# (어느 + noun) vs (무슨 + noun)



## JacOfHearts

Hello! 
I'm learning Korean though videos on youtube, and I started to wonder about this.

I know that 무슨 means 'which' or 'what', as in 무슨 색깔 좋아해요? (Which color do you like?)
And I recently found the word '어느' to mean 'which' as well, like '어느 영화가 좋아요?' (What movie is good/What movie do you like?)

Is there a difference between 무슨 and 어느? Or am I just over-complicating things? XD

Thank you!! ^_^


----------



## Maeng

It's almost same expression~!
Normally, 어느 can be replaced with 무슨.
But if you particularly want to differentiate between 어느 and 무슨,
I think, Which means more like 어느, What means more like 무슨.

어느 : somthing among several things you know
        ( Which of these is the most durable? 어느것이 가장 튼튼하니 ?)
        ( Which one are you gonna pick up ? 어느 것을 선택할 거야? )
무슨 : somthing you don't know
        ( What is this smell ? 이건 무슨 냄새지 ?)
        ( What do you mean ? 무슨 뜻이니 ? )

I'm sorry for my bad english grammar, I wish it would be helpful to you.
have a good day


----------



## hana20

Interesting question jacOFHearts.Now I know when to use 무슨 or 어느.Maeng 감사합니다


----------



## Ladymeri

I have the same question. I don't understand why in the sentence below I can't replace 어느 with 무슨.

어느 나라에서 왔습니까?

Why it can't be 무슨 나라에서 왔습니까?


----------



## english beginner

Hi, I'm korean english beginner.

(어느 나라, 무슨 나라, 어떤 나라 ) + 에서 왔습니까?
they are all possible.

but i think '어느 나라에서 오셨습니까?' is most approperiate in  *Formal* _speech_ or writing.


it's not grammar but it's just usage.


----------



## Ladymeri

So can I use 무슨 instead of 어느 in informal language?


----------



## english beginner

Yes, but just in these expressions.
어떤 나라=어느 나라=무슨 나라
 어떤나라,어느 나라 seems
more grammartically suitable than 무슨 나라.


But they(무슨,어떤,어느) are not always interchangable in all expressions.

For example, '*어느 것'* and '*어떤 것*' are correct but '*무슨 것'* is wrong expression.

*무슨* cannot be placed *Before 것* , but *어느,어떤 *can be *before 것 *even in informal expression.


----------



## Ladymeri

english beginner said:


> Yes, but just in these expressions.
> 어떤 나라=어느 나라=무슨 나라
> 어떤나라,어느 나라 seems
> more grammartically suitable than 무슨 나라.
> 
> 
> But they(무슨,어떤,어느) are not always interchangable in all expressions.
> 
> For example, '*어느 것'* and '*어떤 것*' are correct but '*무슨 것'* is wrong expression.
> 
> *무슨* cannot be placed *Before 것* , but *어느,어떤 *can be *before 것 *even in informal expression.


Thank you


----------



## Rance

english beginner said:


> Yes, but just in these expressions.
> 어떤 나라=어느 나라=무슨 나라
> 어떤나라,어느 나라 seems
> more grammartically suitable than 무슨 나라.



I disagree.
Especially 어느 and 어떤  are not same for the context given.

For example,
"당신은 어떤 나라에서 오셨나요? " vs "당신은 어느 나라에서 오셨나요?"
Former is asking for what kind of country you are from(how is weather, how are the people, more of social, geographical, cultural aspects of a country and else.)
The latter is simply asking for the name of country you are from.

I cannot explain why "당신은 무슨(=어느) 나라에서 오셨나요?" sounds awkward to me.
I don't think it has to do with grammars as an expression like "이 나라는 무슨 나라일까요?" sounds perfectly fine.
It may have to do with referring someone else's country as 무슨 나라 being considered impolite.

By the way,  we use 무엇 instead of 무슨 것.


----------



## mink-shin

Rance said:


> For example,
> "당신은 어떤 나라에서 오셨나요? " vs "당신은 어느 나라에서 오셨나요?"
> Former is asking for what kind of country you are from(how is weather, how are the people, more of social, geographical, cultural aspects of a country and else.)
> The latter is simply asking for the name of country you are from.


Great explanation!


----------

