Let's learn about "어떡하지?"

어떡하지? : What am I supposed to do?

[other expressions]

- 어떡하니? (to younger people or friends)

- 어떡하나? (to younger people or friends)

- 어떡하냐? (to younger people or friends)

- 어떡해? (to younger people or friends)

- 어떡하지? (to younger people or friends)

- 어떡하나요? (honourific by '-요')

- 어떡해요? (honourific by '-요')

- 어떡하지요? (honourific by '-요')

- 어떡하죠? (honourific by '-요'; -죠 is a short form of -지요)

- 어떡합니까? (formal; honourific by '-ㅂ')

[explanations]

* 어떡하지? is used when you are confused and don't know what you should do

* 어떻게 and 어떡해 are essentially prounounced the same way, but both have two differrent meanings

1) 어떻게 means "how"

- 어떻게 알았어요? : How did you know?

- 어떻게 지냈어요? : How have you been?

2) 어떡해 is usually translated as "What should I do?". It is contraction form of 어떻게(how) + -해(the conjugated form of 하다(do) + -어(a non-honourific interrogative verb ending suffix)

* 어떡해 : 어떻하(the stem of 어떻하다; ㅎ changed into ㄲ for easy pronunciation; 하 + 아 contracted into 해) + -어?(a non-honourific interrogative verb ending suffix)

* 어떡합니까? : 어떻하(the stem of 어떻하다; ㅎ changed into ㄲ + -ㅂ니까?(an honourific interrogative verb ending suffix by ‘-ㅂ’)

* a verb + -니? / -나? / -냐? / -어? : a non-honourific interrogative verb ending suffix

* a verb + -나? / -어? + -요 : an honourific verb ending suffix

* a verb + -ㅂ니까? : an honourific interrogative verb ending suffix by ‘-ㅂ’