-니?
-니?: Gentle Plain Questions for Close People
A sentence-final interrogative ending in the plain speech level (해라체). It conveys an intimate, affectionate, and gentle tone when questioning close peers or younger individuals, offering a softer pragmatic texture than the more abrasive or masculine -냐?.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb and adjective stems in present tense (regardless of batchim) | Stem + -니? | 밥 먹었니? / 어디 가니? / 예쁘니? / 춥니? |
| Past tense action or state (-았/었-) | V/A + -았/었니? | 잘 잤니? / 다 끝났니? / 재미있었니? |
| Future or volitional conjecture (-겠-) | V/A + -겠니? | 혼자 갈 수 있겠니? / 기분이 좋겠니? |
| Noun + Copula (이다) | N + -(이)니? | 학생이니? / 네 가방이니? |
The Warmth of Intimacy: The Affectionate Cadence of -니?
In Korean interpersonal communication, establishing 반말 (intimate speech) is a major milestone. When an older sibling, parent, or close childhood friend speaks to you, they often soften the plain style by choosing -니?:
“오늘 하루 힘들지는 않았니? 밥은 든든하게 챙겨 먹었니?”
(Was today not too exhausting for you? Did you make sure to eat a hearty meal?)
Under the National Institute of Korean Language (우리말샘):
-니 「001」 [어미]: (동사나 형용사, 서술격 조사 어간 뒤에 붙어) 해라할 자리에 쓰여, 친근하고 다정하게 물음을 나타내는 종결 어미.
1. Plain Question Spectrum: -니 vs. -냐 vs. -어/해
| Interrogative | Pragmatic Tone | Typical Social Relationship | Authentic Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -니? | Affectionate, gentle, warm | Parents to children, close peers, gentle banmal | “어디 아픈 데는 없니?” |
| -냐? | Rough, blunt, spirited | Close male peers, locker-room banter, blunt confrontation | “야, 너 지금 뭐 하냐?” |
| -어? / -해? | Casual default (해체) | Modern standard peer dialogue | “지금 어디 가?” |
2. Critical Homonym Disambiguation: Ending -니? vs. Connective -(으)니
- Sentence-Final Question (-니?):
지금 출발하니?(Are you leaving now?) - Mid-Sentence Cause Linker (-(으)니):
비가 오니 감기 조심해라.(Since it’s raining, take care not to catch a cold).
3. Literary Resonance in Korean Screenplays
In iconic Korean cinema and K-drama scripts, -니? conveys the poignant vulnerability of maternal love:
- “아가, 추운데 문 꼭 닫고 잤니? 아침은 거르지 말고 챙겨 먹어라.” (My child, did you keep the door tightly shut in the cold? Don’t skip breakfast; eat well).
- It embodies the unconditional warmth and gentleness of family care.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
On the jabi learning path, this appears in 우리 팀이 이겨서 정말 신나더라 (I was really excited that my team won.) — Intermediate Korean 1, Unit 5, on the theme of viewing and appreciation. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. You are speaking casually with your younger sibling who just arrived home from school: 'Did you have lunch? Was school fun today?' What is the most natural, affectionate plain-style phrasing?
2. What is the sociolinguistic danger of using '-니?' toward your boss or university professor?
3. How does -니? compare in tone and gender resonance to its counterpart -냐?
4. How is the question ending '-니?' distinguished from the connective suffix '-(으)니'?
Common questions
Is -니? only used by women?
Not at all! While often characterized as having a gentle cadence, parents of any gender use it toward children ('밥 먹었니?'), teachers use it toward young students, and close friends of all genders use it naturally.
Can -니? take honorific -(으)시-?
In affectionate parental or poetic speech, yes: '할머니, 진지 잡수셨니?' is ungrammatical (you cannot use ban말 to grandma!), but an elder speaking fondly to someone respected in private might say '편안하시니?'.
What is the difference between 뭐 해? and 뭐 하니?
Both are casual banmal. '뭐 해?' is the bare pan-informal stem (해체), ubiquitous among peers. '뭐 하니?' explicitly uses the haera-style question ending, carrying a slightly more affectionate or parental inquiring flavor.
Does -니 change shape after vowels vs consonants?
No! It attaches uniformly as -니 across all stems: '먹니?', '가니?', '작니?', '크니?'.