i have a question to ask. what's the difference among these 4 questions? 집에 가요? 집에 가나요? 집에 가니? 집에 가냐?
Hi Daejin,
It's nice to meet you here at KC101!
Yeah - I am likewise curious how the teachers will answer, and while we are at it why not throw in:
집에 가세요?
집에 가십니까?
집에 가?
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The way I figure it, other than the obvious differences in politeness levels, the chief differences are nuance and local inflection (colloquialism) in the verb suffix, however the exact meaning almost always depends on context. Even the first example "집에 가요?" (made moderately polite by adding "요") can have more than one meaning; it should typically mean "Are you going home?" but could also mean "Is/are he/she/they going home?" and let's say it was preceded with a negative as in "아니, 집에 가요?" (or if just the negative tone exists in the context) then the intended meaning could be something like "You are not going home (now), are you?" In any language there are probably at least a dozen ways to express the same thought; e.g. 'Are you going home sir? Going home? Are you headed home? Heading home? Going back to the crib?' Of course without the question mark '집에 가요' simply means 'I'm going home' (but you knew that)
As for your other examples these are my vague impressions
as I hear them:
집에 가나요? - asks the question if one is going home but also expresses some doubt whether or not home is the destination
집에 가니? - this form expresses intimacy between close friends or is used when an adult addresses young children
집에 가냐? - (~느냐) possibly intimate in certain context, this form may also impart a condescending or irreverent tone
Anyway, let's see what the experts have to say.
George, Your fellow student.
