저게 뭐야?
jeoge mwoya?
The English phrase "what are those?" is translated into Korean as 저게 뭐야? (jeoge mwoya?)
This question is used to ask for the identity of objects that are located far away from the speaker. Even though English may use the plural "what are those?", this Korean phrase is commonly used to refer to multiple objects by treating them as a single collective entity in casual speech.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 저게 is a contraction of 저것이, which means "that thing" specifically referring to something located far from both the speaker and the listener. The word 뭐 is a casual form of 무엇, meaning "what".
How does it change in a sentence?
While the English phrase uses the plural "are those", the Korean phrase 저게 뭐야? is frequently used even when referring to multiple objects in casual speech.
How do you pronounce it?
jeoge mwoya?
Did you know?
- In modern Korean internet slang, the phrase 뭐야? is often used as an exclamation of disbelief or annoyance rather than a question about an object's identity.
- While 저게 뭐야? is perfect for friends, saying it to a stranger or a boss would be considered quite rude. To make it polite, you would need to change both the demonstrative and the ending to 저것은 무엇입니까? or 저게 뭐예요?
- If you were to point at objects near your listener instead of objects far away, you would not use 저게 뭐야? but would instead use 그게 뭐야? Using the wrong one can make it sound like you are confused about the spatial distance between everyone.
Example conversation
Ji-eun and Hyeon-u are walking in a park.
- 지은 Ji-eun현우, 저게 뭐야?Hyeon-u, jeoge mwoya?Hyeon-u, what is that over there?
- 현우 Hyeon-woo저거는 커다란 풍선이야.Jeogeoneun keodaran pungseoniya.That is a giant balloon.
- 지은 Ji-eun정말 예쁘다!Jeongmal yeppeuda!It's really pretty!
- 현우 Hyeon-woo응, 아주 멋져.Eung, aju meotjyeo.Yes, it's very cool.
