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- "이 가벼운 상자 안에 무엇이 있습니까?"
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I was confused about 무엇이 vs 뭐. Turns out 무어시 is preferred for written and formal use whereas 뭐 is better for spoken use.
I'm still a bit confused. There seem to be so many different spellings of the same word and I can't tell which is the right - or preferred - one, when or why. Maybe it is just one of those things that either comes with time, practice and experience (+ patience!) or never comes at all.
Edited same day to include this:
According to Google translate, (Korean to English):
뭘, 뭐, 무엇이, 무엇, 무슨? = What, what, what, what, what?
The other way around, (English to Korean), is worse:
What = 무엇, 어떤 일, 어떤 것, 얼마, 웬, 얼마나 많은 금액, 얼마나 많은 양, 무슨, 얼마나, 어느 정도 and 본질.
So, why is it not 속에? I always thought of 안에 as in a room or building and 속에 as inside a box or dresser or whatnot. Is there a more subtle difference?
The difference between 안 and 속 is that 안 is more physical and 속 is more abstract, used for things not so palpable.
They seem to use 속에 when talking about a forest in previous units - as an example of something less tangible.
It wasn't happy with "This light box has what inside?". I realise it is a less commonly used English interpretation, but it is still a valid sentence conveying the same as the preferred/prescribed alternative.
