Day 24: Question words
Two gifts and one trap today.
① Korean question words do not move. English hauls them to the front — "What did you eat?" — and Korean leaves them exactly where the answer would go: 뭐 먹었어요? No word-order change at all. ② The same words also mean "something, someone, somewhere" — and only your intonation separates them (section 5).
The trap is 누구 + 가 = 누가, which is the one irregular form.
1. The words
| 뭐 / 무엇 | what | 무엇 is the written form |
|---|---|---|
| 누구 | who | ★ + 가 → 누가 |
| 어디 | where | |
| 언제 | when | |
| 왜 | why | |
| 어떻게 | how | |
| 얼마 | how much (money) | |
| 얼마나 | how much / how long (degree) | |
| 몇 | how many | ★ always + a counter |
| 무슨 | what kind of | ★ always + a noun |
| 어느 | which | ★ always + a noun |
2. ★★ They stay where the answer goes
### Put the question word in the slot the answer would occupy. Change nothing else.
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| 밥을 먹어요. | 뭐 먹어요? |
| 학교에 가요. | 어디에 가요? |
| 세 시에 만나요. | 언제 만나요? |
| 친구를 만나요. | 누구를 만나요? |
| 버스로 가요. | 어떻게 가요? |
★ This is genuinely easier than English. There is no inversion, no do-support, no fronting — you swap one word for a question word and raise your tone.
⚠️ The particle stays too — 어디에 가요, 누구를 만나요, 누구한테 줘요. Whatever particle the answer would take, the question word takes.
⚠️ 누구 + 가 = 누가
| 누가 왔어요? | Who came? (subject — Day 5) |
|---|---|
| 누구를 만나요? | Who are you meeting? (object) |
| 누구한테 전화해요? | Who are you calling? (person) |
| 누구예요? | Who is it? |
★ 누구가 does not exist. It fuses to 누가 — the same contraction as 저 + 가 = 제가.
3. ★ 뭐 vs 무슨 vs 어느
| Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| 뭐 | alone — what? | 뭐 먹어요? |
| 무슨 | + noun — what kind of | 무슨 음식 좋아해요? |
| 어느 | + noun — which of a known set | 어느 나라에서 왔어요? |
뭐 좋아해요? — What do you like?무슨 영화 좋아해요? — What kind of films do you like?어느 영화 볼까요? — Which film shall we see? (from these ones)
★ 무슨 asks for a category, 어느 asks you to pick from a set. 무슨 요일이에요? (Day 9) asks which category of day; 어느 쪽이에요? asks which of the two directions.
몇 — always with a counter
| 몇 시예요? | What time? |
|---|---|
| 몇 명이에요? | How many people? |
| 몇 개예요? | How many (things)? |
| 몇 번 버스예요? | Which bus number? |
| 몇 살이에요? | How old? |
| 며칠이에요? | What date? (몇 + 일, irregular spelling) |
⚠️ 몇 never stands alone. It needs one of Day 8's counters behind it.
얼마 vs 얼마나
| 얼마예요? | How much (money)? |
|---|---|
| 얼마나 걸려요? | How long does it take? |
| 얼마나 자주 가요? | How often do you go? |
4. Short questions you'll use constantly
| 왜요? | Why? |
|---|---|
| 어때요? | How is it? / How about it? |
| 어떻게요? | How? |
| 누구세요? | Who is it? (at a door, on the phone) |
| 뭐라고요? | ★ What did you say? |
| 진짜요? / 정말요? | Really? |
| 맞아요? | Is that right? (Day 16) |
★ 어때요? is one of the most useful words in Korean. 이거 어때요? (how about this?) · 한국 음식 어때요? (what do you think of Korean food?) · 일곱 시 어때요? (how about seven?) — it proposes, asks an opinion and checks in, all with one word.
5. ★★ The same words mean "some-"
### 뭐 = what AND something · 누구 = who AND someone · 어디 = where AND somewhere
Only intonation separates them.
| Same words | Rising on the question word | Flat, rising at the end |
|---|---|---|
| 뭐 먹었어요? | What did you eat? | Did you eat something? |
| 누구 왔어요? | Who came? | Did someone come? |
| 어디 가요? | Where are you going? | Are you going somewhere? |
★ The answer shape tells them apart too: a what-question needs a noun back; a something-question can be answered 네 or 아니요.
— 어디 가요? — 네, 잠깐요. (yes, just briefly) → it was "somewhere"— 어디 가요? — 학교에요. → it was "where"
⚠️ This is why your intonation matters more in Korean than you expect. A flat, hesitant delivery — what a nervous learner produces — leaves the listener genuinely unsure which question you asked. Commit to the tone (Day 6 §5, again).
