In Lesson 1, you learned how to introduce people and things using ~예요/이에요.
Before we start, let’s do a quick review!
🔄 Quick Review
Can you say these in Korean?
This is bulgogi.
→ 불고기예요.
I’m a student.
→ 학생이에요.
This is my teacher.
→ 제 선생님이에요.
🎤 Say each sentence aloud.
Who Is This Lesson For?
This lesson is for beginners who can read Hangul and have already learned ~예요/이에요.
If you haven’t studied Lesson 1 yet, start with Lesson 1: Introduce People and Things in Korean first.
🎯 Lesson Goal
By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- ask simple questions in Korean
- answer with 네 or 아니요
- use 네, 맞아요 to say “Yes, that’s right”
- ask what something is
- politely ask who someone is
- understand some Korean expressions that beginners often confuse
😊 Today’s Key Expressions
Asking Questions
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 이거 뭐예요? | What is this? |
| 이게 뭐예요? | What is this? |
| 이분은 누구세요? | Who is this? |
| 학생이에요? | Are you a student? |
| 미국 사람이에요? | Are you American? |
Answering
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 네. | Yes. |
| 네, 맞아요. | Yes, that’s right. |
| 아니요. | No. |
| 선생님이에요. | I’m a teacher. |
| 영국 사람이에요. | I’m British. |
😁 Today’s Words
Here are the words we’ll use today.
You don’t have to memorize all of them. You’ll naturally become familiar with them as you practice.
Food
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 불고기 | bulgogi |
| 제육볶음 | spicy stir-fried pork |
| 김치 | kimchi |
| 김밥 | gimbap |
| 떡볶이 | tteokbokki |
| 냉면 | cold noodles |
People
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 학생 | student |
| 선생님 | teacher |
| 친구 | friend |
| 부모님 | parents |
| 미국 사람 | American |
| 영국 사람 | British |
1. How Do You Make a Question?
Here’s some good news!
In Korean, you can use ~예요/이에요 for both statements and questions.
The words stay the same. When speaking, raise your voice slightly at the end of a question.
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| 이것은 불고기예요. — This is bulgogi. | 이것은 불고기예요? — Is this bulgogi? |
| 학생이에요. — I’m a student. | 학생이에요? — Are you a student? |
| 미국 사람이에요. — I’m American. | 미국 사람이에요? — Are you American? |
For example:
학생이에요. ↘
I’m a student.
학생이에요? ↗
Are you a student?
The words are the same. Only the intonation changes.
Easy, right?
💡 Speaking Tip 1: Where Is “You”?
Look at this English sentence:
Are you a student?
In Korean, we say:
학생이에요?
You may wonder:
Where is “you”?
In Korean, we often leave out the subject when we already know who we are talking about.
So we can simply say:
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 학생이에요? | Are you a student? |
| 선생님이에요? | Are you a teacher? |
| 미국 사람이에요? | Are you American? |
2. 네 or 네, 맞아요?
When the answer is yes, you can simply say:
네.
Yes.
You’ll also often hear:
네, 맞아요.
Yes, that’s right.
맞아요 means “That’s right” or “That’s correct.”
Examples
A: 이것은 불고기예요?
Is this bulgogi?
B: 네.
Yes.
Or:
B: 네, 맞아요.
Yes, that’s right.
Another example:
A: 한국어 선생님이에요?
Are you a Korean language teacher?
B: 네, 맞아요.
Yes, that’s right.
3. 아니요.
When the answer is no, say:
아니요.
No.
Then you can give the correct information.
Examples
A: 이것은 불고기예요?
Is this bulgogi?
B: 아니요. 제육볶음이에요.
No. It’s spicy stir-fried pork.
A: 학생이에요?
Are you a student?
B: 아니요. 선생님이에요.
No. I’m a teacher.
A: 미국 사람이에요?
Are you American?
B: 아니요. 영국 사람이에요.
No. I’m British.
For now, remember this simple pattern:
아니요. + correct information
💡 Speaking Tip 2: 아니요 vs. 아니에요
These two expressions look similar, so beginners often confuse them.
But they are different.
아니요 = No.
Use 아니요 to answer a yes-or-no question.
A: 학생이에요?
Are you a student?
B: 아니요.
No.
아니에요 = am not / is not / are not
Use 아니에요 when you want to say something is not something.
학생이 아니에요.
I’m not a student.
불고기가 아니에요.
It’s not bulgogi.
So remember:
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 아니요 | No. |
| 아니에요 | am not / is not / are not |
For now, you can keep it simple:
A: 학생이에요?
B: 아니요. 선생님이에요.
You’ll learn more about 아니에요 later.
What about 아니오?
You may sometimes see 아니오.
In everyday conversation, however, 아니요 is much more common.
For now, when you want to say “No,” use:
아니요.
