Let's learn about "어쩐 일이야?"

어쩐 일이야? : What’s up?

[other expressions]

<반말(talking down to)>

- 어쩐 일이니? (to younger people or friends)

- 어쩐 일이냐? (to younger people or friends)

- 어쩐 일이야? (to younger people or friends)

- 어쩐 일인가? (to younger people or friends)

- 어쩐 일인지? (to younger people or friends)

- 어쩐 일인데? (to younger people or friends)

<존칭/존댓말/높임말/경어(honorific)>

- 어쩐 일이에요? (honourific by ‘-요’)

- 어쩐 일인가요? (honourific by ‘-요’)

- 어쩐 일인지요? (honourific by ‘-요’)

- 어쩐 일인데요? (honourific by ‘-요’)

- 어쩐 일입니까? (formal; honourific by ‘-ㅂ'’)

* [Memo]

* Extreme honorifics(극존칭) are not used when the subject(주어) is not a person(사람). In other words, extreme honorifics(극존칭) are used only when the subject(주어) is a person(사람) :  주어가 사람이 아닌 경우는 극존칭을 사용하지 않는다. 즉, 주어가 사람인 경우에만 극존칭을 사용한다

[explanations]

* 어쩌다 : a short form of 어찌하다 / 어떻게 하다; do something

* 어찌하다 : [여 불규칙] [=어떻게 하다] do something; this is used as the form of "어찌해야•어찌하여•어쩌나•어쩔•어쩐 and so on"

- 어찌해야 할지를 모르다 : do not know what to do

- 어찌하여 내 마음을 이렇게 몰라줍니까? : Why can't you see my heart for you?

- 미안해서 어쩌나 : Oh, my. I'm so sorry

- 어쩔 줄을 모르고 우왕좌왕하다 : be at a loss what to do

* 어쩐 : an adnominal form of 어쩌다; do something for a reason; what business; any business <-- 어쩌(the stem of 어쩌다; 쩌 + -ㄴ contracted into 쩐) + -ㄴ(a suffix makes a verb adnominal)

- 어쩐 일로 오셨어요? = 무슨 일로 오셨어요? = 뭔 일로 오셨어요? : What brings you here?

* 일 : (1) work; job (2) [=문제] a thing; a matter; an affair; a concern (3) [=사고] an accident; [=사건] an incident; an occurrence; an event; a happening; an affair; [=귀찮은 일] trouble (4) [계획·사업] a plan; a program(me); a project; a scheme; an undertaking; [=음모] a plot; a trick

* 이다 : be

* 일입니까? : 일 + 이(the stem of 이다)  + -ㅂ니까?(an  honourific interrogative verb ending suffix)

* a verb + -이니? / -이냐? / -이야? / -인가? / -인지? / /인데? : a non-honourific interrogative form of 이다

* a verb +  -인가? / -인지? / -인데? + -요 : an honourific verb ending suffix

* a verb + -이에요? / -입니까? : an honourific interrgative form of 이다 by ‘-ㅂ-‘ / '-요'