무슨, 어떧, 어느 - What's the difference?

[jacklynleunggg]

I know they all mean "which" but...I don't understand when you use which one (lol, no pun intended).

Please explain it to me? Thanks!

[trutherous]

Hi jacklynleunggg,

I'm George -- a fellow student here.

Well there are certainly times when the English word 'which' can be used to translate each of these... which, I suppose, leads to confusion because there are several meanings depending on usage.

무슨 - can mean 'what' 'what kind' 'what sort' and can also mean 'anything' or 'everything'

its close synonym is

어떤 - more specifically carries the meaning 'what kind of' or 'which of many kinds''

a slightly more distant synonym is

어느 - means 'which one' 'either/neither' generally giving us a choice between TWO

Now maybe Teacher Tim, or Native Korean manyakumi, will provide some sample sentences to help illustrate further

[timandyou]

George, your explanation is very good!

If I say things more, that means I am simply adding things onto your explanation.
It's like... adding 'black pepper' on your meal.

p.s My Audio Blog S5 L4 will be on today.
It's a very interesting topic. I am sure you have a lot to say about.

cheers,
your friend, Tim

[jacklynleunggg]

Thanks George and Tim!!

I actually attend Korean classes, and my Korean teacher told me that

- Use 무슨 if you don't know the number of things you are indicating (e.g. which one/what kind)
- Use 어떧 if you know the number of things you are indicating (e.g. which one do you want. < you can see the choices, so you know how many there are)
- Use 어느 if there are only two choices.

Is this correct?

Also, is it okay if I mix 무슨 and 어떧 up?

Thank you so much!

[trutherous]

Hi again jacklynleunggg

You sound like a very sincere student of Korean. May I ask where you taking lessons?

Your instructor's explanation sounds about right. There are almost always exceptions, and even cultural/habitual misuse of some terms.

As a non-native speaker of Korean, I don't like making up examples here because they tend to get picked apart in these forums --I'd rather use someone else's examples and that way I can blame them if the information is not entirely accurate..ㅋㅋㅋ but here goes:

When we ask "무슨 뜻인가요?" (WHAT does that mean?) It is generally assumed the quantity is a 'single value' or 'summary value' of the point in question. However, it could also mean 'What are the possible meanings(plural) of such-n-such?'

Now interestingly enough, if we use 어떤 with the plural form of the bound noun '것' i.e. '것들' we may come out with some unexpected quantity: "어떤 것들이 들어갔어요?" What kind of things went into (the making of) it? --soup --soap etc. (뭐뭐 넣었어요? 무엇으로 만들었어요?) ..ah there are just too many ways to say the same thing.

[jacklynleunggg]

Ahhh, I understand a little better now ^^
Thanks so much!

I live in Hong Kong and attend lessons there...
Fell in love with kpop, then fell in love with the language. :D
I am Chinese, and I know Cantonese and Mandarin. People say Chinese is the hardest language, and Korean is the second hardest, so I want to challenge myself and learn the top hardest languages hahaha

Once again, thank you for explaining it to me! Really appreciate it ^^

[trutherous]

Wow -- your English is great too!

[jacklynleunggg]

Haha, yes, I used to live in Canada... which explains my fluent English ^^

I asked my Korean teacher today about this, and I fully understand when to use which "which" hahah

Thank you again!