저게 뭐야?
The English phrase 'what is that?' is translated into Korean as 저게 뭐야?
Use 저게 뭐야? specifically when pointing at an object that is far away from both the speaker and the listener.
What does it mean word for word?
저게 뭐야? is a contraction of 저것이 뭐야?, where 저것 means 'that thing' and 이 is the subject marker.
Which one should you use?
Use 저게 뭐야? for objects far from both the speaker and listener, whereas 이게 뭐야? is used for objects near the speaker.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To make the phrase polite, change 뭐야? to 뭐예요? to get 저게 뭐예요? Additionally, 그것은 무엇인가요? is a standard and formal way to ask 'What is that?' Another informal expression used when pointing at an object to ask 'What's that?' is 저거 (jeo-geo) + 뭐야 (mwoya)?
How does it change in a sentence?
The word 저게 is a contraction of 저것이, which is commonly used in spoken Korean.
Did you know?
- When asking 저게 뭐야? about a person, it is considered very rude. To ask 'Who is that?' about someone far away, you must use 저분이 누구세요? to show respect.
- Korean has a three-way system for 'this' and 'that'. Unlike English, it uses 이것 for things near the speaker, 그것 for things near the listener, and 저것 for things far from both.
- While 저게 뭐야? asks for identification, saying 뭐야? alone with a specific intonation can express shock or annoyance, similar to saying 'What the…?' or 'What is this?' in English.
Examples in context
- 저거 뭐야?What's that?
- 저게 뭐야?jeoge mwoya?What is that?
- 하늘에 떠 있는 저게 뭐야?haneul-e tteo inneun jeoge mwoya?What is that thing floating in the sky?
- 저게 뭐야? 너무 신기해.jeoge mwoya? neomu singihae.What is that? It's so amazing.
Example conversation
Dohyeon and Subin are walking in a park and see something strange in the distance.
- 도현 Do-hyeon수빈아, 저게 뭐야?Subin-a, jeoge mwoya?Subin, what is that?
- 수빈 Su-bin글쎄, 잘 모르겠어.geulsse, jal moreugesseo.Well, I'm not sure.
- 도현 Do-hyeon정말 이상하게 생겼다.jeongmal isanghage saenggyeotda.It looks really strange.
- 수빈 Su-bin가까이 가서 확인해 보자.gakkai gaseo hwaginhae boja.Let's go closer and check it out.
