How to Ask Questions in Korean
Questions about how questions work in Korean: which question words to learn first, which endings mark a question at each politeness level, why negative questions trip up English speakers, and how to ask a name, an age or a price without causing offence.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How do you turn a Korean statement into a yes or no question?
Why ask it
In the everyday polite style ending in -아요/-어요, nothing changes except intonation: 가요 is both "I am going" and "are you going?" In the formal style the ending itself changes, from 갑니다 to 갑니까. Learners often go hunting for a question word that does not exist, when a rising tone is doing the work.
Which question words should I learn first?
Why ask it
뭐 or 무엇 (what), 누구 (who), 어디 (where), 언제 (when), 왜 (why), 어떻게 (how), 얼마나 (how much, how long), 몇 (how many, with a counter) and 어느 (which). 뭐 is the spoken contraction and 무엇 the written form, and 누구 becomes 누가 when it is the subject, which is the irregularity beginners hit first.
Where does the question word go in the sentence?
Why ask it
Where the answer would go. Korean puts the verb last and does not invert or add an auxiliary, so 어디 가요 means "where are you going" with the same structure as the statement. Fronting the question word the way English does is the clearest sign of translating rather than speaking.
Does intonation change what a question means?
Why ask it
It can change it completely. 뭐 먹었어요 with stress on 뭐 asks what you ate; the same words with 뭐 unstressed and a rising ending asks whether you ate anything at all, because 뭐 also means "something." The same double life belongs to 누구 and 어디.
How do I choose the right politeness level for a question?
Why ask it
Use -아요/-어요 for almost everything with strangers, colleagues and anyone older; use the -습니까 forms for service, presentations and formal settings; keep the plain style for close friends and children. Asking a stranger a question in the plain style is the single error most likely to cause offence, and it is more serious than a grammatical mistake.
What does adding 요 actually do?
Why ask it
It marks the sentence as polite rather than as a question, and it can be attached to short fragments to soften them: 어디요 for "where, sorry?" Dropping 요 with someone who has not invited it reads as sudden familiarity, so it is safer to keep it until they drop theirs.
When do I use -(으)ㄹ까요?
Why ask it
For suggestions and for wondering aloud: 갈까요 is closer to "shall we go?" than to "will you go?" It also carries speculation about things nobody present knows, such as whether it will rain. Using it for a plain factual question about the other person sounds like you are asking yourself.
What are -나요 and -(으)ㄴ가요 for?
Why ask it
They soften a question, roughly like adding "I was wondering" in English. 어디에 있어요 is a direct ask; 어디에 있나요 is gentler and common in customer service and online writing. They are useful when you are asking about something that could be sensitive.
What does -지요 or -죠 add to a question?
Why ask it
It asks for confirmation of something you already believe, like the English tag "right?" 맛있죠 expects agreement. Using it for genuinely new information sounds like you are putting words in the other person's mouth.
How do I answer, and ask, a negative question?
Why ask it
네 confirms the statement as it was phrased, not your own position. Asked 안 바빠요, "are you not busy?", a Korean speaker says 네 to mean "right, I am not busy." English speakers say 네 intending "yes, I am busy" and are understood to have said the opposite, which is worth practising before you rely on it.
How do I ask what something means, or how to say something in Korean?
Why ask it
무슨 뜻이에요 for "what does that mean," and 한국말로 뭐라고 해요 for "how do you say it in Korean." These two carry most conversations for a beginner, and asking them is normal rather than an imposition.
How do I ask someone to repeat that or slow down?
Why ask it
다시 말해 주세요 or the more polite 다시 한 번 말씀해 주시겠어요, and 천천히 말해 주세요 for speed. Nodding through an answer you did not catch tends to cost more later, since the conversation continues on the assumption that you understood.
How do I ask someone's name politely?
Why ask it
이름이 뭐예요 works with peers and younger people. For anyone older or in a formal setting, use 성함이 어떻게 되세요, which pairs the honorific word for name with a frame that avoids asking a blunt "what." The same 어떻게 되세요 pattern covers age and family relations.
