뭘 추천하세요?
mwol chucheonhaseyo?
The English phrase "what do you recommend?" is expressed in Korean as 뭘 추천하세요? (mwol chucheonhaseyo?)
This phrase is used to ask for someone's suggestion or advice when you are deciding on something. If you are specifically requesting the action of a recommendation rather than asking for an opinion, you should use 추천해 주세요 (please recommend something) instead.
Which one should you use?
While 뭘 추천하세요? is the default, you can use 어떤 것을 추천하십니까? for a highly formal tone or 어떤 것을 추천해주시겠어요? to mean "Could you kindly recommend something?" in a formal manner. For a casual setting, you can use 뭐 추천해?
How does it change in a sentence?
A slightly less formal version of the default form is 뭘 추천해요?, which uses the standard polite ending -해요 instead of the honorific -하세요.
How do you pronounce it?
mwol chucheonhaseyo?
Did you know?
- In a restaurant, instead of asking 뭘 추천하세요?, many Koreans use the phrase 여기서 제일 잘나가는 게 뭐예요? which literally means 'What is the thing that is going out the best here?' This refers to the most popular or high-selling items.
- When asking for a recommendation in a high-end setting, Koreans may use the term 시그니처 (signature) from English to ask for the chef's specialty dish.
- The word 추천 (chucheon), meaning 'recommendation', is a Sino-Korean word derived from Hanja. It is composed of the characters 推薦, where the first part implies 'sending' or 'extending' and the second part means 'to advance' or 'to promote'.
Examples in context
- 어떤 맛집을 추천해주시겠어요?Could you kindly recommend a good restaurant?
- 이 도시에서 볼 만한 장소를 추천해 주세요.Could you please recommend some interesting places to visit in this city?
- 그 식당에서 가장 추천하는 음식은 무엇인가요?What is their recommended dish at that restaurant?
- 여기서 뭘 추천하세요?yeogiseo mwol chucheonhaseyo?What do you recommend here?
Example conversation
Minji is at a cafe asking Minjun, the barista, for advice.
- 민지 Min-ji민준 씨, 여기서 뭘 추천하세요?Minjun ssi, yeogiseo mwol chucheonhaseyo?Minjun, what do you recommend here?
- 민준 Min-jun아이스 아메리카노가 제일 맛있어요.aiseu amerikano-ga jeil masisseoyo.The iced americano is the best.
- 민지 Min-ji그럼 그걸로 주세요.geureom geu-geollo juseyo.Then please give me that.
- 민준 Min-jun네, 알겠습니다.ne, algetseumnida.Yes, understood.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 뭘, CC BY-SA 4.0.
