Question Endings | Korean Grammar Documentation

Question endings (의문형 종결어미) are used to ask questions in Korean. Like statements, questions have different endings based on formality level and question type (yes/no vs wh-questions).

Speech Levels for Questions

The three main levels for questions mirror statement endings:

합니까체 (hamnigga-che): Formal polite
해요체 (haeyo-che): Informal polite (standard)
해체 (hae-che): Casual/informal

해요체 (Standard Polite): -아/어요?

Most Common in Daily Life

Used with: Friends, colleagues, people of similar age/status

Formation Rules

Same as Statement + Rising Intonation

Exactly like statement form with question intonation:

가요? (Are you going? / Do you go?)
먹어요? (Are you eating? / Do you eat?)
해요? (Are you doing? / Do you do?)
좋아요? (Is it good? / Do you like it?)
있어요? (Is there? / Do you have?)

Key point: The form is identical to statements, only intonation changes

Yes/No Questions

Simple questions expecting yes/no answers:

학생이에요? (Are you a student?)
한국 사람이에요? (Are you Korean?)
밥 먹었어요? (Did you eat?)
커피 마셔요? (Do you drink coffee?)
재미있어요? (Is it fun?)

Wh-Questions

Questions with question words:

뭐 해요? (What are you doing?)
어디 가요? (Where are you going?)
누구예요? (Who is it?)
언제 와요? (When are you coming?)
왜 안 가요? (Why aren't you going?)
어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)

합니까체 (Formal Polite): -(습)니까?

Formal Settings

Used in: Presentations, formal speeches, with superiors, formal situations

Formation Rules

After Vowels: -ㅂ니까

Add -ㅂ니까 when stem ends in vowel:

가다 → 갑니까? (Are you going?)
오다 → 옵니까? (Are you coming?)
하다 → 합니까? (Do you do?)
배우다 → 배웁니까? (Do you learn?)

After Consonants: -습니까

Add -습니까 when stem ends in consonant:

먹다 → 먹습니까? (Do you eat?)
읽다 → 읽습니까? (Do you read?)
좋다 → 좋습니까? (Is it good?)
있다 → 있습니까? (Is there?)

Yes/No Questions (Formal)

Formal yes/no questions:

학생입니까? (Are you a student?)
괜찮습니까? (Is it okay?)
이해하십니까? (Do you understand?)
시간이 있습니까? (Do you have time?)

Wh-Questions (Formal)

Formal information questions:

무엇을 하십니까? (What do you do?)
어디에 가십니까? (Where are you going?)
누구십니까? (Who are you?)
언제 오십니까? (When are you coming?)

해체 (Casual): -아/어?

Informal Speech

Used with: Close friends, younger siblings, children

Formation Rules

Same as Statement + Question Intonation

Remove 요 from 해요체:

가요? → 가? (Are you going?)
먹어요? → 먹어? (Are you eating?)
해요? → 해? (Are you doing?)
좋아요? → 좋아? (Is it good?)

Casual Questions

Common casual questions:

뭐 해? (What are you doing?)
어디 가? (Where are you going?)
밥 먹었어? (Did you eat?)
재미있어? (Is it fun?)
알아? (Do you know?)

Special Casual Forms

Common contractions:

뭐 해? → 뭐해? (What are you doing?)
그래? (Really? / Is that so?)
아니야? (Isn't it? / No?)

Question Words (의문사)

Common Question Words

Essential wh-words:

뭐/무엇 (what)
누구 (who)
어디 (where)
언제 (when)
왜 (why)
어떻게 (how)
얼마 (how much)
몇 (how many)

Using Question Words

Question word + question ending:

뭐 해요? (What are you doing?)
누구예요? (Who is it?)
어디 가요? (Where are you going?)
언제 와요? (When are you coming?)
왜 안 와요? (Why aren't you coming?)
어떻게 가요? (How do you go?)

Position in Sentence

Question words replace the information asked about:

책을 읽어요 (I read a book) → 뭐를 읽어요? (What do you read?)
친구를 만나요 (I meet a friend) → 누구를 만나요? (Who do you meet?)
학교에 가요 (I go to school) → 어디에 가요? (Where do you go?)

Past Tense Questions

해요체 Past: -았/었어요?

Did you...?:

갔어요? (Did you go?)
먹었어요? (Did you eat?)
했어요? (Did you do it?)
봤어요? (Did you see?)
좋았어요? (Was it good?)

합니까체 Past: -았/었습니까?

