Latest / Learn Korean with Fexingo / Korean Question Words - What
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- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn Korean with Fexingo! I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Episode 31, can you believe it? Lucas: I know. And today we're tackling something super useful: how to ask 'what' in Korean. Luna: Oh, like 'What is that?' or 'What are you doing?'. Lucas: Exactly. The key word is 뭐. Say it with me: 뭐. Luna: 뭐. Lucas: Great. 뭐 means 'what'. And we'll combine it with other words to make full questions. First up: 뭐예요? Luna: 뭐예요? Lucas: That means 'What is it?' or 'What is that?' Very common. Let's break it down: 뭐 + 예요. 예요 is like 'is'. Luna: So 뭐예요 is 'What is it?'. Lucas: Perfect. Try saying it a few times: 뭐예요. Luna: 뭐예요. 뭐예요. Lucas: You sound great. Now, if you want to ask about a specific thing, you say 이게 뭐예요? Luna: 이게 뭐예요? Lucas: 이게 means 'this'. So 이게 뭐예요? is 'What is this?'. Luna: Ah, so if I point at something, I say 이게 뭐예요?. Lucas: Exactly. Let's do a quick practice. Imagine I'm holding up a pen. What do you ask? Luna: 이게 뭐예요? Lucas: Yes! And I'd say, '펜이에요' — it's a pen. But we'll save that for another day. Now let's add another phrase: 뭐 하고 있어요? Luna: 뭐 하고 있어요? Lucas: This means 'What are you doing?'. Luna: Oh, useful for texting or calling. Lucas: Right. 뭐 is 'what', 하고 있어요 means 'are doing'. Together: 뭐 하고 있어요? Luna: 뭐 하고 있어요? Let me practice that slowly. 뭐... 하고... 있어요. Lucas: Nice. Try it a bit faster: 뭐 하고 있어요? Luna: 뭐 하고 있어요? Lucas: Perfect. Now let's put them together in a little scene. Luna, you're at a park. You see a strange object on a bench. What do you ask? Luna: 이게 뭐예요? Lucas: Good. And then your friend calls and asks what you're doing. You say? Luna: Uhh... 뭐 하고 있어요? Wait, that's the question, not the answer. Sorry. Lucas: That's okay. The friend asks you: '뭐 하고 있어요?' And you could say '공원에 있어요' — I'm at the park. But for now, let's focus on the questions. So remember: 뭐예요?, 이게 뭐예요?, 뭐 하고 있어요?. Luna: Got it. 뭐예요? 이게 뭐예요? 뭐 하고 있어요? Lucas: Excellent. Now let's do a quick review. I'll say a situation, you say the question. Ready? Luna: Ready. Lucas: You walk into the kitchen and see a new dish on the table. Luna: 이게 뭐예요? Lucas: You're on the phone and want to know what your friend is up to. Luna: 뭐 하고 있어요? Lucas: You find a note on your desk and wonder what it is. Luna: 뭐예요? Lucas: Nailed it. Let's say them all one more time together. Repeat after me: 뭐예요? Luna: 뭐예요? Lucas: 이게 뭐예요? Luna: 이게 뭐예요? Lucas: 뭐 하고 있어요? Luna: 뭐 하고 있어요? Lucas: Perfect. And that's our episode for today. Keep practicing these questions. Try using 뭐예요? when you see something new, and ask a friend 뭐 하고 있어요?. Luna: This was fun. I'm going to use 이게 뭐예요? all day. Lucas: That's the spirit. Thanks for listening to Learn Korean with Fexingo. We'll be back with another tiny lesson soon. See you next time! Luna: Bye bye! 안녕!