-냐고 하다 - Ask whether | Korean Grammar Documentation

-냐고 하다 is used to report questions that someone asked. It means "ask whether" or "asked if" in English, and is the question equivalent of -다고 하다.

Structure

Question + -냐고 하다

Breakdown:

-냐고: Quotation marker for questions
하다: To say/ask

Literal meaning: "Ask whether [question]"

Formation Rules

With Verbs (Present): -느냐고 하다

Action verbs + -느냐고 하다:

가다 → 가느냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] goes)
먹다 → 먹느냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] eats)
오다 → 오느냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] comes)
하다 → 하느냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] does)
읽다 → 읽느냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] reads)

With Adjectives (Present): -으냐고/냐고 하다

Stem ending in consonant + -으냐고 하다:

좋다 → 좋으냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] good)
작다 → 작으냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] small)
많다 → 많으냐고 해요 (ask whether there are many)

Stem ending in vowel or ㄹ + -냐고 하다:

크다 → 크냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] big)
비싸다 → 비싸냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] expensive)
멀다 → 머냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] far)
예쁘다 → 예쁘냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] pretty)

With 이다/아니다: -이냐고/-냐고 하다

Noun ending in consonant + 이냐고:

학생이냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] is a student)
선생님이냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] is a teacher)

Noun ending in vowel + 냐고:

의사냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] is a doctor)
친구냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] is a friend)

Past Tense: -았/었/했냐고 하다

All word types + -았/었/했냐고 하다:

갔냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] went)
먹었냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] ate)
좋았냐고 해요 (ask whether [it] was good)
했냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] did)
학생이었냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] was a student)

Future Tense: -(으)ㄹ 거냐고 하다

All word types + -(으)ㄹ 거냐고 하다:

갈 거냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] will go)
먹을 거냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] will eat)
좋을 거냐고 해요 (ask whether [it] will be good)
할 거냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] will do)

Alternative Forms

Polite Question Form: -(으)ㄴ지/는지 묻다

More polite way to report questions:

가는지 물었어요 (asked whether [someone] goes)
좋은지 물었어요 (asked whether [it's] good)
학생인지 물었어요 (asked whether [someone] is a student)

Note: This form is often preferred in formal contexts.

Casual Question: -냐고 묻다

Using 묻다 instead of 하다:

가느냐고 물었어요 (asked whether [someone] goes)
좋으냐고 물었어요 (asked whether [it's] good)

Politeness Levels

Formal (합니다체)

가느냐고 합니다 (ask whether [someone] goes)
좋으냐고 합니다 (ask whether [it's] good)
학생이냐고 합니다 (ask whether [someone] is a student)

Polite (해요체)

가느냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] goes)
좋으냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] good)
학생이냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] is a student)

Casual (반말)

가느냐고 해 (ask whether [someone] goes)
좋으냐고 해 (ask whether [it's] good)
학생이냐고 해 (ask whether [someone] is a student)

Core Meaning: Reporting Questions

Direct Question → Indirect Question

Direct question:

그가 "학생이에요?"라고 물었어요
(He asked "Are you a student?")

Indirect question:

그가 학생이냐고 물었어요
(He asked whether I was a student)

Reporting Yes/No Questions

Simple yes/no questions:

친구가 바쁘냐고 물었어요 (My friend asked if I was busy)
선생님이 숙제를 했냐고 물었어요 (The teacher asked if I did homework)
엄마가 밥을 먹었냐고 물었어요 (Mom asked if I ate)

Common Usage Patterns

Reporting Present Questions

What someone is asking now:

그가 배고프냐고 해요 (He's asking if [I'm] hungry)
친구가 피곤하냐고 해요 (My friend is asking if [I'm] tired)
동생이 학교에 가느냐고 해요 (My sibling is asking if [I'm] going to school)

Reporting Past Questions

What someone asked before:

어제 올 거냐고 물었어요 (Yesterday [they] asked if I would come)
그가 좋으냐고 물었어요 (He asked if it was good)
친구가 시간이 있냐고 물었어요 (My friend asked if I had time)

Relaying Questions

Passing on questions from others:

선생님이 왜 안 왔냐고 물으셨어요 (The teacher asked why you didn't come)
부모님이 언제 집에 오느냐고 물으셨어요 (My parents asked when I'm coming home)
친구가 뭐 하고 있냐고 물었어요 (My friend asked what I was doing)

Question Words with -냐고 하다

뭐/무엇 (What)

뭐 하느냐고 물었어요 (Asked what [I'm] doing)
뭐 먹느냐고 물었어요 (Asked what [I'm] eating)
뭐가 좋으냐고 물었어요 (Asked what is good)

누구 (Who)

누구냐고 물었어요 (Asked who [it] is)
누구랑 가느냐고 물었어요 (Asked who [I'm] going with)
누가 했냐고 물었어요 (Asked who did it)

언제 (When)

언제 가느냐고 물었어요 (Asked when [I'm] going)
언제 왔냐고 물었어요 (Asked when [I] came)
언제 할 거냐고 물었어요 (Asked when [I] will do it)

어디 (Where)

어디 가느냐고 물었어요 (Asked where [I'm] going)
어디 있냐고 물었어요 (Asked where [it] is)
어디서 만나느냐고 물었어요 (Asked where to meet)

