Question Words (의문사) | Korean Grammar Documentation

Korean question words (의문사) are essential for asking questions. This guide covers all the main interrogatives you need to form questions naturally.

Basic Question Words

뭐/무엇 (What)

뭐 (casual/spoken):

뭐 해요? (What are you doing?)
뭐 먹어요? (What are you eating?)
이게 뭐예요? (What is this?)

무엇 (formal/written):

무엇을 원하십니까? (What do you want? - formal)
무엇이 필요합니까? (What is needed? - formal)

누구 (Who)

Asking about people:

누구예요? (Who is it?)
누구를 만나요? (Who are you meeting?)
누가 했어요? (Who did it?)

Note: 누구 becomes 누가 when used as subject (with 가/이 particle)

언제 (When)

Asking about time:

언제 가요? (When are you going?)
언제 만날까요? (When shall we meet?)
언제부터? (Since when? / From when?)
언제까지? (Until when?)

어디 (Where)

Asking about location:

어디 가요? (Where are you going?)
어디 살아요? (Where do you live?)
어디서 만날까요? (Where shall we meet?)
어디에 있어요? (Where is it?)

왜 (Why)

Asking about reason:

왜 그래요? (Why is that? / What's wrong?)
왜 안 와요? (Why aren't you coming?)
왜 울어요? (Why are you crying?)
왜 늦었어요? (Why are you late?)

어떻게 (How)

Asking about method/manner:

어떻게 가요? (How do you go?)
어떻게 해요? (How do you do it?)
어떻게 지내요? (How are you? / How have you been?)
어떻게 알았어요? (How did you know?)

얼마나 (How much/many)

Asking about quantity/degree:

얼마나 걸려요? (How long does it take?)
얼마나 자주? (How often?)
얼마나 많이? (How much/many?)
얼마나 멀어요? (How far is it?)

얼마 (How much - price)

Asking about price:

얼마예요? (How much is it?)
얼마를 내야 해요? (How much do I have to pay?)
얼마 받았어요? (How much did you receive?)

Question Words with Particles

뭐 + Particles

뭐가 (what - subject): 뭐가 좋아요? (What is good?)
뭘 (뭐를 - what - object): 뭘 먹어요? (What are you eating?)
뭐로 (what - means): 뭐로 갈까요? (What shall we go by?)
뭐에 (what - location): 뭐에 관심 있어요? (What are you interested in?)

누구 + Particles

누가 (누구가 - who - subject): 누가 왔어요? (Who came?)
누구를 (who - object): 누구를 만났어요? (Who did you meet?)
누구랑/하고 (who - with): 누구랑 가요? (Who are you going with?)
누구의 (whose): 누구의 책이에요? (Whose book is it?)

어디 + Particles

어디가 (where - subject): 어디가 좋아요? (Where is good?)
어디를 (where - object): 어디를 가요? (Where are you going?)
어디서 (where - from/at): 어디서 왔어요? (Where are you from?)
어디에 (where - to/at): 어디에 있어요? (Where is it?)
어디로 (where - direction): 어디로 갈까요? (Where shall we go?)

Compound Question Words

무슨 (What kind of)

Before nouns:

무슨 일이에요? (What's the matter? / What happened?)
무슨 색이에요? (What color is it?)
무슨 음식을 좋아해요? (What kind of food do you like?)
무슨 요일이에요? (What day of the week is it?)

Note: 무슨 always comes before a noun

어느 (Which)

Asking to choose from options:

어느 것이 좋아요? (Which one is good?)
어느 나라 사람이에요? (Which country are you from?)
어느 쪽으로 갈까요? (Which way shall we go?)
어느 것을 원해요? (Which one do you want?)

몇 (How many/What number)

With counters:

몇 개? (How many items?)
몇 명? (How many people?)
몇 시? (What time?)
몇 살? (How old?)
몇 층? (What floor?)
몇 번? (What number? / How many times?)

Usage:

몇 시에 만날까요? (What time shall we meet?)
몇 명이 와요? (How many people are coming?)
몇 살이에요? (How old are you?)

며칠 (What date/How many days)

Asking about dates:

오늘이 며칠이에요? (What's the date today?)
며칠에 출발해요? (What date are you leaving?)

Asking about duration:

며칠 동안? (For how many days?)
며칠 걸려요? (How many days does it take?)

Special Question Patterns

어떤 (What kind of)

Before nouns - asking about type:

어떤 음식을 좋아해요? (What kind of food do you like?)
어떤 사람이에요? (What kind of person is it?)
어떤 영화를 봤어요? (What kind of movie did you watch?)

