36. Who Questions

Who is -? : 누구예요?

In Korean, the order of words in ‘Who is -’ question is different. 누구 is placed in an object position and works as an object like ‘whom’ in English except it’s used as ‘who’. This explanation is a bit confusing but you will understand how it works right away once you check examples.

‘Subject가 누구’ question is used especially when the subject is specific.

준이 누구예요?
Jun is who?
= Who is Jun?

선생님이 누구예요?
The teacher is who?
= Who is the teacher?

저 사람은 누구예요?
That person is who?
= Who is he? / Who is she?

Koreans don’t use 2nd, 3rd person pronouns in daily life especially with honorific because using them in speech sounds super rude. If you use them, you get in trouble.

누구 = Whom?

Korean grammar doesn’t have object pronouns so also 누구 isn’t determined as an object or a subject. That’s Korean grammar that you should get used to.

Who with 하다 Verb

누가- question is very similar to ‘Who question’ in English. it works as subject. 누가 question is really easy. You just need to use ‘누가’ for a subject.

내일 누가 와요?
Who comes tomorrow?

누가 이거 먹을래요?
Who wants to eat this?

누가 제일 예뻐요?
Who is prettiest?

누가 and 누구

누가 is a shorten form of 누구(Who)+가(subject marker). 누가 is used for a specific person. In the other hand, 누구 is often used for an unspecific person. marker and say ‘누구’ instead of ‘누가’. Also, both can have a meaning of ‘someone’ or ‘somebody’.

This can be very tricky because you must learn the all differences between ‘이/가’ and ‘은/는’. That’s not a basic grammar at all. For now,

누가 준이예요?
Who is Jun? (among people)

준이 누구예요?
Who is Jun?

내일 누구 와요?
Who comes tomorrow?
Is someone coming tomorrow?

내일 누가 와요?
Who comes tomorrow?

Who with 이다 Verb

Who question with 이다 looks like almost same to ‘누가 -예요?’ and it’s translated same as well. But, both has completely different meanings in Korean. 누가 question sounds like you are asking who is the specific person among people.

누가 매니저예요?
Who is the manager?
= Be + noun

누가 준이예요?
Who is Jun?
= Be + noun

누가 끄덕여요?
Who is nodding?
= Verb

Who Question with 있다 verb

Who question with 있다 verb can be very tricky since ‘누구’ or ‘누가’ also means ‘someone, somebody’. However, You can guess what’s what by reading context easily. 있다 verb is used to describe possession and location.

누구 거기 있어요?
Somebody is there?
Who is there?
= Location

누가 여기 있었어요?
Who stayed here?
Did someone stay here?
= Location

누가 핸드폰 가지고 있어요?
Who has a cellphone?
= Possession