어떻게 생각해요?
eotteoke saenggakaeyo?
The English phrase 'what do you think?' is translated in Korean as 어떻게 생각해요? (eotteoke saenggakaeyo?)
This phrase is used to ask for someone's opinion or perspective on a particular matter.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 어떻게 생각해요? literally translates to 'how think?'
Which one should you use?
While 어떻게 생각해요? is used to ask for an opinion, the phrase 무엇을 생각해요? means 'what are you thinking about?' and is used to ask about the specific subject or object of someone's current thoughts.
How does it change in a sentence?
The informal version of the phrase, 어떻게 생각해?, is created by dropping the polite ending '-요' from the default form. To show higher respect to the listener, the honorific version is created by adding '-세요' to the stem, resulting in 어떻게 생각하세요?
How do you pronounce it?
eotteoke saenggakaeyo?
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use 무엇을 생각해요? when they intend to ask for an opinion.
Did you know?
- If a Korean speaker responds to 어떻게 생각해요? with 글쎄요 (geulsseyo), they aren't necessarily saying 'I don't know'. It is often a polite way to signal that they disagree but do not want to say so directly.
- Depending on the social hierarchy, a Korean speaker might omit the subject 'you' entirely in 어떻게 생각해요? Including the word for 'you' (당신 or 너) can actually make the question sound aggressive or overly intimate.
- In Korean culture, asking 어떻게 생각해요? to a superior can sometimes be perceived as too direct or challenging. In very formal settings, speakers often use more indirect phrases to avoid sounding as if they are questioning a leader's judgment.
Examples in context
- 이 디자인 어떻게 생각해요?i dijaineun eotteoke saenggakhaeyo?What do you think of this design?
- 제 제안을 어떻게 생각해요?je jeaneul eotteoke saenggakhaeyo?What do you think of my proposal?
Example conversation
Jihoon and Subin are discussing a new movie they watched.
- 지훈 Ji-hun그 영화 정말 재미있었어요. 수빈 씨는 어떻게 생각해요?geu yeonghwa jeongmal jaemiisseosseoyo. subin ssi-neun eotteoke saenggakhaeyo?That movie was really fun. What do you think, Subin?
- 수빈 Su-bin저는 조금 지루했어요.jeoneun jogeum jirueosseoyo.I thought it was a little boring.
- 지훈 Ji-hun정말요? 저는 아주 좋았어요.jeongmallyo? jeoneun aju joasseoyo.Really? I liked it a lot.
- 수빈 Su-bin취향이 다르네요.chwihyang-i dareuneyo.Our tastes are different.
