Honorific vs Polite Speech in Korean: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Explain why 세요 and 요 do different jobs.
• Apply the two-question test (who acts, who listens) to any sentence.
• Combine honorific and casual forms correctly when talking to a friend about an elder.
• Place humble forms as a third direction of respect.

Before you start: you should know the polite ending -아요/어요 and honorific -(으)시-. Time: about 30 minutes.

What Does Honorific vs Polite Speech in Korean Mean?

Honorific vs polite speech in Korean means two separate kinds of respect that English speakers often blend together. Korean grammar handles them with two different tools, placed in two different parts of the verb.

• Polite speech respects the listener. The tool is the sentence ending, called the speech level: casual -아/어, polite -아요/어요, formal -ㅂ니다/습니다. Korean grammar calls this 상대 높임법, listener honorification.
• Honorific speech respects the subject, the person who does the action. The tool is -(으)시-, placed before the ending. Korean grammar calls this 주체 높임법, subject honorification.

Look at where each tool sits in one verb:

Because the two tools sit in different slots, you can switch each one on or off independently. That independence is the whole lesson.

A First Example

Listen to each sentence at normal speed, then slowly.

1. 아버지가 오세요. (abeojiga oseyo) "Father is coming." (respect for father)

Pronunciation: [아버지가 오세요]. The subject is a father, so 시 appears. The listener is someone you speak to politely, so the sentence ends in 요.

2. 제가 가요. (jega gayo) "I am going." (polite, no honorific)

Pronunciation: [제가 가요]. The subject is the speaker, so there is no 시. The listener still gets the polite 요, and the humble pronoun 제가 replaces casual 내가.

Both sentences are polite. Only the first is honorific. The next section turns this into a test you can run on any sentence.

How Does Honorific vs Polite Speech in Korean Work?

Honorific vs polite speech in Korean works through two questions asked in order. Each question controls one slot of the verb.

1. Who is the subject? If the person doing the action is older or senior (a parent, a teacher, a customer), add -(으)시-. If it is you, a child or a friend your age, leave it out.
2. Who is the listener? Choose the ending for the person you are talking to: casual -아/어 for close friends, polite -아요/어요 for most people, formal -ㅂ니다 for announcements, interviews and formal meetings.
3. Combine the two answers. Put -(으)시- first and the ending second: 오 + 시 + 어요 = 오세요.

Pattern Table

The verb 오다 ("to come") shows every combination.

Pronunciation: 오십니다 is [오심니다], 오셔 is [오셔], and 올게요 is [올께요]. The third row is the one learners miss: the casual ending for the friend, with 시 still in place for the father. The sixth row is the mirror image: polite to the teacher, but no 시 for a classmate.

The endings themselves are taught in 해요체 polite speech -아요/어요 and, for casual speech, in banmal vs jondaetmal. The worked example below builds one sentence through both questions.

Worked Example, Step by Step

To say "Father is coming" to a polite listener, start from the bare verb and fill the two slots. Follow the steps.

1. Start from the dictionary form. 오다 ("to come"). The stem is 오.
2. Ask who the subject is. 아버지 is a parent, so the subject slot gets 시: 오시.
3. Ask who the listener is. You are speaking to a neighbour you do not know well, so the ending is polite -아요/어요.
4. Combine. 오시 + 어요 shortens to 오세요.
5. Add the subject. 아버지가 오세요. For extra respect, mark the subject with 께서: 아버지께서 오세요.

You'll know it worked when you can point to 시 and say "father" and point to 요 and say "the neighbour". Common mistake at this step: deciding 시 by the listener. If the neighbour is old, learners sometimes add 시 to every verb, including their own actions.

Now change only the listener. Telling your younger brother the same news, you keep 시 for father and switch to the casual ending: 아버지 오셔. Change only the subject instead: telling the neighbour that you are leaving, you drop 시 and keep 요: 제가 가요.

The two-question test covers subject and listener. Humble forms add a third direction, compared in the next section.

How Is Honorific vs Polite Different from Similar Forms?

Honorific forms raise the subject, polite endings respect the listener, and humble forms lower the speaker toward a third person or the listener. Korean grammar treats them as three systems: 주체 높임법 (subject), 상대 높임법 (listener) and 객체 높임법 (the person who receives an action).

The 세요 ending deserves a note. Many learners meet 세요 as a "polite request" (앉으세요, "please sit") and decide it is just a politer 요. It is 시 plus 어요: the listener is asked to act, so the listener is also the subject, and both kinds of respect apply at once. That everyday form is compared with 아요/어요 in -(으)세요 vs -아요/어요.

The humble side, where you lower your own act, is taught in Korean humble forms 드리다 뵙다. The next section covers real situations, including two that surprise learners.

When Do You Use It, and When Not?

Use -(으)시- whenever a senior is the subject, whatever your listener's level. Use the polite ending whenever the listener is not a close friend or younger family member, whoever the subject is.

Casual Speech about an Elder

You can use -(으)시- while speaking casually to a friend about their father. 너희 아버지 뭐 하셔? ("What does your dad do?") is casual to the friend, with 하셔, and honorific to the father, with 시. Leaving out 시 here (너희 아버지 뭐 해?) sounds disrespectful to the father, even though the friend is your equal.

When the Listener Is Also the Subject

In questions and requests to a senior, the listener is usually the subject too, so both kinds of respect land on the same person. 어디 가세요? ("Where are you going?"), 식사하셨어요? ("Have you eaten?") and 뭐 드실래요? ("What would you like to have?") all carry 시 for the listener as subject and 요 for the listener as listener. Your answer drops 시, because you become the subject: 집에 가요, 네, 먹었어요.

