasseoyo?)

    How did you meet your boyfriend?

    How to use other Korean question words


    Now that you’ve learned sentences using the first six question words, here are more
    question words for you to learn. We’ve also added sample sentences for each of them
    below.

    “What kind of” in Korean – 어떤 (eotteon)

    The word for “what kind of” in the Korean language is 어떤 (eotteon).

    어떤 음식을 제일 좋아하세요? (eotteon eumsigeul jeil joahaseyo?)


    What kind of food do you like the most?

    “What (kind of)” in Korean – 무슨 (museun)

    You can say “what (kind of)” in Korean as 무슨 (museun).

    이게 무슨 냄새예요? (ige museun naemsaeyeyo?)

    What (kind of) smell is this?

    How to ask a question in Korean using 무슨 (museun) and 어떤 (eotteon)

    As mentioned above, the Korean question words 무슨 (museun) and 어떤 (eotteon)


    both translate to “what kind of.” However, they are used in different situations. The
    video below explains the difference between these two words and how to use each of
    them in a sentence.

    What’s the difference between the Korean words 무슨 (museun) and 어떤 (eotteon)?
    “How many/much/long” in Korean – 얼마나 (eolmana)

    When asking “how many” in Korean, you can say it as 얼마나 (eolmana). The same
    goes for “how much” in Korean and “how long” in Korean.

    Having knowledge of Korean numbers and counters can also help you understand the
    responses for these questions.

    집에서 홍대까지 얼마나 걸릴거예요? (jibeseo hongdaekkaji eolmana


    geollilgeoyeyo?)

    How much time will it take from your home to Hongdae?

    “How much” in Korean -얼마 (eolma)

    You can also say “how much” in Korean as 얼마 (eolma). This is especially
    useful when you plan to shop or perhaps buy some Korean food.

    바나나 1 개 얼마예요? (banana hangae eolmayeyo?)

    How much does one banana cost?

    “How many” in Korean – 몇 (myeot)


    The more specific word for “how many” in the Korean language is 몇 (myeot).

    맥주 몇 병 드릴까요? ( maekju myeot byeong deurilkkayo)

    How many bottles of beer would you like?

    If you’d like to learn more phrases like our sentence examples, we have a separate
    article on Korean phrases.

    What does the Korean word 몇 (myeot) mean?


    If you learned something through the videos in this article, you can also subscribe to
    our YouTube Channel for other helpful videos!

    Wrap Up
    Big congratulations! You have just learned the commonly used Korean question
    words! Now, you can immediately go and start asking all the burning Korean
    questions not only to your friends who speak English but also to those who speak
    Korean.

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