어떡해
eotteokhae
In Korean, "what to do" can be expressed as 어떡해 (eotteokhae).
어떡해 is an exclamation used to express worry or panic when you do not know how to handle a difficult situation.
Which one should you use?
While 어떡해 is a complete sentence meaning "What should I do?", the word 어떻게 is an adverb meaning "how" and must be followed by a verb.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can use different informal variations to ask "What should I do?", such as 어떡하지? or 어떡해야 돼? To make the exclamation 어떡해 polite, add the polite ending –요 to the end to get 어떡해요.
How do you pronounce it?
eotteokhae
Did you know?
- If you are texting a friend and want to sound particularly 'cute' or 'aegyo', you might write 어떡해 as 어또케. This phonetic spelling softens the tone to make the distress seem more endearing rather than genuinely alarming.
- While 어떡해 is often a cry of personal panic, changing it to 어떡하니 transforms the phrase into an expression of pity or sympathy for another person.
- Even though it is a basic phrase, mistaking the contraction 어떡해 for the adverb 어떻게 is one of the most frequent spelling mistakes made by native Korean speakers in daily digital communication.
Examples in context
- 지갑을 잃어버렸어, 어떡해!jigabeul ireobeoryeosseo, eotteokhae!I lost my wallet, what should I do!
- 차가 너무 막혀서 어떡해.chaga neomu makheoseo eotteokhae.The traffic is so heavy, what are we going to do.
Example conversation
Seoyeon realizes she left her phone at home and panics.
- 서연 Seo-yeon휴대폰을 집에 두고 왔어, 어떡해!hyudaeponeul jibe dugo wasseo, eotteokhae!I left my phone at home, what should I do!
- 민준 Min-jun진정해, 서연아. 다시 돌아가자.jinjeonghae, seoyeon-a. dasi doragaja.Calm down, Seoyeon. Let's go back.
- 서연 Seo-yeon지금 가면 너무 늦을 텐데 어떡해.jigeum gamyeon neomu neujeul tende eotteokhae.It will be too late if we go now, what do I do.
- 민준 Min-jun내가 도와줄게, 같이 가자.naega dowajulge, gachi gaja.I will help you, let's go together.
