Asking Information Questions — I can ask common information questions (what, where, when, who, how, how much) in simple conversation.

Every language in the world has a system for asking questions, and Korean is no exception. The Korean language, known as 한국어 (hangugeo), has a rich grammatical tradition that stretches back centuries. Understanding how question words developed in Korean gives you a deeper appreciation for the patterns you will learn today. Unlike English, where question words almost always appear at the beginning of a sentence, Korean question words can appear in different positions within the sentence because Korean relies on particles and verb endings to signal grammatical relationships rather than strict word order.

So why focus on information questions specifically? When you travel, meet new people, or even watch a K-drama without subtitles, most of what you need to understand comes down to six basic question types: what, where, when, who, how, and how much. If you can form these questions, you can navigate restaurants, ask for directions, learn about people's lives, and participate in real conversations. This lesson gives you the tools to do exactly that.

Before diving into individual question words, you need to understand a few foundational principles that make Korean questions different from English ones. Korean is a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language, which means the verb always comes at the end of the sentence. This is the single most important structural difference to internalize. In English, you say "What do you eat?" but in Korean, the literal structure is closer to "You what eat?" Additionally, Korean uses particles — small grammatical markers attached to words — to indicate the role of each word in a sentence, and the verb ending changes to signal that a sentence is a question.

As shown in the diagram above, Korean has six primary question words, collectively called 의문사 (uimunsa). Each one targets a specific category of missing information. When you construct a question, you simply identify which piece of information you are seeking — a thing, a place, a time, a person, a method, or an amount — and insert the corresponding question word into the slot where that information would normally appear in a statement. The verb remains at the end of the sentence, and your intonation rises slightly to signal the question.

Understanding Korean question formation requires you to see how statements and questions relate to each other. In English, forming a question often involves flipping word order ("You eat pizza" → "What do you eat?"). In Korean, the transformation is much simpler. You keep the same sentence structure and replace the unknown element with a question word. Let us examine the core pattern using the polite informal speech level (해요체), which is the most practical for daily conversation.

Statement-to-Question Transformation

Example Transformations

Now that you understand the overall pattern, let us examine each question word individually with example sentences, pronunciation tips, and common real-life contexts. The diagram below shows how each question word fits into a typical conversational scenario, and the table that follows provides multiple example sentences for each.

Let us walk through a realistic scenario step by step. Imagine you are at a Korean café and you want to order a drink, ask the price, and find out when the café closes. We will build each question using the patterns from the previous sections.

Understanding the differences and similarities between Korean and English question formation helps you avoid common mistakes. While both languages use dedicated question words, the way those words interact with the rest of the sentence is fundamentally different. The table below highlights the key structural differences so you can consciously avoid "thinking in English" when forming Korean questions.

The six question words you learned today are your foundation, but Korean has additional question patterns that build directly on these basics. As you advance, you will encounter indirect questions, rhetorical questions, and more nuanced question words. The table below previews how today's basic forms connect to more advanced structures you will study in future lessons.

As you can see, every advanced pattern is simply the basic question word plus additional grammar. Mastering today's six question words is like learning the roots of a tree — the branches (advanced patterns) grow naturally from them. In your next lessons, you will explore 어떤 (what kind of), 왜 (why), and 얼마나 (how much/many/long), which are natural extensions of the patterns you learned today.