무슨 일이야?
museun iriya?
The English phrase "what is going on?" is translated into Korean as 무슨 일이야? (museun iriya?)
This phrase can be used both to ask for an explanation of a confusing situation and to ask someone why they look upset or troubled.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 무슨 (what/what kind of), 일 (matter/work/event) and 이야 (is/it is).
Which one should you use?
While 무슨 일이야? asks "what is the matter?", 무슨 일이 있어? specifically asks if a certain event or problem exists.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form 무슨 일이야? is informal and should only be used with close friends or people younger than you. Adding the suffix -에요 to the end makes the phrase polite and suitable for speaking to strangers or people older than you, as in 무슨 일이에요? 어떻게 되어가고 있나요? is a polite way to ask "How are things going?" or "What is happening?" 뭐야? translates to "What's happening?" or "What's going on?"
How do you pronounce it?
museun iriya?
Did you know?
- The modern spelling 무슨 was once a 'hypercorrection' of the Middle Korean word 므슴. This happened because speakers mistakenly applied a common grammar suffix to make the word sound more standard.
- The phrase 뭐야? can be much more aggressive than the English 'what is going on?', often functioning as a blunt 'What?!' or 'What the…?'
- The word 일 in 무슨 일이야? means both 'work' and 'event'. This allows the phrase to function as both 'what happened?' and 'what are you working on?' depending on the context.
Examples in context
- 여기 무슨 일이야?yeogi museun iriya?What is going on here?
- 갑자기 무슨 일이야?gapjagi museun iriya?What is going on all of a sudden?
- 너 왜 그래? 무슨 일이야?neo wae geurae? museun iriya?Why are you acting like that? What is going on?
Example conversation
Hyunwoo finds Minji crying in the park.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo민지야, 무슨 일이야?Minji-ya, museun iriya?Minji, what is going on?
- 민지 Min-ji그냥 좀 슬퍼서 그래.geunyang jom seulpeoseo geurae.I'm just feeling a bit sad.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo무슨 고민 있어?museun gomin isseo?Do you have something on your mind?
- 민지 Min-ji아니, 괜찮아. 고마워.ani, gwaenchana. gomawo.No, I'm okay. Thanks.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 무슨, CC BY-SA 4.0.
