어떻게 - How/In what way | Korean Grammar Documentation

어떻게 is a question word meaning "how," "in what way," or "by what means." It's used to ask about methods, manner, condition, or state.

Basic Structure

어떻게 + Verb/Adjective

Breakdown:

어떻-: Question stem meaning "what kind of"
-게: Adverbial ending
Meaning: "How?" / "In what way?"

Position: Usually at the beginning or before the verb

Core Usage: Asking "How"

How Do You...?

Asking about method:

어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)
어떻게 가요? (How do you go?)
어떻게 만들어요? (How do you make it?)
어떻게 알았어요? (How did you know?)
어떻게 왔어요? (How did you come?)

How Is/Was...?

Asking about state or condition:

어떻게 지내요? (How are you doing?)
어떻게 됐어요? (How did it go? / What happened?)
기분이 어떻게요? (How do you feel?)
날씨가 어떻게요? (How's the weather?)

Common Usage Patterns

Greeting and Small Talk

Standard greetings:

어떻게 지내세요? (How are you? - polite)
어떻게 지내? (How are you? - casual)
주말 어떻게 보냈어요? (How was your weekend?)
요즘 어떻게 지내요? (How have you been lately?)

Asking for Instructions

How should I...?:

어떻게 하면 돼요? (How should I do it? / What should I do?)
어떻게 가면 돼요? (How should I go?)
어떻게 해야 해요? (How should I do it? / What must I do?)
어떻게 먹어요? (How do you eat it?)

Reactions and Exclamations

Expressing surprise:

어떻게 알았어요? (How did you know?)
어떻게 그럴 수 있어요? (How could that be?)
어떻게 이럴 수가! (How could this happen!)
어떻게 된 거예요? (What happened? / How did this happen?)

Question Types

Method Questions

By what means?:

어떻게 왔어요? (How did you come? - by what transportation)
어떻게 연락할까요? (How shall I contact you?)
어떻게 공부해요? (How do you study?)

Manner Questions

In what way?:

어떻게 말해요? (How do you say it?)
어떻게 생각해요? (What do you think? / How do you think about it?)
어떻게 느껴요? (How do you feel?)

Condition Questions

What's the state?:

맛이 어떻게요? (How's the taste?)
상태가 어떻게요? (How's the condition?)
몸이 어떻게요? (How's your body? / How do you feel?)

Politeness Levels

Formal (합니다체)

어떻게 하십니까? (How do you do it?)
어떻게 지내십니까? (How are you?)

Polite (해요체)

어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)
어떻게 지내요? (How are you?)
어떻게 지내세요? (How are you? - respectful)

Casual (반말)

어떻게 해? (How do you do it?)
어떻게 지내? (How are you?)

Common Fixed Expressions

어떻게 지내요? (How Are You?)

Standard greeting:

어떻게 지내세요? (How are you? - polite)
어떻게 지내? (How are you? - casual)
잘 지내요 (I'm doing well)
그냥 그래요 (Just okay / So-so)

어떻게 된 거예요? (What Happened?)

Asking about situation:

어떻게 된 거예요? (What happened?)
어떻게 된 일이에요? (What's going on?)

어떻게 해요? (What Should I Do?)

Seeking advice:

어떻게 해요? (What should I do?)
어떻게 하면 좋아요? (What should I do? / How would be good?)
어떻게 하면 돼요? (How should I do it?)

어떻게 하면 되다 (How Should)

What's the right way?:

어떻게 하면 돼요? (How should I do it? / What should I do?)
어떻게 가면 돼요? (How should I go?)
어떻게 하면 좋아요? (How would be good?)

어떻게 해야 하다 (How Must)

What must be done?:

어떻게 해야 해요? (What must I do? / How should I do it?)
어떻게 해야 돼요? (What should I do?)

Negative Questions

How Can't/Couldn't?

Expressing impossibility:

어떻게 안 해요? (How can you not do it?)
어떻게 못 가요? (How can you not go?)
어떻게 모를 수 있어요? (How could you not know?)

Rhetorical Questions

Emphasizing impossibility:

어떻게 그럴 수 있어요? (How could that be?)
어떻게 안 와요? (How could you not come?)

With Different Tenses

Present Tense

Current method:

어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)
어떻게 가요? (How do you go?)

Past Tense

How it was done:

어떻게 했어요? (How did you do it?)
어떻게 왔어요? (How did you come?)
어떻게 알았어요? (How did you know?)