어떠다/어때요 (How is/How about)

Asking for opinion or suggestion:

날씨가 어때요? (How's the weather?)
이 옷이 어때요? (How is this outfit? / How about this outfit?)
커피 어때요? (How about coffee?)
한국 생활이 어때요? (How is life in Korea?)

왜/어째서 (Why)

왜 (common, casual):

왜 안 와요? (Why aren't you coming?)

어째서 (formal, literary):

어째서 그러셨습니까? (Why did you do that? - formal)

Question Word Positioning

Standard Position

Question word usually at the beginning or where the answer would go:

뭐 먹어요? (What are you eating?)
Answer: 밥 먹어요 (I'm eating rice)
누가 왔어요? (Who came?)
Answer: 친구가 왔어요 (My friend came)
어디 가요? (Where are you going?)
Answer: 학교 가요 (I'm going to school)

With Particles

Question word + particle + verb:

뭘 먹어요? (What are you eating?)
누구를 만났어요? (Who did you meet?)
어디서 샀어요? (Where did you buy it?)

Polite Questions

Formal Endings

-(으)십니까? / -(으)세요?:

무엇을 하십니까? (What are you doing? - formal)
어디에 가세요? (Where are you going? - polite)
언제 오세요? (When are you coming? - polite)

Honorific Forms

Using honorific verbs:

어디 계세요? (Where are you? - honorific)
무엇을 드시겠어요? (What would you like to eat? - honorific)
언제 오시나요? (When are you coming? - honorific)

Common Question Phrases

Greetings and Small Talk

어떻게 지내세요? (How are you?)
이름이 뭐예요? (What's your name?)
몇 살이에요? (How old are you?)
어디 사세요? (Where do you live?)
무슨 일 하세요? (What work do you do?)

Daily Conversations

뭐 해요? (What are you doing?)
어디 가요? (Where are you going?)
언제 만날까요? (When shall we meet?)
누구랑 가요? (Who are you going with?)
왜 안 와요? (Why aren't you coming?)

Shopping and Services

얼마예요? (How much is it?)
뭐 드릴까요? (What would you like?)
어떤 걸 찾으세요? (What kind are you looking for?)
몇 개 드릴까요? (How many shall I give you?)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Meeting

A: 언제 만날까요?
(When shall we meet?)

B: 토요일 어때요?
(How about Saturday?)

A: 좋아요. 어디서 만날까요?
(Good. Where shall we meet?)

B: 역 앞에서 만나요.
(Let's meet in front of the station.)

Dialogue 2: Restaurant

A: 뭐 드릴까요?
(What would you like?)

B: 뭐가 맛있어요?
(What's delicious?)

A: 비빔밥이 인기가 많아요.
(Bibimbap is very popular.)

B: 그럼 비빔밥 주세요.
(Then please give me bibimbap.)

Dialogue 3: Getting to Know Someone

A: 어디서 왔어요?
(Where are you from?)

B: 미국에서 왔어요.
(I'm from America.)

A: 한국에 얼마나 있었어요?
(How long have you been in Korea?)

B: 2년 정도 있었어요.
(About 2 years.)

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 뭐예요 해요?

Mixing question patterns

✅ Correct: 뭐 해요?

Simple question word + verb

❌ Incorrect: 누구이 왔어요?

Wrong particle with 누구

✅ Correct: 누가 왔어요?

누구 + 가 = 누가

❌ Incorrect: 어디를 가요?

Wrong particle with 어디 for destination

✅ Correct: 어디 가요? or 어디에 가요?

어디 or 어디에 for destination

Summary Table

Question Word	Meaning	Example
뭐/무엇	What	뭐예요?
누구	Who	누구예요?
언제	When	언제 가요?
어디	Where	어디 가요?
왜	Why	왜 그래요?
어떻게	How	어떻게 해요?
얼마나	How much/many	얼마나 걸려요?
얼마	How much (price)	얼마예요?
무슨	What kind of	무슨 일이에요?
어느	Which	어느 것?
몇	How many/What #	몇 시?

Key Takeaways

✅ Essential vocabulary: Must memorize all basic question words
✅ Particle usage: Question words take particles like regular nouns
✅ Position: Usually at beginning or natural answer position
✅ 누구 → 누가: Special subject form for "who"
✅ 무슨 vs 어떤: Both mean "what kind" but 무슨 more common
✅ Politeness levels: Adjust verb endings for formality

Korean question words are fundamental for communication. Master these interrogatives and their particle combinations to ask questions naturally and understand responses in any situation.