Korean grammar · Level 1 · 1급
N이/가 뭐예요? · 누구예요?
What is it? Who is it?
Taught in Level 1, Unit 2: What is this?
once you can point at things, the next thing you want to say is “What is that?” — and for people, “Who is that?”.
뭐 means “what” and 누구 means “who”; both take 예요 because they end in a vowel. In a question like 이게 뭐예요?, the thing you are asking about is the subject of the sentence, and the subject takes the particle 이/가. 이 goes after a batchim (책이 뭐예요?) and 가 after a vowel (커피가 뭐예요?). With the three pointing words the particle fuses with 거 and gives three short forms you will hear all the time: 이거 + 이 → 이게, 그거 + 이 → 그게, 저거 + 이 → 저게. You can also ask 뭐 with the particle as the subject: 뭐가 있어요? (“What is there?”, next section). Answer with the noun + 이에요/예요: 책이에요. To ask about a person, 누구예요? means “Who is it?” or “Who is he/she?”.
| When | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| noun ends in a batchim | 이 | 책이 · 연필이 · 사람이 |
| noun ends in a vowel | 가 | 커피가 · 지우개가 · 시계가 |
| pointing word + subject | 이게 · 그게 · 저게 | 이게 뭐예요? |
Examples
저게 뭐예요?
What is that over there?
그 사람이 누구예요?
Who is that person?
이게 사전이에요.
This is a dictionary.
Practise it in context · Level 1, Unit 2
What is this?
The rule with a table, Sori’s tips, practice that checks itself, a review room and a one-page cheat sheet.
Open the unit →