Out of the four above, two are wrong! Can you guess which ones they are? ^^
If you said it was the last two, you are correct! ^^ The last one is most obviously wrong, but I’ve seen some people using the 3rd one and probably the beginners might be a little confused between the first two!
First, let’s compare between 어떡해 and 어떻해. 어떡해 is the shortened version of 어떠하게 해 which roughly translates to ‘how/what should we do’. When a phrase is shortened, the vowels generally get axed before the consonants do. So if you apply that rule, it becomes 어떠ㅎ게 해 –> 어떻게 해 –> 어떻ㄱ 해. And finally the ㅎ get axed to form 어떡해. Pretty logical right?!
And if you look at the pronunciation, you will understand why it’s not 어떻해. 어떡해 [어떠케] while 어떻해 becomes [어떠태] which is wrong.
And now for 어떻게 versus 어떡해. Although they are pronounced as [어떠케] and [어떠캐] respectively, it’s very very similar and a cause for much confusion.
어떻게 comes from 어떻다 which means something like ‘be how / how is ..’.
예) 이거 어때요?
어떻게 지내세요?
어떡해, on the other hand, comes from 어떡하다 / 어떠하게 하다, which means ‘how/what should we do’ roughly.
예) 그 사람 안 오면 어떡해?
I hope that makes things a little clearer!
NOTE: Explanations adapted from 인터넷에서 가장 많이 틀리는 한국어. It’s an awesome book and I’ve reviewed it before. It’s written entirely in Korean so I thought I’ll share some of the interesting bits here. Please go get the book if you can read Korean!
ISBN: 89-8499-594-0
Price: 9,500 Won
11 Comments
Choonit (추니트)
18 July, 2011 at 10:18 AMFrom where can I get the book?
hangukdrama
18 July, 2011 at 2:41 PMmajor bookstores in korea and probably on gmarket or other sites
Felicia Adiana 펠리샤
18 July, 2011 at 12:21 PMHey , I’d like to ask if the book is totally in Korean ?
Will there be any English translations or explanations in the book ?
I’m interested in getting it but am only in intermediate level ..
hangukdrama
18 July, 2011 at 2:43 PMit’s entiretly in Korean, but it’s not really a tough read, if you are interested, you can purchase the book first and slowly read it
Marta
19 July, 2011 at 1:27 AMCould you maybe post more snippets of info from that book? I remember reading your review and thinking about ordering the book, but I’m still only a beginner, so trying to understand it would be probably too hard/frustrating for me. I love your explanations (and your blog)!
hangukdrama
19 July, 2011 at 2:46 PMI’m glad you find these posts useful! ^^ Will try to post more~~ more motivation for me to complete reading that book ^^
Marta
20 July, 2011 at 1:29 AMI save all your grammar posts, event those more advanced ones, for future reference ^^. Actually, your whole blog is a great motivation tool for me, so – thank you!
임찬린
30 July, 2011 at 10:54 PMthis was a great explanation.
hangukdrama
30 July, 2011 at 11:04 PMthanks! ^^
Knock the Korea, Hit the road
3 August, 2011 at 5:01 PMMany Korean still make a mistake. you know u sometimes teach me. I m a Korean though
alodia
17 December, 2011 at 9:50 PMNice post! I saw sooo many friends (in Facebook) interchanging those two (cough! I’m guilty too a few years ago). I’m thinking, maybe because 어떡해 is often heard (on dramas / shows / Koreans) and 어떻게 is often introduced on a beginner level, confusing the beginner that 어떻게 is the same otteokhe as 어떡해.
I don’t know how it happened, but I just realized it one day and asked my friend and she explained it to me. ^^
Thanks for explaining though that 어떡해 came from 어떠하게 해. Even though I know the difference, THAT is something that I don’t know.