Formal past questions:

갔습니까? (Did you go?)
먹었습니까? (Did you eat?)
하셨습니까? (Did you do it? - honorific)

해체 Past: -았/었어?

Casual past questions:

갔어? (Did you go?)
먹었어? (Did you eat?)
했어? (Did you do it?)
봤어? (Did you see?)

Future Questions

-(으)ㄹ 거예요? (Going to...?)

Informal polite future:

갈 거예요? (Are you going to go?)
먹을 거예요? (Are you going to eat?)
할 거예요? (Are you going to do it?)
올 거예요? (Is [he/she] going to come?)

-(으)ㄹ 겁니까? (Formal future)

Formal future questions:

갈 겁니까? (Are you going to go?)
하실 겁니까? (Are you going to do it? - honorific)

-겠습니까? (Will you...?)

Polite formal intention:

가겠습니까? (Will you go?)
하시겠습니까? (Will you do it? - honorific)

Yes/No Questions vs Wh-Questions

Yes/No Questions

Expect yes or no answer:

학생이에요? (Are you a student?) → 네 / 아니요
좋아해요? (Do you like it?) → 네 / 아니요
있어요? (Is there?) → 네 / 아니요

Intonation rises at the end

Wh-Questions

Expect specific information:

뭐예요? (What is it?) → 책이에요
누구예요? (Who is it?) → 친구예요
어디예요? (Where is it?) → 학교예요

Intonation may fall or stay level

Negative Questions

안 + Verb + Question

Don't you...? / Aren't you...?:

안 가요? (Aren't you going?)
안 먹어요? (Aren't you eating?)
안 좋아요? (Isn't it good?)
안 해요? (Don't you do it?)

Verb + -지 않아요?

More formal negative question:

가지 않아요? (Aren't you going?)
먹지 않아요? (Aren't you eating?)
좋지 않아요? (Isn't it good?)

Often implies expectation of opposite

Tag Questions: -지요? / -죠?

Seeking Confirmation

...right? / ...isn't it?:

학생이지요? (You're a student, right?)
좋아하지요? (You like it, right?)
한국 사람이죠? (You're Korean, right?)
재미있죠? (It's fun, right?)

Common Contraction

-지요 → -죠:

알죠? (You know, right?)
그렇죠? (That's right, isn't it?)
좋죠? (It's good, right?)

Very common in conversation

Rhetorical Questions

Using Question Form for Statements

Not expecting an answer:

누가 알아요? (Who knows? - meaning: nobody knows)
어떻게 알아요? (How would I know?)
왜 그래요? (Why is that? - expressing surprise)

Polite Questions with -(으)시-

Honorific Questions

When asking someone superior:

가세요? → 가셨어요? (Are you going? / Did you go?)
먹으세요? → 드세요? (Are you eating? - honorific verb)
계세요? (Are you here? - honorific 있다)

Formal Honorific

합니까체 with honorifics:

가십니까? (Are you going?)
하십니까? (Do you do?)
계십니까? (Are you here?)

Example Sentences

해요체 (Standard)

Yes/No questions:

학생이에요? (Are you a student?)
한국어 공부해요? (Do you study Korean?)
커피 좋아해요? (Do you like coffee?)
시간 있어요? (Do you have time?)

Wh-questions:

이름이 뭐예요? (What's your name?)
어디서 왔어요? (Where are you from?)
언제 왔어요? (When did you come?)
왜 안 가요? (Why aren't you going?)

합니까체 (Formal)

Yes/No questions:

학생입니까? (Are you a student?)
한국어를 공부합니까? (Do you study Korean?)
이해하십니까? (Do you understand?)

Wh-questions:

성함이 어떻게 되십니까? (What is your name? - very formal)
어디에 가십니까? (Where are you going?)

해체 (Casual)

Yes/No questions:

학생이야? (Are you a student?)
한국어 공부해? (Do you study Korean?)
좋아해? (Do you like it?)

Wh-questions:

이름이 뭐야? (What's your name?)
어디 가? (Where are you going?)
왜 안 가? (Why aren't you going?)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Meeting Someone (해요체)

A: 안녕하세요! 이름이 뭐예요?
(Hello! What's your name?)

B: 마이클이에요. 이름이 뭐예요?
(I'm Michael. What's your name?)

A: 지수예요. 한국 사람이에요?
(I'm Jisu. Are you Korean?)

B: 아니요, 미국 사람이에요.
(No, I'm American.)

