How to ask questions in Korean? — 5W1H in Korean
What is 5W1H？
5W1H is the abbreviation for the following six questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Who/Whose? = 누구 / 누가 (누구 + 가)
누구:
누구세요? = Who are you?
누구를 만났어요? = Who did you meet?
누구(의):
The particle 의 can be attached after 누구. It will be 누구(의), which means “whose”. The particle 의 is used to show possession, but it is often omitted in daily conversations.
이건 누구(의) 차예요? → 이건 누구 차예요? = Whose car is this?
*이건 is the contraction for 이것은. It means “this”.
누가:
누가 is the contraction of 누구 and the subject particle 가, so 누가 can only be the subject of a question. 누가 emphasizes the subject of the question.
누가 비빔밥을 시켰어요? = Who ordered bibimbap?
The main focus of this question is “Who”. One possible situation for this question may be when the waiter brings the food over, but no one knows who ordered the bibimbap. One person from the group will then ask “누가 비빔밥을 시켰어요?” and the waiter will bring the food to that person.
What? = 무엇 (뭐)
무엇:
무엇을 했습니까? = What did you do?
Since 무엇 sounds very formal, the formal honorific ending 습니까? is used.
무엇이든 물어보세요. = Please ask me anything.
뭐:
뭐 is the contraction of 무엇. It’s less formal, so it can often be found in daily conversations.
이건 뭐예요? = What is this?
오늘 저녁 뭐 먹지? = What should I have for dinner? -Intimate speech style-
When? = 언제
언제 와? = When are you coming? -Intimate speech style-
언제 일어났어요? = When did you get up?
We can also use 몇 시에 일어났어요? (= What time did you get up?) here. — 언제 is asking for a general time while 몇 시 is more specific.
Where? = 어디
어디에서 왔어요? = Where are you from?
이 가방은 어디에서 샀어요? = Where did you get your bag?
Why? = 왜
왜? = Why? -Intimate speech style-
왜 그랬어요? = Why did you do that?
왜 그렇게 생각하세요? = Why would you think that?
How? = 어떻게 / 어떡해요
어떻게 and 어떡해요 are different!
어떻게: 어떻다 → 어떻게 (How?)
요즘 어떻게 지내세요? = How have you been lately?
한국말을 어떻게 이렇게 잘 하세요? = How come you speak perfect Korean?
어떡해요: 어떻게 + 해요 = 어떻게 해요 = 어떡해요 (What should I do?)
어떻게 with 하다’s polite form 해요 will become 어떡해요. 어떡해요 is actually the contraction of 어떻게 해요.
우산을 안 챙겼어요. 비가 내리면 어떡해요? = I didn’t bring an umbrella. What should I do if it rains?
오 어떡해? 늦었다! 빨리 나가야 돼! = Oh what should I do? I am late! I need to head out now! -Intimate speech style-
