So far, through our previous lessons, we have learned how to say “what” “where” “when” and “who”.
What = 뭐 [mwo]
Where = 어디 [eo-di]
When = 언제 [eon-je]
Who = 누구 [nu-gu]
And today, we are going to learn some more 의문사(interrogatives).
How = 어떻게 [eo-tteo-ke]
Why = 왜 [wae]
How much (money) = 얼마 [eol-ma]
How + adjective/adverb = 얼마나 [eol-ma-na]
Generally, these interrogatives in Korean are used before the verb of a sentence. But as the word order of the sentences is much more flexible (thanks in part to the subject/topic/object markers), they can come in at various parts of sentences, depending on the context or the nuance.
Examples
1. 어떻게 [eo-tteo-ke] = how
어떻게 찾았어요? [eo-tteo-ke cha-ja-sseo-yo?] = How did you find it?
(찾다 = to find, to look for)
어떻게 왔어요? [eo-tteo-ke wa-sseo-yo?] = How did you get here?
(오다 = to come)
2. 왜 [wae] = why
왜 전화했어요? [wae jeon-hwa-hae-sseo-yo?] = Why did you call?
(전화하다 = to call)
왜 안 왔어요? [wae an wa-sseo-yo?] = Why didn’t you come?
(오다 = to come)
3. 얼마 [eol-ma] = how much
얼마예요? [eol-ma-ye-yo?] = How much is it?
얼마 냈어요? [eol-ma nae-sseo-yo?] = How much did you pay?
(내다 = to pay)
4. 얼마나 + adjective/adverb = how + [often/fast/early/soon/etc...]
얼마나 자주 와요? [eol-ma-na ja-ju wa-yo?] = How often do you come?
(자주 = often / 오다 = to come)
얼마나 커요? [eol-ma-na keo-yo?] = How big is it?
(크다 = to be big)
얼마나 무거워요? [eol-ma-na mu-geo-wo-yo?] = How heavy is it?
(무겁다 = to be heavy)
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