-니 and -나 question forms

[cheri]

Hello~

I apologize in advance if this question's already been introduced previously, but I couldn't find it in the forum after searching so I thought I'd take a shot at asking. ^^

I was hoping someone could provide an explanation on the question ending forms -니 and -나.

Someone explained to me that -니 (as in 자니? 뭐하니?) is used mostly in Seoul as opposed to other cities in Korea, with the exception that guys typically don't use it with other guys (but girl-girl, girl-guy, guy-girl is common). I was just wondering how the feeling is different when talking with a close friend using this question ending form. For example:

자니? vs 자?
밥 먹었니? vs 밥 먹었어?
뭐하니? 뭐해?

And are there times when you wouldn't use -니?

My second question is when it's most appropriate to use the question ending form -나/나요? For example:

물 없나? vs 물 없어?

Sometimes it's tough to grasp the situational details. ^^ Thanks so much!

[austinfd]

Hi Cheri!

-니 is a cute sounding ending, and you described well the situations where is is used. It is 반말 so you can't use it towards your boss or teacher, or anyone else you are on 존댓말 terms with. It is a matter of personal preference really. There are people who don't use it at all. I sometimes used it towards my students, but it would have felt weird to me if I used it to a girlfriend, or another girl my age.



~나 and the polite (~나요) is only used in a question. As I understand it, it usually ends a question you are asking to a whole group of people. But I think you can get away with using it towards one person as well.

Just my thoughts... manyakumi or hyunwoo will set us straight I'm sure.

-
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[javiskefka]

I use the ~나요 question form when I'm asking a question of a sales clerk at a store. I used it last week when I was getting some boxes for moving at a store owned by Koreans. As the guy was going to the back, I asked, "큰 게 있나요?"

[holdfast]

~나/나요 was explained to me like "i wonder.." when you are talking to yourself and "i wonder, can you tell me.." when you are talking to someone else. for example:

물이 있나? i wonder if there's any water..
물이 있나요? do you have any water (or, i wonder if there's any water, but using 나/나요 means you do want an answer to the question).

hopefully i am explaining this correctly (:

[manyakumi]

Great answers guys.
And let me add some more explanations about this.

니 ending must be used only for someone who is same or younger.
You can use 반말 even to your 형, 오빠, 누나, 언니 when they are intimate.
But you can never use 니 ending to them unless you want to fight with them.

오빠, 점심 먹었어? (Okay if he's very close and friendly)

오빠, 점심 먹었니? (Definitely you're fighting with this guy)

니 ending sounds too intimate so some guys don't use often.
Maybe they feel like it's kinda feminine.

[Chris1]

~니 can have very caring or very sarcastic meanings. It's important to pay attention to the context and get a "feeling" of what it means. Saying 밥 잘 먹었니? to 오빠, 누나, etc. can come off as sarcastic and you are trying to intentionally put them down on a lower level by using a form of "baby talk" I guess.

However, it can also denote love/care in certain circumstances and also be used to pass humor between friends through sarcasm.

[cheri]

여러분들 덕분에 이해가 된 거 같아요. 감사합니다~^^