What does 뭐예요 mean?

Real-world examples

• ⭕

  이게 뭐예요?

  i-ge mwo-ye-yo?, i ge mwo ye yo?

  ‘이게’ is a shortened demonstrative pronoun ‘this’, making a natural question with ‘뭐예요’.

• ❌

  저 사람 뭐예요?

  jeo sa-ram mwo-ye-yo?, jeo sa ram mwo ye yo?

  ‘사람’ means person; asking ‘뭐예요?’ is incorrect. The correct question is ‘누구예요?’.

• ⭕

  이 음식이 뭐예요?

  i eum-sik-i mwo-ye-yo?, i eum sik i mwo ye yo?

  Attaching ‘뭐예요?’ after ‘this food’ is a natural sentence to ask about the food.

• ⭕

  이게 뭐야?

  i-ge mwo-ya?, i ge mwo ya?

  ‘뭐야’ is informal but grammatically correct question.

• ⭕

  이게 뭐예요?

  i-ge mwo-ye-yo?, i ge mwo ye yo?

  The most basic and natural question using ‘뭐예요’.

• ⭕

  그게 뭐예요?

  geu-ge mwo-ye-yo?, geu ge mwo ye yo?

  ‘그게’ is a shortened form of ‘that’, appropriate for asking someone about something.

1. In which situation is ‘뭐예요’ mainly used?

   ‘뭐예요’는 어떤 상황에서 주로 쓰이나요?(‘mwo-ye-yo’neuneo-tteonsang-hwang-e-seoju-rosseu-i-na-yo?, ‘mwoyeyo’neuneotteonsanghwangeseojurosseuinayo?)
   • 친구에게 무례하게 말할 때(chin-gu-e-gemu-rye-ha-gemal-halttae, chinguegemuryehagemalhalttae)
   • 정중하게 무언가를 물을 때(jeong-jung-ha-gemu-eon-ga-reulmul-eulttae, jeongjunghagemueongareulmuleulttae)
   • 명령할 때(myeong-ryeong-halttae, myeongryeonghalttae)
   • 감탄할 때(gam-tan-halttae, gamtanhalttae)

2. Why is the sentence ‘저 사람 뭐예요?’ incorrect?

   ‘저 사람 뭐예요?’ 문장은 왜 틀렸나요?(‘jeosa-rammwo-ye-yo?’mun-jang-eunwaeteul-ryeoss-na-yo?, ‘jeosarammwoyeyo?’munjangeunwaeteulryeossnayo?)
   • ‘사람’에는 ‘뭐예요’를 쓰지 않는다(‘sa-ram’e-neun‘mwo-ye-yo’reulsseu-jian-neun-da, ‘saram’eneun‘mwoyeyo’reulsseujianneunda)
   • 문법적으로 틀렸다(mun-beop-jeok-eu-roteul-ryeoss-da, munbeopjeokeuroteulryeossda)
   • 존댓말이 아니다(jon-daes-mal-ia-ni-da, jondaesmalianida)
   • 발음이 이상하다(bal-eum-ii-sang-ha-da, baleumiisanghada)

3. What is the difference between ‘이게 뭐야?’ and ‘이게 뭐예요?’?

   ‘이게 뭐야?’와 ‘이게 뭐예요?’의 차이는?(‘i-gemwo-ya?’wa‘i-gemwo-ye-yo?’uicha-i-neun?, ‘igemwoya?’wa‘igemwoyeyo?’uichaineun?)
   • ‘뭐야’는 반말, ‘뭐예요’는 존댓말(‘mwo-ya’neunban-mal,‘mwo-ye-yo’neunjon-daes-mal, ‘mwoya’neunbanmal,‘mwoyeyo’neunjondaesmal)
   • 둘 다 반말이다(duldaban-mal-i-da, duldabanmalida)
   • 둘 다 존댓말이다(duldajon-daes-mal-i-da, duldajondaesmalida)
   • ‘뭐야’가 더 정중하다(‘mwo-ya’gadeojeong-jung-ha-da, ‘mwoya’gadeojeongjunghada)