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Question Formation

Yes/No Questions

Yes/no questions in Korean are formed by changing the intonation of a statement or by using specific question endings. Unlike English, Korean doesn't require word order changes.

Basic Formation

Rising Intonation

Most common way - just raise tone at end:

  • 가요? ↗ (Are you going?)
  • 좋아요? ↗ (Is it good? / Do you like it?)
  • 학생이에요? ↗ (Are you a student?)
  • 한국 사람이에요? ↗ (Are you Korean?)

Same form as statement, different intonation:

  • Statement: 가요. ↘ (I'm going.)
  • Question: 가요? ↗ (Are you going?)

In Writing

Add question mark:

  • 밥 먹었어요? (Did you eat?)
  • 시간 있어요? (Do you have time?)
  • 괜찮아요? (Are you okay?)

Politeness Levels

Casual (반말)

-아/어 ending with rising tone:

  • 가? (Going?)
  • 먹었어? (Did you eat?)
  • 학생이야? (Are you a student?)
  • 좋아? (Is it good?)

Polite (해요체)

-아/어요 ending with rising tone:

  • 가요? (Are you going?)
  • 먹었어요? (Did you eat?)
  • 학생이에요? (Are you a student?)
  • 좋아요? (Is it good?)

Formal (합니다체)

-(습)니까 ending:

  • 갑니까? (Are you going?)
  • 먹었습니까? (Did you eat?)
  • 학생입니까? (Are you a student?)
  • 좋습니까? (Is it good?)

Note: 합니다체 questions have built-in question form

Common Question Patterns

With Verbs

Action verbs:

  • 가요? (Are you going?)
  • 와요? (Are you coming?)
  • 먹어요? (Are you eating?)
  • 자요? (Are you sleeping?)
  • 일해요? (Are you working?)
  • 공부해요? (Are you studying?)

With Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives:

  • 좋아요? (Is it good?)
  • 예뻐요? (Is it pretty?)
  • 맛있어요? (Is it delicious?)
  • 비싸요? (Is it expensive?)
  • 어려워요? (Is it difficult?)
  • 재미있어요? (Is it fun/interesting?)

With 이다 (To be)

Identity/definition:

  • 학생이에요? (Are you a student?)
  • 선생님이에요? (Are you a teacher?)
  • 한국 사람이에요? (Are you Korean?)
  • 이게 뭐예요? (What is this?)

With 있다/없다 (Have/Exist)

Possession/existence:

  • 시간 있어요? (Do you have time?)
  • 돈 있어요? (Do you have money?)
  • 집에 있어요? (Are you home?)
  • 문제 없어요? (Is there no problem?)

Common Yes/No Questions

Daily Life

  • 괜찮아요? (Are you okay?)
  • 바빠요? (Are you busy?)
  • 피곤해요? (Are you tired?)
  • 배고파요? (Are you hungry?)
  • 목말라요? (Are you thirsty?)
  • 시간 있어요? (Do you have time?)

Activities

  • 밥 먹었어요? (Did you eat?)
  • 숙제 했어요? (Did you do homework?)
  • 일 끝났어요? (Did you finish work?)
  • 자요? (Are you sleeping?)
  • 쉬어요? (Are you resting?)

Plans

  • 갈 거예요? (Are you going to go?)
  • 올 거예요? (Are you going to come?)
  • 할 거예요? (Are you going to do it?)
  • 만날까요? (Shall we meet?)

Confirmation

  • 맞아요? (Is that right? / Correct?)
  • 그래요? (Is that so? / Really?)
  • 정말이에요? (Really? / Is it true?)
  • 확실해요? (Are you sure?)

Answering Yes/No Questions

Positive Answers

네/예 (Yes):

  • 네, 가요 (Yes, I'm going)
  • 네, 좋아요 (Yes, it's good / Yes, I like it)
  • 네, 학생이에요 (Yes, I'm a student)
  • 예, 그렇습니다 (Yes, that's right - formal)

Verb repetition (more natural):

  • 가요? → 네, 가요 (Going? → Yes, going)
  • 먹었어요? → 네, 먹었어요 (Did you eat? → Yes, I ate)

Negative Answers

아니요 (No):

  • 아니요, 안 가요 (No, I'm not going)
  • 아니요, 안 좋아요 (No, it's not good)
  • 아니요, 학생이 아니에요 (No, I'm not a student)

Negative form of verb:

  • 가요? → 아니요, 안 가요 (Going? → No, not going)
  • 먹었어요? → 아니요, 안 먹었어요 (Did you eat? → No, I didn't)

Tag Questions

-지요?/-죠? (Right?/Isn't it?)

Confirming information:

  • 학생이죠? (You're a student, right?)
  • 한국 사람이죠? (You're Korean, right?)
  • 오늘 월요일이죠? (Today is Monday, right?)
  • 맛있죠? (It's delicious, right?)

See detailed article on -지요/죠

-네요/-군요 (I see/Oh!)

