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Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 2 · final ending

-는가2

-는가②: The Question Is… — Raising the Issue

Ending: the question is… — raising the issue rather than asking casually.

Before this, make sure you know: -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When Form Example
Processive question -는가 가는가 / 하는가 / 오는가
Descriptive / past-looking -ㄴ가 / -은가 좋은가 / 있는가

-는가② raises the issue — the question is….

Heavier than café -나요. Not a soft chat ping alone.

Why this is hard

Question endings multiply. Learners treat every 가 question as the same. -는가② puts the matter on the table with weight.

What it does

이것이 맞는가?
그는 어디에 가는가?
무엇이 문제인가?
우리는 무엇을 해야 하는가?

Forms

Processive -는가; descriptive -ㄴ가/-은가.

가다 → 가는가
좋다 → 좋은가
이다 → 인가

When not to use it

Do not use it as default soft café question.

Do not use it as a command.

Do not mash it with intimate -나② without noticing tone.

Neighbours — and why they differ

FormWhy it is not this slot
-나요Soft living question.
Intimate -나Closer, lighter question coat.
-니Another question family.

Ask: am I raising the issue with weight? If yes, -는가②. If soft chat, stay lighter.

In essays and speeches, -는가 often frames the thesis question itself — that is the weight this page is protecting.

Do not confuse it with

-나2

…? — a bare question to yourself or someone close

-니?

casual question ending — intimate, gentle plain-style inquiry

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 종결어미 (final ending) — Advanced Korean 2, Unit 3, on the theme of final ending. These come with it:

-는구려 how…! — a mild, slightly archaic exclamation -는구먼 oh, so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact -그려 you know / indeed — particle stressing the point to the listener -으리라 I shall… / it will… — resolve, or speculation about the situation -으오 …o — the old polite ending of formal speech -으니4 how dare… / some…! — blaming or scolding with -으니 -거들랑2 you should know… — telling the listener something they do not know (종결) -게3 do it — the 하게체 command -게4 mind you / see here — drawing the point back into view -구려2 do it, won't you — a soft command -네1 plain statement — the 하게체 -네 that just reports -는구만 so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact (casual) -나2 …? — a bare question to yourself or someone close -던2 was it…? — asking about what you experienced before -던가1 was it…, from experience? — past question from what you lived -던가2 was it…, I wonder? — past question as a guess -라2 plain statement — -라 after 이다-type stems -으리오 how could it…? — rhetorical pushback, often with lament -소 …so — the old polite style of shopkeepers and elders

Words used above

Tap the speaker to hear it read aloud by your browser.

-는가-neungais it…? (raising the issue)
의문uimunquestion
제기jegiraising an issue
종결jonggyeolsentence ending
나요nayosofter question neighbour

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. An essay opens by putting its central issue on the table. Which question has the appropriate analytical weight?

2. You ask a café employee whether this seat is available. Which choice avoids the heavy written tone of -는가②?

3. A researcher asks why a social gap keeps growing. Which form presents it as the subject of analysis rather than a private mutter?

Common questions

Job?

Ask while raising the matter as a real issue — not small talk alone.

Vs -나요?

-나요 is softer living question colour. -는가② is heavier.

Writing?

Essays, speeches, careful debate love this coat.

Number ②?

Marks this curriculum question slot among -는가 family readings.