Expression of the Week

Seo Ji-soo : 응, 언니야. 웬일이래? 웬일로 해 있을 때 퇴근이야?

Hey Ji-an. What’s going on? How are you getting off work when it’s still light out? 

Seo Ji-an:  양대리님이 일찍 퇴근하라고 큰 선심 써주셔서. 

Mr. Yang was kind enough to let me off early.

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웬일이래? (What’s going on?)

웬일 – what matter; how a certain affair comes to pass or a certain affair

싶다 – an auxiliary adjective that is used to indicate that the speaker has an intention or desire to do what the preceding statement describes

Casual – 웬일이래?

Semi-polite – 웬일이에요? 

>>The expression ”웬일이야?” is a more vernacular or colloquial way of saying “어찌 된  일이야?” 

>>In the dialogue, the expression “웬일이래” is slightly nuanced with sarcasm and irony as Je-soo knows Ji-an never gets off early and wants to know what the occasion is. 

>>Even native Korean speakers often get confused with the spelling for this expression and write “왠일이래” which is incorrect. The correct way to write is “웬일이래” as “웬” is the shortened form for “어찌 된.”