안녕하세요! Today, I'll teach you how to say "What are you doing?" in Korean. To proceed to this lesson, you'll need to know the object marker and the present-tense ending.
1. Words
Here are some words you will need in this lesson! Please listen and repeat!
Verbs 동사 [dong-sa]
eat | |
drink | |
study | |
buy | |
listen |
Nouns 명사 [myeong-sa]
cooked rice/meal | |
juice | |
book | |
Korean language | |
music |
2. What: 무엇
(original version) what | |
(short version) what |
"What" in Korean is 무엇. To make the sentence grammatically correct, we need to add the object marker to "무엇". Since "무엇" ends with a final consonant, we attach "을" to it, making it "무엇을".
The word "무엇" is commonly shortened to "뭐" in conversation. When using the object marker with the shortened version, "를" is required. It is because "뭐" does not have a final consonant. This results in "뭐를".
뭐를 can be further shortened to "뭘 ". However, pronouncing "뭘" can be difficult, so many people simply use "뭐" instead. All these forms are interchangeable!
what = 무엇을 = 뭐를 = 뭘 = 뭐
3. "What are you doing?" in Korean
In Korean, "do" is translated to "하다", which becomes "해요" in the informal present tense. So, to ask "What do you do?" or "What are you doing?", we say "무엇을 해요?" expression.
If you translate the sentence word for word, it would mean "What do?". The "you" part is omitted because it is obvious that the question is directed at the person you are talking to.
For example, if A is asking B "무엇을 해요?", it is clear that A is asking B what he or she does, so it is unnecessary to include "you" in the sentence.
This kind of omission is not happening in English. However, it is very common in the Korean language.
Since 무엇 can be shortened in many versions, the sentences will be possible like below.
What do you do? / What are you doing? |
Can you tell which one is the most common one? The hint, people like to say things as fast, simple, and quick as possible. Yes, so "뭐 해요?" is the most commonly used expression!
4. Examples
Let's take a look at some examples. You can see how we can ask and answer "What are you doing?" in Korean.
1
What are you doing? | |
I'm eating a meal. |
밥 means both cooked rice and meal. It is the object of the sentence. What do we need to attach to the object? Yes, the object marker! 밥 has the final consonant, so we add the object marker 을. 먹어요 came from "먹다(to eat)."
2
What are you doing? | |
I'm studying Korean. |
한국어 is the Korean language. It's the object of the sentence. Which object do we need? Yes, we need 를. Can you tell me why? It is because 한국어 ends with the syllable 어 and it doesn't have the final consonant.
You may notice the answer here "한국어를 공부해요" literally translates as "Korean study." You don't see 저는 which means there is no subject! However, even though we don't see "I" it is pretty obvious B is talking about himself. This kind of omission is really common, and it is a natural way to say. Make sure not to add "저는(I)" every time when you say something like English!
3
What are you doing now? | |
I'm reading a book. |
지금 means now. "뭐 해요?" can mean both "What do you do?" and "What are you doing?" depending on the context. 지금(now) is one way to add context. 읽어요 came from "읽다 (to read)."
4
What are you buying? | |
I'm buying the book. |
Instead of 해요(do), we can add other verbs to ask specific things. 사다 means to buy. By using "사요?", you can ask what the listener is buying.
5
What are you drinking? | |
I'm drinking juice. |
Try to use specific verbs and make questions on your own!
6
What is Jenny doing? | |
She is listening to music. |
This time, I'll show you how to ask about the 3rd person. If you are asking about someone else, you can add their name to the sentence. A is asking about 제니, so he started the sentence with 제니 씨. It is about 제니 씨, so he also added the topic marker 는.
들어요 came from the baisc form 듣다. It is one of the irregular conjugation verbs. 음악 is music and since it ends with the final consonant, let's add the object marker 을.
5. Wrap-up & Worksheets: "What are you doing?" in Korean
The lesson was not that difficult, I hope. Here are some important things you can review.
"What" in Korean is 무엇.
With the object marker, you can say "무엇을."
무엇을 can be shortened to "뭐를," "뭘," or "뭐."
To ask "What are you doing?" you will say 무엇을 해요?
It can be shortened to 뭘 해요? or 뭐 해요?
The most common version in daily life is "뭐 해요?"
Here are free, printable PDF worksheets to help your Korean studying! Please practice first with the top worksheet. Once you are ready solve the quiz worksheet as well. It includes the answer sheets for your efficient self-study.
Practice worksheet
Quiz
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