As we progress in our Korean language skills, you will meet more and more Korean people who you can practice speaking in Korean with. What are some of the first things you do when you meet someone you do not know for the first time? You would probably greet each other and introduce yourself. What would you do next? You will probably ask what their name is. Today, we will learn how to ask what is your name in Korean.
How do you ask Someone’s Name in Korean?
Here is how to ask ‘What is your name?’ in Korean: 이름이 뭐에요? [Ee-reum-ee mo-eh-yo?]
이름 [Ee-reum] means ‘name’ and 이 [ee] is a connecting article to complete a sentence in Korean. 뭐에요 is a combination of two words, 뭐야 [mo-ya] which means ‘what is……?’ in the informal form and 요 [yo] is added at the end to make the word formal.
Please note that unlike English, you do not need to put ‘your’ to complete the sentence. Therefore, you can just say 이름이 뭐에요? and it would automatically imply that you are asking about the person that you are talking to, otherwise not noted in the sentence.
Often, instead of 뭐에요, you could substitute it with 무엇입니까? [mu-ut-ip-ni-gga?] which essentially means the same thing.
이름이 무엇입니까? [ee-reum-ee mu-ut-ip-ni-gga?]
What is the name?
Sample Sentences Using What is Your Name in Korean
이봐요! 당신 이름이 뭐에요? [ee-bwa-yo! dang-shin ee-reum-ee mo-eh-yo?]
Hey, what is your name?
아까 만났던 사람 이름이 뭐에요? [a-gga man-nat-deon sa-ram ee-reum-ee mo-eh-yo?]
What is the name of the person we met a while ago?
What is your name in South Korean?
이름이 뭐예요? This is how to ask someone’s name in Korean, which is the most general way. You would ask this question to someone who is of the same or similar age to yourself.
More Sample Sentences asking one’s name
이름 물어봐도 되요
Can I ask your name?
이름 좀 불러주세요
Please tell me your name
동생 이름이 뭐예요?
What is your younger sibling’s name?
강아지 이름이 뭐예요?
What is your puppy’s name?
Asking What is Your Name in Korean in the Formal Way
In our Beeline lessons, you will learn more in depth about how to speak Korean and will learn various ways to use ‘what is your name’ in specific situations you will find yourself in.
For example, you will learn to say this in a different way if you are in a business meeting or if you were asking an elderly person about their name.
Putting ‘yo’ at the end would not be enough to make the sentence proper in these types of situations. We would use 성함이 어떻게 되십니까? [sung-ham-ee u-ttut-ke-deo-sip-ni-gga?] to formalize the phrase, and even further, we could even say ‘존함’ [jon-ham] instead of 성함 to show the utmost respect to the other party.
Remember, it is okay to make mistakes when learning Korean, so try to speak Korean as much as you can with your friends, where you might not be as shy. Remember, practice makes perfect!