Future Tense

How will you...?:

어떻게 할 거예요? (How will you do it?)
어떻게 갈 거예요? (How will you go?)

Surprise and Disbelief

Expressing Shock

How could...?!:

어떻게 그럴 수가! (How could that be!)
어떻게 이럴 수 있어! (How could this happen!)
어떻게 몰라요? (How could you not know?)

Asking for Explanation

Demanding clarification:

어떻게 된 거예요? (What happened? / How did this happen?)
어떻게 이렇게 됐어요? (How did it end up like this?)

Seeking Advice

What Should I Do?

Asking for guidance:

어떻게 하면 좋을까요? (What should I do? / How would be good?)
어떻게 하는 게 좋아요? (How is it good to do it?)
어떻게 해야 할지 모르겠어요 (I don't know what to do)

Transportation and Directions

How to Get There

Method of travel:

어떻게 가요? (How do you go?)
어떻게 오셨어요? (How did you come?)
어떻게 가면 돼요? (How should I go?)

Common answers:

버스로 가요 (I go by bus)
지하철로 왔어요 (I came by subway)
걸어서 가요 (I walk)

Checking Understanding

Confirming Method

Is this right?:

이렇게 하는 거예요? (Is it done like this? / Do you do it this way?)
이렇게 가는 거예요? (Is this how you go?)

어떻게 in response:

A: 어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)
B: 이렇게 해요 (You do it like this)

어떻게 vs Similar Words

어떻게 vs 어떤 (What Kind Of)

어떤: What kind of (modifies nouns)

어떤 음식을 좋아해요? (What kind of food do you like?)

어떻게: How (modifies verbs)

어떻게 만들어요? (How do you make it?)

어떻게 vs 왜 (Why)

왜: Why (reason)

왜 늦었어요? (Why are you late?)

어떻게: How (method/manner)

어떻게 왔어요? (How did you come?)

어떻게 vs 뭐로 (With What)

뭐로: With what (tool/means)

뭐로 써요? (What do you write with?)

어떻게: How (general method)

어떻게 써요? (How do you write?)

Common Response Patterns

Answering "How" Questions

Method responses:

A: 어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)
B: 이렇게 해요 (I do it like this)

State responses:

A: 어떻게 지내요? (How are you?)
B: 잘 지내요 (I'm doing well)

Transportation responses:

A: 어떻게 왔어요? (How did you come?)
B: 버스로 왔어요 (I came by bus)

Special Patterns

어떻게든 (Somehow/By Any Means)

No matter how:

어떻게든 할게요 (I'll do it somehow)
어떻게든 가야 해요 (I must go somehow)

Similar to -든지 pattern

어떻게 하다가 (While Doing/How Come)

How it happened:

어떻게 하다가 늦었어요? (How come you're late? / What were you doing that made you late?)

Perspective and Usage

When to Use 어떻게

Use when:

Asking about methods or manner
Greeting someone (어떻게 지내요?)
Seeking instructions or advice
Expressing surprise or disbelief
Asking about condition or state

Key meanings:

How? (method)
In what way? (manner)
How are you? (condition)
What happened? (situation)

Most Common Uses

Top patterns:

어떻게 지내요? (How are you?)
어떻게 해요? (How do you do it? / What should I do?)
어떻게 가요? (How do you go?)
어떻게 됐어요? (How did it go? / What happened?)
어떻게 알았어요? (How did you know?)

Summary Table

Usage	Pattern	Meaning	Example
Method	어떻게 + Verb	How do you...?	어떻게 해요?
Greeting	어떻게 지내다	How are you?	어떻게 지내요?
Condition	어떻게 + Adjective	How is...?	기분이 어떻게요?
Advice	어떻게 하면 되다	What should I do?	어떻게 하면 돼요?
Situation	어떻게 되다	What happened?	어떻게 됐어요?

Key Takeaways

✅ Primary "how" word: Most common way to ask "how"
✅ Versatile: Method, manner, condition, greeting
✅ Essential greeting: 어떻게 지내요?
✅ Seeking help: 어떻게 해요?
✅ Works with all verbs: Universal question word
✅ All contexts: Formal to casual

어떻게 is one of the most essential question words in Korean, crucial for asking about methods, checking on people's wellbeing, and seeking advice or instructions in daily conversation.