And you can force the "some-" reading with -인가 or 뭔가, 누군가, 어딘가:
뭔가 먹었어요. — I ate something.
6. Dialogue
민수: 알렉스 씨, 주말에 뭐 했어요?Alex: 친구를 만났어요.민수: 누구요? — Alex: 사라요. 캐나다 친구예요.민수: 어디에서 만났어요?Alex: 홍대에서요. 거기 어때요? 좋아요?민수: 네, 좋아요! 뭐 했어요?Alex: 밥 먹고 영화 봤어요.민수: 무슨 영화 봤어요?Alex: 한국 영화요. 근데 제목을 몰라요.민수: 하하. 어땠어요?Alex: 재미있었어요. 그런데 왜요?민수: 저도 보고 싶어서요. 언제 또 가요?Alex: 다음 주에요. 몇 시가 좋아요?
★ Every question word sits exactly where its answer would. 뭐 했어요 → 친구를 만났어요. 어디에서 만났어요 → 홍대에서. Nothing moved.★ And 누구요?, 왜요?, 어때요?, 어땠어요? — one-word questions doing the whole job.
7. Exercises
A. Write the question for each answer.
- ___ — 밥을 먹어요.
- ___ — 학교에 가요.
- ___ — 세 시에 만나요.
- ___ — 친구를 만나요.
- ___ — 버스로 가요.
B. ⚠️ 누가, 누구를, or 누구한테?
- ___ 왔어요? 2. ___ 만나요? 3. ___ 전화해요? 4. ___예요?
C. 뭐, 무슨, or 어느?
- ___ 먹어요? 2. ___ 음식 좋아해요? 3. ___ 나라에서 왔어요?
- ___ 요일이에요? 5. ___ 좋아해요?
D. 몇 + counter.
- What time? 2. How many people? 3. How old? 4. Which bus number? 5. What date?
E. 얼마 or 얼마나?
- ___예요? (price) 2. ___ 걸려요? 3. ___ 자주 가요?
F. Translate.
- What did you do at the weekend?
- Who did you meet?
- Where did you meet?
- What kind of film did you see?
- How was it?
- When shall we go again?
G. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.
- 누구가 왔어요?
- 뭐 음식 좋아해요?
- 몇 이에요? (how many people)
- 어디 가요 당신은?
Answers
A. 1. 뭐 먹어요? 2. 어디에 가요? 3. 언제 만나요? 4. 누구를 만나요? 5. 어떻게 가요? B. 1. 누가 2. 누구를 3. 누구한테 4. 누구 C. 1. 뭐 2. 무슨 3. 어느 4. 무슨 5. 뭐 D. 1. 몇 시예요? 2. 몇 명이에요? 3. 몇 살이에요? 4. 몇 번 버스예요? 5. 며칠이에요? E. 1. 얼마 2. 얼마나 3. 얼마나 F. 1. 주말에 뭐 했어요? 2. 누구를 만났어요? 3. 어디에서 만났어요? 4. 무슨 영화 봤어요? 5. 어땠어요? 6. 언제 또 갈까요? G. 1. 누가 2. 무슨 음식 3. 몇 명이에요 — 몇 needs a counter 4. 어디 가요? — no 당신, and no moving the question word
8. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)
- 뭐 해요? — What are you doing?
- 누가 왔어요? — Who came?
- 누구를 만나요? — Who are you meeting?
- 어디에 가요? — Where are you going?
- 언제 만날까요? — When shall we meet?
- 왜요? — Why?
- 어때요? — How is it? / How about it?
- 무슨 음식 좋아해요? — What kind of food do you like?
- 몇 명이에요? — How many people?
- 얼마나 걸려요? — How long does it take?
9. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload section 2 (they don't move), section 5 (the "some-" reading) and section 8 → study language Korean.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎧 Podcast | Today's key mission. The two intonations of 뭐 먹었어요? — this is a hearing skill |
| ✍️ Dictation | 누가 / 누구를 / 누구한테 differ by the particle alone |
| 🗣 Shadowing | All ten questions, fast, in a row — and commit to the rising tone |
| 🎭 Role-play | Ask the tutor fifteen questions and let it ask back |
| 📖 Vocab | 뭐 / 무슨 / 어느 as a three-card set, so they never merge |
★ The fix worth the most today: stop moving the question word. English wants to haul it to the front. Leave it where the answer goes, keep the particle, raise your tone.
Tomorrow: the future — and the difference between I'm going to and I'll.
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