Work; it’s something that we all do, and it often takes up a lot of our time. In this month’s Korean Corner, we will be discussing how to ask someone what job they do and how to share your own!
무슨 일을 해요? [moo-seu-n il-uh-r heh-yo]? Is a polite but to the point way of asking what kind of work someone does. It contains the following pieces of vocabulary:
- 무슨[moo-seu-n]: Another form of the question word ‘what’, typically translated to ‘what kind of’
- 일 [il]: Work
- 해요[heh-yo]: Present tense of the verb ‘to do’
To add the person’s name, you simply add [NAME]씨는 (ssi-noon). For example: A씨는무슨 일을 해요? A, what work do you do?
To answer, you simply respond with [OCCUPATION] + 이에/예요 [ee-eh-yo/ yeah-yo] . 이에 Is used when the last ‘letter’ in the occupation ends in a consonant, whereas 예요 is used if it is a vowel.
Here is a small list of occupations which you can use:
- 학생[hak-seng]: Student
- 선생님[san-seng-nim]: Teacher
- 영어선생님[yong-awh san-seng-nim]: English Teacher
- 의사 [oui-sa]: Doctor
- 회사원[hui-sa-won]: Office Worker
- 주부[joo-boo]: Housewife
- 변호사[pyeon-hoh-sa]: Lawyer
- 택시 기사[tehk-shi-gi-sa]: Taxi Driver
An example would be: 의사예요. I am a doctor.
Let’s look at the BTS ‘Boy in Luv’ music video, which is set in a school:
What job does it look like BTS do? Let us know in the comments!
