Question Words: who, what, where, when, why, how, how many, how much
(Unit 1/1 section)
What You Will Learn in This Unit
Learn the meanings of the eight question words and where they go in a sentence. Learn the difference between '뭐' (what), '무슨' (what kind of), '어느' (which), and '어떤' (what sort of). Learn how to ask about numbers and prices with 몇 + unit and '얼마예요' (how much is it). Finally, check how a question with a question word differs from a yes/no question in intonation.
Meanings and Positions of Question Words
A question word is used to ask about information you do not know. A question word stays in the place where that information would appear in the answer and does not move to another position. So you can find the position of a question word by thinking of the answer sentence. If the answer is '이분은 선생님이에요.' — This person is a teacher. — the question is '이분은 누구예요?' — Who is this person?
| Question word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 누구 (who) | asks about a person | 이분은 누구예요? — Who is this person? |
| 무엇(뭐) (what) | asks about a thing or content | 이것은 뭐예요? — What is this? |
| 어디 (where) | asks about a place | 학교는 어디예요? — Where is the school? |
| 언제 (when) | asks about a time | 생일은 언제예요? — When is the birthday? |
| 몇 (how many / what) | asks about a number or unit | 지금 몇 시예요? — What time is it now? |
| 얼마 (how much) | asks about a price or amount | 가방은 얼마예요? — How much is the bag? |
| 왜 (why) | asks about a reason | Used with verbs, so it is covered in Unit 25. |
| 어떻게 (how) | asks about a method or manner | Used with verbs, so it is covered in Unit 25. |
'누구', '무엇', '어디', '언제', '몇', '얼마' are placed before '이에요/예요' attached to a noun, and they ask about the information in that position. '왜' and '어떻게' are used in verb and adjective sentences, so they are not covered in this unit's examples.
When the subject marker '가' is attached to '누구', it is written as '누가'. Do not write '누구가'. '누가' asks who someone is in the subject position. To the question '누가 선생님이에요?' — Who is the teacher? — answer with '제가' (I), which is '저' plus '가'. For example: '제가 선생님이에요.' — I am the teacher.
Differences among 뭐, 무슨, 어느, and 어떤
All four words ask about a thing or content, but they appear in different positions. '뭐' is used alone without a noun. '무슨', '어느', and '어떤' must be followed by a noun, so they come before a noun.
| Word | Position | What it asks | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 뭐 (what) | alone, without a noun | a thing or content | 이것은 뭐예요? — What is this? |
| 무슨 (what kind of) | before a noun | the kind of noun | 무슨 책이에요? — What kind of book is it? |
| 어느 (which) | before a noun | one among a set of options | 어느 가방이에요? — Which bag is it? |
| 어떤 (what sort of) | before a noun | the look or features of a noun | 어떤 가방이에요? — What kind of bag is it? |
Use '무슨' when you want to know what category a noun belongs to. Use '어떤' when you want to ask what a noun looks like or what quality it has. Use '어느' when there are several bags and you want the listener to choose one. If there are several bags, ask '어느 가방이에요?' — Which bag is it? If you want to know what the bag looks like, ask '어떤 가방이에요?' — What kind of bag is it?
몇 + Unit and 얼마예요
'몇' is placed before a noun that expresses a counting unit, and it asks about a number. '몇' and the unit noun are written with a space between them. The question's content changes depending on the unit.
| Question | What it asks | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 몇 시 (what time) | time of day | 지금 몇 시예요? — What time is it now? |
| 몇 살 (how old) | age | 몇 살이에요? — How old are you? |
| 몇 명 (how many people) | number of people | 학생이 몇 명이에요? — How many students are there? |
| 몇 개 (how many items) | number of objects | 가방이 몇 개예요? — How many bags are there? |
| 몇 권 (how many volumes) | number of books | 책이 몇 권이에요? — How many books are there? |
What comes next
- Intonation and Answers
- Example Sentences
- Common Mistakes
- Check Questions
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