Expressing realization (not really questions):

  • 예쁘네요! (It's pretty! / How pretty!)
  • 맛있네요! (It's delicious!)
  • 좋네요! (That's good!)

Polite Question Strategies

Adding 혹시 (By any chance)

Makes questions softer:

  • 혹시 시간 있어요? (Do you happen to have time?)
  • 혹시 아세요? (Do you happen to know?)
  • 혹시 전화번호 알아요? (Do you happen to know the phone number?)

Adding 좀 (A bit)

Softens requests:

  • 도와주실 수 있어요? (Can you help?)
  • 좀 도와주실 수 있어요? (Could you help me a bit?)

Using -(으)시 (Honorific)

Showing respect:

  • 가세요? (Are you going? - polite)
  • 아세요? (Do you know? - polite)
  • 계세요? (Are you there? - honorific)

Question Word Order

Standard Word Order

Subject + Object + Verb + ?:

  • 당신은 한국어를 공부해요? (Do you study Korean?)
  • 친구가 집에 있어요? (Is your friend at home?)

Flexible Order

Can emphasize different parts:

  • 한국어를 공부해요? (Do you study Korean?)
  • 공부해요, 한국어를? (You study, Korean?)
  • 한국어를 당신은 공부해요? (Korean, do you study it?)

First example most natural

Common Yes/No Question Phrases

Checking Understanding

  • 알아요? (Do you know? / Do you understand?)
  • 알았어요? (Did you understand? / Got it?)
  • 이해했어요? (Did you understand?)
  • 괜찮아요? (Is it okay? / Are you okay?)

Asking Permission

  • 해도 돼요? (May I do it? / Is it okay to do?)
  • 가도 돼요? (May I go? / Is it okay to go?)
  • 먹어도 돼요? (May I eat? / Is it okay to eat?)
  • 봐도 돼요? (May I look? / Is it okay to look?)

Asking Ability

  • 할 수 있어요? (Can you do it?)
  • 갈 수 있어요? (Can you go?)
  • 도와줄 수 있어요? (Can you help?)
  • 기다릴 수 있어요? (Can you wait?)

Making Suggestions

  • 갈까요? (Shall we go?)
  • 먹을까요? (Shall we eat?)
  • 시작할까요? (Shall we start?)
  • 만날까요? (Shall we meet?)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Daily Greeting

A: 안녕하세요! 잘 지냈어요?
(Hello! Have you been well?)

B: 네, 잘 지냈어요. 당신은요?
(Yes, I've been well. And you?)

Dialogue 2: Making Plans

A: 내일 시간 있어요?
(Do you have time tomorrow?)

B: 네, 있어요. 왜요?
(Yes, I do. Why?)

A: 같이 영화 볼까요?
(Shall we watch a movie together?)

B: 좋아요!
(Sounds good!)

Dialogue 3: At Restaurant

A: 여기 앉아도 돼요?
(May I sit here?)

B: 네, 앉으세요.
(Yes, please sit.)

A: 이거 맛있어요?
(Is this delicious?)

B: 네, 정말 맛있어요.
(Yes, it's really delicious.)

Dialogue 4: Checking Understanding

A: 이해했어요?
(Did you understand?)

B: 아니요, 잘 모르겠어요. 다시 설명해 주세요.
(No, I don't really understand. Please explain again.)

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 가요 있어요?

Mixing verb and existence

✅ Correct: 가요? or 있어요?

One verb per question

❌ Incorrect: 당신 가요?

Too direct with 당신

✅ Correct: 가요? or 가세요?

Usually omit subject or use honorific

❌ Incorrect: 네 (falling tone)

Statement tone for yes

✅ Correct: 네? (rising tone)

Question tone

Usage Notes

Intonation is Key

Rising tone makes it a question:

  • 가요. ↘ (I'm going - statement)
  • 가요? ↗ (Are you going? - question)

Subject Often Omitted

Context makes subject clear:

  • 밥 먹었어요? (Did you eat? - "you" implied)
  • 학생이에요? (Are you a student? - "you" implied)

Multiple Ways to Ask

Same meaning, different politeness:

  • 가? (Going? - casual)
  • 가요? (Are you going? - polite)
  • 가세요? (Are you going? - respectful)
  • 갑니까? (Are you going? - formal)

Summary Table

LevelFormExampleUsage
Casual-아/어?가?Friends, family
Polite-아/어요?가요?General polite
Formal-(습)니까?갑니까?Very formal
Tag-죠?가죠?Confirmation

Key Takeaways

  • ✅ Rising intonation: Main way to form yes/no questions
  • ✅ No word order change: Unlike English, order stays the same
  • ✅ Politeness matters: Choose ending based on relationship
  • ✅ Subject often omitted: Context makes it clear
  • ✅ Natural answers: Repeat verb in answer for naturalness
  • ✅ Essential pattern: Must master for basic communication

Yes/no questions are fundamental in Korean conversation. Master the rising intonation pattern and appropriate politeness levels to ask questions naturally and understand responses in any social context.