TOPIK II · LEVEL 6
-나 (의문)
A question ending without 요 with two uses: the 하게체 question an older speaker asks an adult junior ('are you …?'), and a casual question to oneself ('did I …?', 'is it …?').
문장 끝·말투Endings & speech styleHan: Bare -나 is for juniors or for oneself; even with -시- it is not a polite question to a senior. Add 요.
Examples
어, 지갑이 없네. 아까 식당에 두고 왔나?Huh, my wallet's gone. Did I leave it at the restaurant earlier?
자네 요즘도 그 회사에 다니나?Are you still working at that company these days?
밤마다 그렇게 무리하는데 몸이 버티겠나?You overdo it like that every night — how long can your body hold out?
Don’t mix up
-나 (의문)vs-나요?Adding 요 makes it a soft polite question to anyone: 언제 오나요? Bare 언제 오나? is 하게체 or self-talk.
-나 (의문)vs-니?/-냐?-니?/-냐? are plain questions to children or close friends: 밥 먹었니? -나 to a junior sounds older and more courteous: 자네 밥은 먹었나?-나 (의문)vs-는가-는가 is also 하게체 but stiffer and also used in writing: 자네 어디 가는가? / 행복이란 무엇인가?
How to build it
V / 있다·없다+나
past: V/A+았/었나
겠나
ㄹ-stems drop ㄹ (adjectives and 이다 traditionally take -(으)ㄴ가/인가)
가다 → 가나; 살다 → 사나; 있다 → 있나; 먹다 → 먹었나; 믿다 → 믿겠나; 바쁘다 → 바쁜가 (spoken also 바쁘나)
- Attach it to verbs, 있다/없다, 았/었 and 겠. With present adjectives and 이다 the standard form is -(으)ㄴ가/인가 (바쁜가?, 학생인가?), although 바쁘나? is common in speech.
- To a listener it is 하게체: an older speaker to an adult junior, with 자네, -네 and -게. Not to seniors and not to children (use -니?/-냐?).
- Talking to oneself, people of all ages use it to wonder aloud: 내가 너무 심했나? 누가 왔나? With 겠 it often becomes a rhetorical question: 누가 그 말을 믿겠나? 'who would believe that?'
Classic mistake
Wrong: 선생님, 내일도 학교에 나오시나?
Right: 선생님, 내일도 학교에 나오시나요?
Bare -나 is for juniors or for oneself; even with -시- it is not a polite question to a senior. Add 요.
Practise -나 (의문) on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(이)라 (예스러운 서술)An archaic plain (해라체) statement ending attached to 이다 and 아니다: 'X is Y.' It sounds solemn and old, as in classical texts, proverbs, historical-drama narration and poetry; modern Korean uses -(이)다.
- -(으)오/-소Ending of the 하오체, an old-fashioned semi-formal style: one form serves statements and questions, and with -(으)시오 commands. Heard in period dramas, between older spouses, and in written notices such as 손대지 마시오.
- -(으)리오An archaic, literary rhetorical-question ending: 'how could …? who would …?'. The question implies the opposite (누가 알리오 = nobody knows). Found in classical poetry and prose, speeches and period dramas.
- -네 (하게체 서술)Statement ending of the 하게체: an older speaker telling an adult junior (son-in-law, grown-up former student) a fact or an intention, plainly but with courtesy. Old-fashioned; today mostly heard from elderly men and in novels and dramas.
- -그려Added after another sentence ending (-네, -구먼, -세, -ㅂ시다…) to give an old-fashioned emphatic or exclamatory touch: '…, indeed / you know'. Now found mainly in novels, period dramas and the speech of very old people.
- -던가 (회상 의문)A 하게체 question ending asking the listener about something they saw or experienced in the past: 'was it …? did you find that …?'. Old-fashioned, used by older speakers to adult juniors.
- -구려 (권유·명령)A 하오체 ending after an action verb that gently urges or advises the listener: 'do …, why don't you …'. Old-fashioned; heard from elderly speakers (often between spouses), in period dramas and novels.
- -던가 (혼잣말·추측)Used when talking to oneself about the past: the speaker wonders about something remembered only vaguely, or makes a tentative guess about it: 'was it …?', 'I wonder if …'. Reflective; common in essays, lyrics and inner monologue.
- -구려/-는구려Exclamatory ending of the old-fashioned 하오체: the speaker remarks on something just realised, with feeling: '…, I see / how …!'. Today heard mostly from elderly speakers (for example between older spouses) and in period dramas and novels.