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Lyzzie
Which one do I use? 무엇 or 무슨?
I'm still a beginner in Korean and I've come across a bit of a stumbling block when it comes to the word 'what'
I was taught to use 무엇 for questions like 'what is this?' or ' what does your dad like?' (이것은 무엇 입니까? / 아버지는 무엇을 좋아합니까?) as it takes the place of a subject/object in a sentence, but I've just come across the question 'what sport do you like?' (무슨 운동을 좋아합니까?) and I'm confused as to the difference?
I'm learning in high formal so I can avoid offending anyone but I do understand low/high informal. Any clarification would be well appreciated.
2018년 4월 11일 오후 8:04
답변 · 6
2
무슨 is a direct modifier. In other words, it comes directly in front of nouns.
examples:
“무슨 음식을 좋아해요?” (What foods do you like)
“무슨 영화가재미있어요?” (What movie is interesting)
무엇 can NEVER be used alone. It always be followed by a particle even in casual speech.
examples:
“무엇을 좋아해요?” (What do you like?)
“무엇이 재미있어요?” (What is interesting)
무슨 is used for nouns which sport is a noun so its used because it modifies it, if that makes sense.
I hope i helped you out.
2018년 4월 11일
It might be complicated, however, usually we just use 뭐 short version of 무엇 like 무슨. 뭐 is informal and colloquial
Ex) 뭐 좋아하세요? What do you like?
뮈 드릴까요? What do you want?
뭐뭐 있어요? What do you have?
2018년 4월 11일
아직도 답을 찾지 못하셨나요?
질문을 남겨보세요. 원어민이 도움을 줄 수 있을 거예요!