Talking to a Senior about Another Senior

Traditional etiquette had a rule called 압존법: when the listener outranks the subject, the speaker drops -(으)시- for the subject. A grandchild would say to a grandfather 할아버지, 아버지가 왔습니다, not 오셨습니다. The 국립국어원 guide to standard speech etiquette (표준 언어 예절) relaxes this: in families either choice is accepted, and in workplaces the guide advises against dropping 시. In practice, honouring both seniors is the safer choice for learners.

Speech, Writing and Formal Texts

Both systems appear in speech and writing. A formal letter to a professor combines -(으)시- with -ㅂ니다: 교수님께서 말씀하신 자료를 보내 드립니다. Newspaper articles use a neutral written ending (-ㄴ다) and often leave out -(으)시- even for officials, so they are not a model for conversation. The next section lists the errors to avoid.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make?

Learners make four predictable mistakes with honorific vs polite speech. Each one comes from merging the two questions into one.

1. Honouring yourself because the listener is senior. Learners often assume that a senior listener needs 시 on every verb, so they tell their boss 사장님, 제가 내일 오실게요. Actually 시 points at the subject, and the subject is you. Say 제가 내일 올게요.
2. Dropping 시 in casual speech about elders. 우리 할머니 자 sounds as if the grandmother were a child. Say 우리 할머니 주무셔.
3. Treating -ㅂ니다 as honorific. 아버지가 옵니다 is formal but does not honour the father. Add 시: 아버지께서 오십니다.
4. Using 시 for a classmate because the teacher is listening. 선생님, 민수가 오셨어요 honours Minsu. Say 민수가 왔어요.

These and other cross-cutting errors are collected in Korean honorific mistakes. Now test yourself.

Practice and Answers

Try all four items before you read the answers. Each answer has audio, normal and slow.

1. Choose the form. To a close friend about the friend's mother: 너희 어머니 뭐 (해 / 하셔)? ("What does your mother do?")
2. Fix the error. 선생님, 제가 내일 일찍 오실게요. (The speaker means "Teacher, I will come early tomorrow.")
3. Translate. "My grandmother is sleeping." You are speaking to a close friend. Use 주무시다.
4. Write your own. Write one polite sentence about where a senior colleague or teacher is now.

Answer Key

1. 너희 어머니 뭐 하셔? (neohui eomeoni mwo hasyeo) Pronounced [너히 어머니 뭐 하셔]. The friend gets a casual ending, the mother gets 시.

2. 선생님, 제가 내일 일찍 올게요. (seonsaengnim, jega naeil iljjik olgeyo) Pronounced [선생님 제가 내일 일찍 올께요]. You are the subject, so 시 goes; the teacher still gets 요.

3. 우리 할머니 주무셔. (uri halmeoni jumusyeo) Pronounced [우리 할머니 주무셔]. Casual for the friend, honorific 주무시다 for the grandmother.

4. Sample answer: 부장님은 지금 회의실에 계세요. (bujangnimeun jigeum hoeuisire gyeseyo) "The department head is in the meeting room now." Pronounced [부장니믄 지금 회의시레 계세요]; [회이시레] and [게세요] are also standard. Any sentence with a senior subject, 시 or an honorific verb, and 요 is right.

If any answer went wrong, run the two questions again: who acts decides 시, and who listens decides the ending. Then continue with the next lessons.

What This Lesson Does Not Cover

The honorific vs polite lesson separates subject honorifics from listener politeness at A2. It does not teach the full set of traditional speech levels; those are in seven Korean speech levels, and the choice between them is in which Korean speech level to use. Address terms such as 씨 and 님 are covered in ssi vs nim in Korean.

Next Lessons and Where to Go from Here

After honorific vs polite speech in Korean, the natural next lesson is the Korean word for you, which shows why Koreans avoid a direct "you" with seniors and what they say instead. To review the subject marker in depth, revisit honorific -(으)시-. The set overview, Korean honorifics, lists every lesson in learning order.

This page uses Revised Romanization only as a learning aid; the Hangul is the reference. To remember the idea in one line: in honorific vs polite speech in Korean, -(으)시- follows the subject and the ending follows the listener, so ask who acts and who listens before you choose the verb.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 존댓말 the Same as Honorific Speech?

Not exactly. 존댓말 is the everyday word for respectful speech in general, and most people use it to mean polite endings such as -요 and -ㅂ니다. Grammar books split it into listener politeness and subject honorifics (높임법). When someone says 존댓말 써, they usually mean "add 요", not "add -(으)시-".

Can a Sentence Be Honorific without Being Polite?

Yes. 할머니 주무셔 (Grandma is sleeping), said to your brother, honours the grandmother with 주무시다 but uses a casual ending for the brother. This combination is normal in families and between friends whenever an elder is the subject. The opposite, polite without honorific, is also common: 제가 할게요.

Which Matters More, the Honorific or the Polite Ending?

The polite ending matters more in daily life, because it affects the person in front of you. Dropping 요 with a stranger sounds rude at once. Missing -(으)시- about an absent senior sounds careless but less offensive. A2 learners should master the ending first, then add -(으)시- for senior subjects.

Do I Use -(으)시- When Talking about My Own Parents to My Boss?

Usually yes in modern standard usage. Traditional etiquette lowered your own family in front of a senior (압존법), but the 국립국어원 guide to standard speech etiquette says you may honour your parents in such cases. 저희 어머니께서 오셨어요 and 저희 어머니가 왔어요 are both heard; the first is the safer choice.

Is the Formal Style -ㅂ니다 More Honorific than -아요?

No, it is more formal, not more honorific. -ㅂ니다 and -아요 both respect the listener; -ㅂ니다 adds distance and ceremony. Neither one honours the subject. To honour a senior subject in either style, add -(으)시-: 오세요 or 오십니다. The formal style is compared with -아요 in its own lesson.