내가 무슨 말을 하길 바라?
naega museun mareul hagil bara?
To say "what do you want me to say?" in Korean, use 내가 무슨 말을 하길 바라? (naega museun mareul hagil bara?)
This phrase is a question used to ask someone what specific words or response they expect to hear in a given situation.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is built from 내가 (I), 무슨 (what/what kind of), 말을 (words), 하길 (to do/say) and 바라? (hope/want).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form 내가 무슨 말을 하길 바라? is used in casual settings or when expressing frustration to someone close. An informal way to say the same thing is 뭐라고 말하면 돼? For a more formal or softened version used when speaking to someone you are not close with, you can use 제가 무슨 말을 하길 바라나요?
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase polite, change 내가 to 제가 and add 요 to the end of the verb, resulting in 제가 무슨 말을 하길 바라요?
How do you pronounce it?
naega museun mareul hagil bara?
Did you know?
- Korean uses the word 말 for both 'words' and 'speech', but it is a homonym for the word 'horse'.
- The current spelling of 무슨 likely resulted from a 'hypercorrection' in the 17th century, where speakers mistakenly applied a common determiner suffix to the original word.
- While 말 means 'words', the act of speaking is expressed as 말을 하다, which literally translates to 'doing words'.
Examples in context
- 도대체 내가 무슨 말을 하길 바라?dodaeche naega museun mareul hagil bara?What on earth do you want me to say?
Example conversation
Two people are having an intense argument in a cafe.
- 도현 Do-hyeon너는 항상 내 잘못만 말해.neoneun hangsang nae jalmotman malhae.You always only talk about my faults.
- 서연 Seo-yeon내가 무슨 말을 하길 바라?naega museun mareul hagil bara?What do you want me to say?
- 도현 Do-hyeon미안하다고 말해주면 되잖아.mianhadago malhae-jumyeon doejan-a.You can just say you are sorry.
- 서연 Seo-yeon그건 너무 쉬운 말이잖아.geugeon neomu swiun marijana.That is such an easy thing to say.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 내가, 무슨, CC BY-SA 4.0.
