Dictionary — Entry No. 0343
누구
nugu · noun
누구
nugu
[noo-GOO]
nounbeginner
Meaning
Means ‘who’ in questions and ‘someone’ or ‘anyone’ in non-interrogative contexts. It is the standard Korean word for asking about a person’s identity. The polite question form 누구세요? (nuguseyo?) is one of the first phrases learners encounter and one of the most frequently heard lines in K-Drama.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
누구세요? (‘Who is it?’) is a K-Drama staple—the door-answering or phone-answering scene appears across countless series including Hospital Playlist and Goblin, instantly recognizable to any international viewer. IU’s tender ballad ‘밤편지’ (Through the Night) contains the lyric ‘이 밤 누구보다’ (this night, more than anyone), showing how 누구 extends beyond questions into poetic expressions of devotion. NewJeans’s conversational lyric style naturally weaves 누구 into songs, reflecting the word’s effortless presence in everyday Korean speech.
Example Sentences
누구세요?
Nuguseyo?
Who is it? (the standard phrase when answering the door or phone—every K-Drama fan has heard this hundreds of times)
저 사람이 누구야?
Jeo sarami nuguya?
Who is that person? (casual; used when pointing out a stranger—common in K-Drama scenes where a character spots someone new)
누구보다 네가 소중해.
Nuguboda nega sojunghae.
You are more precious to me than anyone. (누구보다 = ‘more than anyone’; a classic construction in K-Pop lyrics and K-Drama confessions)
⚠️ Don’t use nugu when…
Don’t confuse 누구 (nugu, who/someone) with 누가 (nuga)—누가 is 누구 with the subject particle -가 attached and is used when ‘who’ is the grammatical subject of the verb. Also, 누구세요 is polite; 누구야 is casual—using the wrong form with the wrong person can sound abrupt or rude.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Hospital Playlist — ‘누구세요?’ echoes through the hospital hallways as the five doctor friends answer unexpected late-night calls, cementing the phrase as one of K-Drama’s most atmospheric recurring lines.
- K-Pop: IU — ‘밤편지’ (Through the Night) — the lyric ‘이 밤 누구보다’ (‘this night, more than anyone’) uses 누구 to express profound devotion, showing the word’s poetic range beyond simple questions.
ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.