Tip 1 for “What are they talking about?” questions?

The answer is a general noun, not a word from the dialogue; a word you actually hear is often the trap (바다 when the topic is 고향, 동생 when it is 나이).

Tip 2 for “What are they talking about?” questions?

Listen to the first question: the question word nearly gives the topic (몇 살 → 나이, 며칠 → 날짜, 무슨 요일 → 요일, 어디에 있어요 → 위치, 무슨 색 → 색깔).

Tip 3 for “What are they talking about?” questions?

Group related words: 맵다/달다/짜다 → 맛; meeting time + place → 약속; future -(으)ㄹ 거예요 → 계획.

Tip 4 for “What are they talking about?” questions?

Separate easy pairs: 요일 (weekday) / 날짜 (date), 시간 (time) / 약속 (appointment), 선물 (gift) / 생일 (occasion).

TOPIK I · Listening · Questions 11–14 · Level 1–2

What are they talking about?

화제 고르기

Hear a short dialogue (Q11–14) and choose the noun naming its overall topic (나이, 날짜, 약속, 위치, 계획…).

Test tips

The answer is a general noun, not a word from the dialogue; a word you actually hear is often the trap (바다 when the topic is 고향, 동생 when it is 나이).
Listen to the first question: the question word nearly gives the topic (몇 살 → 나이, 며칠 → 날짜, 무슨 요일 → 요일, 어디에 있어요 → 위치, 무슨 색 → 색깔).
Group related words: 맵다/달다/짜다 → 맛; meeting time + place → 약속; future -(으)ㄹ 거예요 → 계획.
Separate easy pairs: 요일 (weekday) / 날짜 (date), 시간 (time) / 약속 (appointment), 선물 (gift) / 생일 (occasion).
Learn about 40 frequent topic nouns: 가족, 고향, 나라, 직업, 취미, 날씨, 계절, 쇼핑, 음식, 맛, 값, 교통, 위치, 약속, 계획, 선물…

Signal words and patterns

When you see these in a question, they point to the answer or to a trap.

몇 살
며칠
무슨 요일
무슨 색
어디에서 왔어요?
어디에 있어요?
-(으)ㄹ까요?
-(으)ㄹ 거예요
어때요?
번호가 어떻게 돼요?

Worked examples

Press to listen

Transcript

다음은 무엇에 대해 말하고 있습니까? <보기>와 같이 알맞은 것을 고르십시오.

Explanation

This type asks for a noun that covers the whole exchange, not a word that merely appears in it. He asks '어디에서 왔어요?' (where are you from?) and she answers '부산에서 왔어요' (I'm from Busan). Where someone comes from is their hometown, 고향. 바다 (sea) is the trap: it is heard, but only as a detail about her hometown. 여행 (travel) is wrong because no trip is discussed, and 학교 is never mentioned.

Words in this question · sign in to save words

어디
오다
바다
가깝다
고향

Practise now

9 questions in the bank

5 questions per round, each checked immediately with the explanation, translation and key words.