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Korean grammar - How is and how about - 어때요?

How is and how about - 어때요?

When asking someone for their opinion about something we can use the pattern Noun + / 어때요?

It is also used to make suggestions - 'How about we…?^

어때 is the present tense of the verb 어떻다 which means 'to be in what state' or 'to be how'.

It is very common to use the contrastive marker with this pattern as it is often used to suggest or ask about alternatives.

Note that in phrases with 어때요, any topic marker (/) and/or subject marker (/) are dropped in every day conversation. If not, it sounds awkward.

Examples:
어때요?
How is (it)?
오늘 날씨 어때요?
How's the weather today?
한국사람 어때요?
What do you think about Koreans?
비빔밥 어때요?
What do you think about bibimbap?
한국어 공부 어때요?
How do you like studying Korean?
내일 어때요?
How about tomorrow?
이거 어때요?
How about this?
새 아파트 어때요?
How is the new apartment?
이거 싫어요? 이것은 어때요?
You don't like this? How about this one?

Note the contrastive marker - comparing with previous one which she didn't like.

일본어는 어때요?
How about Japanese language?

Note the contrastive marker - comparing with Korean in the previous example.

점심에 떡볶이 어때요?
How about tokbokki for lunch?

떡볶이 is stir-fried rice cakes () seasoned with red pepper paste (고추장)

내일 저녁은 어때요?
How about tomorrow night?

The contrastive marker implies that we are suggesting an alternative