-나요/-(으)ㄴ가요

How to use it

Makes a question sound softer and gentler than -아/어요. Verbs and 있다/없다 take -나요; adjectives take -(으)ㄴ가요; nouns take 인가요; past is -았/었나요 for all.

Forming it

Textbooks give -(으)ㄴ가요 for adjectives (비싼가요), though -나요 (비싸나요) is also heard in speech. 있다/없다 words always take -나요: 맛있나요 (✗ 맛있은가요).

Examples

• 실례지만 이 버스가 시청에 가나요?

  Excuse me, does this bus go to City Hall?

• 요즘 회사 일이 많이 바쁘신가요?

  Are you very busy with work these days?

Compared with similar patterns

-아/어요 is the neutral question; -(으)ㄴ/는데요 is a soft statement that invites a reaction.

Related patterns

• -아/어요 polite everyday ending (present)
• -(으)ㄴ/는데요 soft ending: hint, hesitation, background, polite disagreement