네, 아니요(Answering in Korean way)
네 / 아니요
| Positive Questions | |
| English | Korean |
| Yes | 네 |
| No | 아니요 |
| Negative Questions | |
| Yes | 아니요 |
| No | 네 |
💻Let’s speak together!
🎫Let’s practice!
① Asking positive questions
가: 이게 의자예요?
나: 네. 의자예요.
가: 이게 핸드폰이에요?
나: 네. 핸드폰이에요.
가: 이게 의자예요?
나: 아니요. 책상이에요.
가: 이게 핸드폰이에요?
나: 아니요. 컵이에요.
가: Is this a chair?
나: Yes. It’s a chair.
가: Is this a cell phone?
나: Yes. It’s a cell phone.
가: Is this a chair?
나: No. It’s a desk.
가: Is this a cell phone?
나: No. It’s a cup.
② Asking negative questions
가: 이게 의자가 아니에요?
나: 네. 의자가 아니에요.
가: 이게 핸드폰이 아니에요?
나: 네. 핸드폰이 아니에요.
가: 이게 의자가 아니에요?
나: 아니요. 의자예요.
가: 이게 핸드폰이 아니에요?
나: 아니요. 핸드폰이에요.
가: Is this a chair?
나: Yes. It’s a chair.
가: Is this a cell phone?
나: Yes. It’s a cell phone.
가: Is this a chair?
나: No. It’s a desk.
가: Is this a cell phone?
나: No. It’s a cup.
🏐Things you should know
① 질문하는 방법 How to ask a question
“When making an interrogative sentence in English, the subject and verb positions are swapped, like changing ‘This is an apple.’ to ‘Is this an apple?’
However, in Korean, when there is no question word in the interrogative sentence, you can simply follow the word order of the declarative sentence and raise the end of the sentence.
예) 이게 사과예요. This is an apple. ↘
이게 사과예요? Is this an appel?↗
② 이게? 이것이?
Some of you might notice “이게” looks interesting.
Grammatically, “이게” is a contracted form of the pronoun “이것” (this) with the nominative marker “이” attached.
- 이것이(이것This + 이) = 이게
- 그것이(그것That or The thing + 이) = 그게
- 저것이(저것That over there + 이) = 저게
If you write a note in Korean, “이것이” is recommendable. But in conversation, people usually use “이게”, because it’s more convenient.
예) 이것이 사과예요. = 이게 사과예요.
③ 대답하는 방법 How to answer
In English, responses are absolute, while in Korean, responses are relative.
In English, regardless of whether the question is positive or negative, responses can be consistent.
For example, to the questions “Is this an apple?” or “Is this not an apple?”, one can consistently respond.
If it is an apple, one can say “Yes. This is an apple.” Conversely, if it is not an apple, one can respond to both positive and negative questions with “No. This isn’t an apple.”
However, in Korean, the response changes completely depending on the question. Simply put, the response of “Yes” or “No” is based on whether one agrees with the question or not.
For instance, if someone asks, “Is this an apple?” in Korean, I would respond with “Yes/No” based on that question.
The same applies to negative questions.
If someone asks, “Is this not an apple?” in Korean, I would respond with “Yes/No” based on that question. If it’s truly not an apple, the Korean concept would be to respond, “Your question is right. It’s not an apple.”
This concept in Korean is opposite to that of English, which can initially be confusing.
Even I found it confusing when I first learned English. However, don’t worry! With a little effort, You can understand it soon!
💎 What if…?
Q: What if I say “이게 사과입니다?” instead of “이게 사과예요?”
A: Good question!
“In the case of ‘~예요/이에요’, you can ask the question in the same sentence order. No additional letters are needed. However, regarding ‘~입니다’, when asking a question, you need to change it to ‘입니까?’.
Personally, I think ‘입니다/입니까’ is a more formal expression, so to make the sentence clearer, I believe it’s necessary to differentiate between declarative and interrogative sentences.
Therefore, when asking a question with ‘~입니다’, please change it to ‘입니까?’.”
예) 이게 사과예요. (O)
이게 사과예요? (O)
이게 사과입니다. (O)
이게 사과입니다? (X) Wrong
이게 사과입니까? (O)