4. Useful Korean Question ①
이거 뭐예요?
This is a very useful question!
Use it when you don’t know the name of something.
이거 뭐예요?
What is this?
Examples
A: 이거 뭐예요? What is this?
B: 김밥이에요. It’s gimbap.
A: 이거 뭐예요? What is this?
B: 떡볶이예요. It’s tteokbokki.
A: 이거 뭐예요? What is this?
B: 김치전이에요. It’s a kimchi pancake.
💡 Speaking Tip 3: 이것, 이거, and 이게
You may see these three words:
이것
이거
이게
They look different, but they are connected.
이것
이것 means “this” or “this thing.”
You’ll often see it in textbooks.
이것은 불고기예요.
This is bulgogi.
이거
In everyday conversation, Koreans often say 이거 instead of 이것.
이거 뭐예요?
What is this?
이게
You’ll also hear:
이게 뭐예요?
What is this?
이게 comes from 이것이.
You don’t need to learn this grammar yet.
Just remember:
이거 뭐예요?
이게 뭐예요?
Both are very common in everyday Korean.
So don’t worry when you hear either one.
5. Useful Korean Question ②
이분은 누구세요?
Now let’s ask about a person.
이분은 누구세요?
Who is this?
When talking politely about a person, Koreans can use 분.
| Korean | Used for |
|---|---|
| 이것 / 이거 | a thing |
| 이분 | a person, politely |
Examples
A: 이분은 누구세요? Who is this?
B: 제 선생님이에요. This is my teacher.
A: 이분은 누구세요? Who is this?
B: 제 친구예요. This is my friend.
💡 One More Tip
For a thing, you can ask:
이거 뭐예요?
What is this?
For a person, you can politely ask:
이분은 누구세요?
Who is this?
Korean has many ways to show respect.
Using 분 for a person is one of them.
For now, remember these as two useful expressions:
이거 뭐예요? → a thing
이분은 누구세요? → a person
6. Let’s Read the Dialogues!
Dialogue 1: Food
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| A: 이거 뭐예요? | A: What is this? |
| B: 불고기예요. | B: It’s bulgogi. |
| A: 제육볶음이에요? | A: Is it spicy stir-fried pork? |
| B: 아니요. 불고기예요. | B: No. It’s bulgogi. |
| A: 불고기예요? | A: Is it bulgogi? |
| B: 네, 맞아요. | B: Yes, that’s right. |
Dialogue 2: Introducing a Teacher
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| A: 이분은 누구세요? | A: Who is this? |
| B: 제 선생님이에요. | B: This is my teacher. |
| A: 한국어 선생님이에요? | A: Is she a Korean language teacher? |
| B: 네, 맞아요. | B: Yes, that’s right. |
Dialogue 3: Asking About a Job
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| A: 학생이에요? | A: Are you a student? |
| B: 아니요. 선생님이에요. | B: No. I’m a teacher. |
| A: 한국어 선생님이에요? | A: Are you a Korean language teacher? |
| B: 네, 맞아요. | B: Yes, that’s right. |
7. Let’s Practice!
Practice 1: What Would You Say?
Look at the English and say it in Korean.
1. What is this?
2. Are you a student?
3. Yes, that’s right.
4. No. I’m a teacher.
5. Who is this?
🎤 Say each answer aloud.
Practice 2: Complete the Conversation
1
A: ____________________________?
What is this?
B: 김밥이에요.
It’s gimbap.
2
A: 학생이에요?
Are you a student?
B: ____________________________.
No. I’m a teacher.
3
A: 이분은 누구세요?
Who is this?
B: ____________________________.
This is my teacher.
4
A: 미국 사람이에요?
Are you American?
B: ____________________________.
Yes, that’s right.
🎤 Read each conversation aloud when you finish.
🗣️ Speak Korean!
Now let’s use Korean in real life.
Look at something near you and ask:
이거 뭐예요?
Then answer:
책이에요.
It’s a book.
Or:
컵이에요.
It’s a cup.
Or:
펜이에요.
It’s a pen.
Now look at a family photo or a photo of someone you know.
Ask:
이분은 누구세요?
Then answer:
제 친구예요.
This is my friend.
Or:
제 선생님이에요.
This is my teacher.
Try to say the Korean first before looking back at the lesson.
Don’t worry about being perfect.
The important thing is to speak Korean out loud!
👍 Great Job!
Now I Can…
☐ Ask “What is this?”
☐ Ask “Who is this?” politely.
☐ Answer with 네 and 아니요.
☐ Say 네, 맞아요 when something is correct.
☐ Understand the difference between 아니요 and 아니에요.
☐ Understand 이것, 이거, and 이게.
☐ Ask simple questions without always saying “you.”
You can now ask and answer simple questions in Korean!
Keep practicing them out loud.
Little by little, Korean will start to feel more natural.