왜 (Why)

왜 안 오느냐고 물었어요 (Asked why [I'm] not coming)
왜 그러냐고 물었어요 (Asked why [I'm] doing that)
왜 늦었냐고 물었어요 (Asked why [I] was late)

어떻게 (How)

어떻게 하느냐고 물었어요 (Asked how to do it)
어떻게 왔냐고 물었어요 (Asked how [I] came)
어떻게 알았냐고 물었어요 (Asked how [I] knew)

Tense Conjugations

Present Reporting

Polite: -느냐고/-으냐고/-냐고 해요

가느냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] goes)
좋으냐고 해요 (ask whether [it's] good)
학생이냐고 해요 (ask whether [someone] is a student)

Past Reporting

Polite: -느냐고/-으냐고/-냐고 했어요

가느냐고 했어요 (asked whether [someone] goes)
좋으냐고 했어요 (asked whether [it] was good)
학생이냐고 했어요 (asked whether [someone] was a student)

Common Expressions

Everyday Questions

어디 가느냐고 물었어요 (Asked where [I'm] going)
뭐 하느냐고 물었어요 (Asked what [I'm] doing)
시간 있냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] have time)
괜찮으냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] okay)

About Completion

숙제 했냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] did homework)
밥 먹었냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] ate)
도착했냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] arrived)

About Plans

갈 거냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] will go)
올 거냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] will come)
할 거냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] will do it)

About States

피곤하냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] tired)
배고프냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] hungry)
바쁘냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] busy)

Negative Questions

Asking About Negatives

안/못 + verb + -느냐고:

안 가느냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] not going)
못 하느냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I] can't do it)
안 먹느냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] not eating)

Verb + -지 않느냐고:

가지 않느냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] not going)
하지 않느냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [I'm] not doing it)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Relaying a Question

A: 선생님이 뭐라고 하셨어요?
(What did the teacher say?)

B: 숙제를 다 했냐고 물으셨어요.
(They asked if I finished my homework.)

Dialogue 2: About Plans

A: 친구가 전화했어?
(Did your friend call?)

B: 네, 내일 갈 거냐고 물었어요.
(Yes, they asked if I'm going tomorrow.)

Dialogue 3: Question with Question Word

A: 엄마가 뭐라고 하셨어요?
(What did Mom say?)

B: 언제 집에 오느냐고 물으셨어요.
(She asked when I'm coming home.)

Dialogue 4: Multiple Questions

A: 친구가 많이 물어봤어요?
(Did your friend ask a lot?)

B: 네, 어디 갔냐고, 뭐 했냐고, 언제 돌아오느냐고 다 물었어요.
(Yes, they asked where I went, what I did, and when I'm coming back.)

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 가요냐고 해요

Using polite form before -냐고

✅ Correct: 가느냐고 해요

Use basic form

❌ Incorrect: 좋다냐고 해요

Using statement form with adjectives

✅ Correct: 좋으냐고 해요

Use question form

❌ Incorrect: 학생다냐고 해요

Wrong form with nouns

✅ Correct: 학생이냐고 해요

Use -이냐고

Usage Notes

When to Use

Use when:

Reporting yes/no questions
Relaying questions with question words
Asking if someone asked something
Indirect questions in formal reports

Formality Considerations

Less formal:

-냐고 하다 (more casual tone)

More formal:

-(으)ㄴ지/는지 묻다 (polite tone)
-(으)ㄴ지/는지 여쭈다 (very polite, honorific)

Comparison with Similar Expressions

-냐고 하다 vs -(으)ㄴ지/는지 묻다

-냐고 하다 (direct, casual):

가느냐고 물었어요 (Asked if [someone] goes)

-(으)ㄴ지/는지 묻다 (softer, polite):

가는지 물었어요 (Asked whether [someone] goes)

-냐고 하다 vs -다고 하다

-냐고 하다 (questions):

가느냐고 했어요 (Asked if [someone] goes)

-다고 하다 (statements):

간다고 했어요 (Said [someone] goes)

Commands: -(으)라고 하다

Report commands (covered separately):

가라고 했어요 (Told [someone] to go)

Suggestions: -자고 하다

Report suggestions:

가자고 했어요 (Suggested to go together)

Summary Table

Word Type	Present Form	Past Form	Question Word Example
Verb	가느냐고 해요	갔냐고 해요	뭐 하느냐고 해요
Adjective	좋으냐고 해요	좋았냐고 해요	왜 좋으냐고 해요
Noun (이다)	학생이냐고 해요	학생이었냐고 해요	누구냐고 해요
Negative	안 가느냐고 해요	안 갔냐고 해요	왜 안 가느냐고 해요

Key Takeaways

✅ Reports questions: What someone asked
✅ Different forms: -느냐고 (verbs), -으냐고/-냐고 (adjectives), -이냐고 (nouns)
✅ Works with question words: 뭐, 누구, 언제, 어디, 왜, 어떻게
✅ Indirect questions: Converts direct questions to reported speech
✅ Polite alternative: -(으)ㄴ지/는지 묻다
✅ Common pattern: Essential for reporting conversations

-냐고 하다 is essential for reporting questions and relaying what others have asked. It's the question counterpart to -다고 하다 and crucial for natural Korean conversation.