A: 한국어 공부해요?
(Do you study Korean?)

B: 네, 공부해요.
(Yes, I study it.)

Dialogue 2: Daily Life (해요체)

A: 오늘 뭐 해요?
(What are you doing today?)

B: 도서관에 가요.
(I'm going to the library.)

A: 왜 가요?
(Why are you going?)

B: 공부해야 해요.
(I have to study.)

A: 같이 갈까요?
(Shall we go together?)

B: 좋아요!
(Good!)

Dialogue 3: Casual (해체)

A: 뭐 해?
(What are you doing?)

B: 영화 봐.
(I'm watching a movie.)

A: 재미있어?
(Is it fun?)

B: 응, 재미있어.
(Yeah, it's fun.)

A: 나도 볼까?
(Should I watch too?)

B: 같이 보자!
(Let's watch together!)

Dialogue 4: Formal (합니까체)

A: 실례합니다. 혹시 시간이 있으십니까?
(Excuse me. Do you have time by any chance?)

B: 네, 있습니다. 무엇을 도와드릴까요?
(Yes, I do. How may I help you?)

A: 이 건물이 어디에 있습니까?
(Where is this building?)

B: 저쪽에 있습니다.
(It's over there.)

Special Question Patterns

-(으)ㄹ까요? (Shall we...?)

Suggestions:

갈까요? (Shall we go?)
먹을까요? (Shall we eat?)
시작할까요? (Shall we start?)

-아/어 볼까요? (Shall we try...?)

Suggesting to try something:

가 볼까요? (Shall we try going?)
먹어 볼까요? (Shall we try eating?)
해 볼까요? (Shall we try doing?)

-(으)ㄹ래요? (Do you want to...?)

Asking about desire:

갈래요? (Do you want to go?)
먹을래요? (Do you want to eat?)
할래요? (Do you want to do it?)

-고 싶어요? (Do you want to...?)

Asking about wishes:

가고 싶어요? (Do you want to go?)
먹고 싶어요? (Do you want to eat?)
배우고 싶어요? (Do you want to learn?)

Answering Questions

Yes Answers

Affirmative responses:

네 / 예 (Yes - formal)
응 / 어 (Yeah - casual)
맞아요 (That's right)
그래요 (That's so)

No Answers

Negative responses:

아니요 / 아니에요 (No - polite)
아니 / 아니야 (No - casual)
아닙니다 (No - formal)
글쎄요 (Well... / I'm not sure)

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 가요니까?

Mixing speech levels

✅ Correct: 가요? OR 갑니까?

Use one consistent level

❌ Incorrect: 뭐 합니까요?

Adding 요 to 합니까

✅ Correct: 뭐 합니까?

합니까 is already polite

❌ Incorrect: *무엇 해요?

Wrong question word form

✅ Correct: 뭐 해요?

Use 뭐 in conversation (무엇 is very formal)

❌ Incorrect: 어디 가습니까?

Wrong verb form

✅ Correct: 어디 갑니까?

Use correct conjugation

Summary Table: Speech Levels

Type	합니까체	해요체	해체
Yes/No	갑니까?	가요?	가?
Wh-question	어디 갑니까?	어디 가요?	어디 가?
Past	갔습니까?	갔어요?	갔어?
Future	갈 겁니까?	갈 거예요?	갈 거야?
Tag	-	가죠?	가지?

Question Words Summary

Korean	Meaning	Example
뭐/무엇	what	뭐예요? (What is it?)
누구	who	누구예요? (Who is it?)
어디	where	어디예요? (Where is it?)
언제	when	언제 와요? (When are you coming?)
왜	why	왜 가요? (Why are you going?)
어떻게	how	어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)
얼마	how much	얼마예요? (How much is it?)
몇	how many	몇 개예요? (How many?)

Key Takeaways

✅ Same form as statements: Only intonation changes in 해요체
✅ Three main levels: 합니까, 해요, 해 (formal, polite, casual)
✅ Rising intonation: Essential for yes/no questions
✅ Question words: Learn the basic wh-words (뭐, 누구, 어디, etc.)
✅ Tag questions: -지요/-죠 for confirmation
✅ Negative questions: 안 + verb or -지 않다
✅ Match formality: Use appropriate level for the situation
✅ Honorifics: Add -(으)시- when asking superiors

Mastering question endings is crucial for Korean conversation. Start with 해요체 for most situations, learn the common question words, and practice both yes/no and wh-questions. Remember that intonation is key, especially for yes/no questions!