jihacheol hwanseung yogeumi eolmayeyo?

How much is the subway transfer fee?

Breakdown of jihacheol hwanseung yogeumi eolmayeyo?

• ~이: subject particle
• 이다: to be
• 지하철: subway
• 얼마: how much
• 요금: fee
• 환승: transfer

Questions & Answers about jihacheol hwanseung yogeumi eolmayeyo?

What does each part of the sentence do?

• 지하철: subway/metro (noun modifying what follows)
• 환승: transfer (noun modifying what follows)
• 요금: fare/fee (head noun)
• 이: subject particle attached to a noun ending in a consonant (here, 요금 ends in ㅁ)
• 얼마: how much (interrogative determiner)
• 예요: polite copula “to be” (이에요/예요 form) Overall structure: “[Subway transfer fare] + [subject marker] + [how much + copula?]”

Why is the subject particle 이 used instead of 가?

• 이 attaches to nouns ending in a consonant; 가 attaches to nouns ending in a vowel.
• 요금 ends in ㅁ (a consonant), so you use 요금이.

Why is it the subject marker (이/가) and not the topic marker (은/는)?

• 이/가 marks grammatical subject and often introduces new, focused information (“the fare is how much?”).
• 은/는 marks topic/contrast. 요금은 얼마예요? is also correct but sounds like “as for the fare, how much is it?”—more topical or contrastive.
• Either works; nuance changes slightly.

Can I drop the particle in casual speech?

• Yes. You’ll often hear: 지하철 환승 요금 얼마예요?
• In very casual speech: 지하철 환승 요금 얼마야?
• Particle dropping is common in conversation when the meaning is clear.

Why is it 얼마예요 and not “얼마에요”?

• The copula polite form is 이에요/예요 (never “에요” by itself).
• Rule: after a noun ending in a consonant → 이에요; after a vowel → 예요.
• 얼마 ends in a vowel sound, so it’s 얼마예요?

Why use the copula (예요) and not a verb like 해요?

• To ask a price, Korean uses the copula with 얼마: “X is how much?”
• So: (X)이/가 얼마예요? not “얼마해요?” (which would sound odd).
• Think of it as: “The fare is how much?”

What are more formal or more casual versions?

• More formal: 지하철 환승 요금이 얼마입니까?
• Polite, softer: 지하철 환승 요금이 얼마인가요? (often contracted to 얼만가요?)
• Casual: 지하철 환승 요금이 얼마야?
• Confirming/expecting agreement: 지하철 환승 요금이 얼마죠?

How is the whole sentence pronounced naturally?

• Revised Romanization: jihacheol hwanseung yogeum-i eolmayeyo?
• Smooth linking: 요금이 sounds like [요그미], so overall: [지하철 환승 요그미 얼마예요?]
• Use a rising intonation at the end for the question.

Is “환승 요금” one word or two? I’ve seen both.

• You’ll see both 환승요금 and 환승 요금. Many compound nouns are written closed when they form a set term.
• Both are accepted in practice; follow your style guide or copy the sign/text you’re referencing. The sentence you saw uses the spaced version.

Can I say “지하철의 환승 요금” with 의?

• Grammatically yes: 지하철의 환승 요금.
• But in everyday Korean, sequences of nouns modify each other without 의. Using multiple 의 can sound overly formal or stilted in speech.
• Natural: 지하철 환승 요금.

What’s the difference between 요금, 가격, and 값?

• 요금: fare/fee for services or usage (transport, phone, utilities).
• 가격: price (general term, often for goods).
• 값: price/value; more colloquial for the price of goods.
• Here, 요금 is correct because it’s a service fare.

Why not use 얼마나 instead of 얼마?

• 얼마 modifies nouns: 얼마(의) 돈, 요금이 얼마예요?
• 얼마나 modifies verbs/adjectives/adverbs to ask about degree/extent: 얼마나 멀어요? (How far?), 얼마나 자주 가요? (How often?)
• Since you’re asking the amount of a noun (요금), use 얼마.

Why is it the subject marker (요금이) and not the object marker (요금을)?

• The verb here is the copula (이다), which links subject and complement; it doesn’t take an object.
• With 이다, the thing being identified (here, 요금) is marked with 이/가.

Is the noun chain “지하철 환승 요금” grammatical without extra particles?

• Yes. Korean stacks nouns to modify the head noun on the right.
• Think of it as “[subway] [transfer] [fare]” → the fare for transfers in the subway.
• You could paraphrase more verbosely: 지하철에서 환승할 때 드는 요금.

How would I answer this question naturally?

• With an amount + copula:
  • 무료예요. (It’s free.)
  • 1,250원이에요. (천이백오십 원이에요.)
  • 추가 요금은 500원이에요. (The additional fare is 500 won.)
• More formal: …원입니다.

Are there useful variants depending on context?

• Asking about extra charge: 환승할 때 추가 요금이 있어요?
• Asking by payment type: 교통카드로 환승 요금이 얼마예요? 현금은요?
• Broader: 지하철 요금이 얼마예요? (overall subway fare)
• Specific transfer: 지하철에서 버스로 환승할 때 요금이 얼마예요?

Any polite add-ons to sound softer?

• 실례지만, 혹시, …좀 알려 주시겠어요?
• Example: 실례지만, 지하철 환승 요금이 얼마인가요? or …얼마인지 좀 알려 주시겠어요?