Is it rude to ask someone's age?
Why ask it
Not usually, and it comes up early, because age affects which speech level and which forms of address are appropriate. 몇 살이에요 with peers, 나이가 어떻게 되세요 more politely, 연세가 어떻게 되세요 for an elderly person. Since 2023 South Korea has standardised on international age for legal and administrative purposes, though people may still answer in the older counting style.
How do I use 몇 correctly?
Why ask it
몇 needs a counter attached: 몇 시 for what time, 몇 개 for how many items, 몇 명 for how many people, 몇 번 for how many times or which number. Bare 몇 on its own is not a usable question, which is why "how many?" as a standalone reply has to be rephrased.
How do I ask for permission?
Why ask it
-아/어도 돼요 asks whether something is allowed, as in 앉아도 돼요 for "may I sit here?" -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 asks about ability instead, so using it to ask permission reads as asking whether the action is physically possible. -(으)면 될까요 is the softest of the three.
How do I ask for something without sounding like I am giving an order?
Why ask it
Phrase the request as a question: 해 주실 수 있어요 or 해 주시겠어요 rather than the plain 해 주세요. Korean politeness sits largely in the verb ending, so a request in question form is genuinely softer, not merely decorative.
Why does 왜 sometimes sound sharp, and what can I use instead?
Why ask it
왜요 on its own can land as a challenge, and 왜 그래요 can read as "what is wrong with you." When you want the story rather than the justification, 무슨 일이에요 or 어떻게 된 거예요 asks what happened without implying fault.
How do I ask an indirect question, such as whether someone knows where something is?
Why ask it
Embed the question with -는지 or -(으)ㄴ지 and finish with the main verb: 어디에 있는지 알아요 for "do you know where it is?" English word order breaks down completely here, so this pattern is worth drilling separately rather than assembling word by word.
How do I keep a follow-up question short and natural?
Why ask it
Drop everything already understood. Korean omits subjects and objects freely, so 그럼 언제요 or a simple 그래서요 continues the thread. In particular, avoid using 당신 for "you": use the person's name with 씨, or a title such as 선생님, or leave it out entirely, which is what most speakers do.
Practising Korean questions
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
An order that works
Start with one politeness level
Get comfortable asking everything in the -아요/-어요 style before adding the formal or plain styles. It is acceptable almost everywhere and it removes the hardest decision from every sentence.
Learn question words with a full sentence attached
어디 on its own is hard to deploy. 어디에 살아요, 어디 가요 and 어디에서 만나요 give you the particle patterns at the same time as the word.
Drill counters with 몇
몇 시, 몇 개, 몇 명, 몇 번, 몇 살. Five pairs cover most daily situations and stop you reaching for a bare 몇.
Rehearse the negative answer
Have a partner ask you negative questions until answering 네 to "you are not busy?" feels natural. This one point causes more real confusion than any ending.
Question sets for two common situations
Meeting someone
- 1성함이 어떻게 되세요 for a name, in a formal setting.
- 2어디에서 왔어요 for where they are from.
- 3무슨 일 하세요 for what they do.
- 4한국에 얼마나 계셨어요 for how long they have been here.
Shopping or ordering
- 1이거 얼마예요 for the price.
- 2이거 있어요 for whether they have something.
- 3몇 개 드릴까요 is what you will be asked back, so be ready with a number and counter.
- 4카드 돼요 for whether a card is accepted.
Common mistakes
Using 당신 for "you"
It appears in textbooks and song lyrics but sounds cold or confrontational in conversation. Use a name with 씨, a title, or nothing at all.
Reordering the sentence like English
The verb stays at the end and the question word stays in the answer's position. There is no inversion to perform.
Dropping 요 too early
Speech level is a social claim, not a shortcut. Wait for the other person to suggest speaking casually, which they will do explicitly.
Translating tag questions literally
"Isn't it?" becomes the ending -죠, not a separate clause. Adding 그렇지 않아요 to every sentence sounds stiff.
Assuming 왜 is neutral
It is a fine word, but as a bare one-word reply it carries an edge. Add a verb, or ask what happened instead.