How to Say What Are You Doing in Korean: Easy Korean Phrases

Mastering the Korean phrase for "what are you doing" opens a direct line to everyday conversation, allowing you to connect with friends, ask about a colleague’s lunch break, or simply understand what is happening in a scene while watching a drama. This simple question is a high-frequency expression that appears in casual chats, workplace settings, and social media exchanges, making it one of the most useful verbs to grasp quickly.

Core Phrase and Hangul

The most common way to ask "what are you doing" in Korean is 뭐 해요 (mwo haeyo). Breaking it down, 뭐 (mwo) means "what," while 해요 (haeyo) is the present tense of the verb 하다 (hada), meaning "to do," conjugated into a polite, informal style suitable for friends, peers, and many service interactions.

Hangul and Romanization

Hangul | Romanization | Literal Meaning

뭐 해요? | mwo haeyo? | what are you doing?

Informal and Formal Variations

Korean speech levels change the verb form, so it is helpful to know multiple versions of this question. With very close friends, you can drop the subject and use the casual 해 (hae), resulting in 뭐 해 (mwo hae). In contrast, with elders, clients, or in professional environments, the polite form 뭐 하세요 (mwo haseyo) shows respect while keeping the meaning the same.

Quick Comparison Table

Level | Phrase | Use Case

Casual | 뭐 해? (mwo ha?) | Very close friends, juniors, pets

Informal | 뭐 해요? (mwo haeyo?) | Friends, peers, many service interactions

Polite | 뭐 하세요? (mwo haseyo?) | Elders, clients, formal situations

Contextual Tips and Subject Dropping

Because Korean heavily relies on context, you can often drop the implied "you" when the situation is clear, making 뭐 해요 sound natural even without adding a subject. If you need to emphasize "you," especially to distinguish between multiple people, simply attach the subject marker (는) to the pronoun, turning it into 너는 뭐 해요 for a singular "you" or 당신은 뭐 해요 for a more formal "you."

Practical Examples

뭐 해요? 밥 먹으러 갈 거야 — What are you doing? I am going to eat.

저기, 뭐 하세요? — Excuse me, what are you doing?

지금 바쁘지 않아? 너는 뭐 해? — Are you busy now? What are you doing?