Lesson 24
Through some of the previous lessons, you learned how to say “what”, “where”, “when”, and
“who” in Korean.
What = 뭐 [mwo]
Where = 어디 [eo-di]
When = 언제 [eon-je]
Who = 누구 [nu-gu]
In this lesson, you will learn two more 의문사 [ui-mun-sa] (interrogatives) to help you ask questions in Korean.
How = 어떻게
Why = 왜
How much (money) = 얼마
How + adjective/adverb = 얼마나
Generally, these interrogatives in Korean are used before the verb of a sentence. However as the word order of the sentences is much more flexible (thanks, in part, to the subject/topic/object markers), they can come in at various parts of sentences, depending on the context or the nuance.
Sample Sentences
- 어떻게 [eo-tteo-ke] = how
어떻게 찾았어요? [eo-tteo-ke cha-ja-sseo-yo?] = How did you find it? (찾다 = to find, to look for)
어떻게 왔어요? [eo-tteo-ke wa-sseo-yo?] = How did you get here? (오다 = to come)
- 왜 [wae] = why
왜 전화했어요? [wae jeon-hwa-hae-sseo-yo?] = Why did you call? (전화하다 = to call)
왜 안 왔어요? [wae an wa-sseo-yo?] = Why didn’t you come? (오다 = to come)
- 얼마 [eol-ma] = how much
얼마예요? [eol-ma-ye-yo?] = How much is it?
이거 얼마예요? [i-geo eol-ma-ye-yo?] = How much is this?
저거 얼마예요? [jeo-geo eol-ma-ye-yo?] = How much is that?
그거 얼마예요? [geu-geo eol-ma-ye-yo?] = How much is the thing that is near you but far from me?
얼마 냈어요? [eol-ma nae-sseo-yo?] = How much did you pay? (내다 = to pay)
- 얼마나 + adjective/adverb = how + [often/fast/early/soon/etc.]
얼마나 자주 와요? [eol-ma-na ja-ju wa-yo?] = How often do you come? (자주 = often / 오다 = to come)
얼마나 커요? [eol-ma-na keo-yo?] = How big is it? (크다 = to be big)
얼마나 무거워요? [eol-ma-na mu-geo-wo-yo?] = How heavy is it? (무겁다 = to be heavy)