Key Facts
- Hangul: 계시다 (gyesida, 3 syllables)
- Meaning: to be (somewhere), said of a respected person
- Level: B1
- Stem: 계시
- Conjugation class: special
- What it takes: The person is the subject; the place takes 에: 집에 계세요.
What Does 계시다 Mean?
계시다 is the honorific of 있다 in the sense of being present or staying: 선생님께서 집에 계시다. The person is the subject, and the place takes 에, as in 집에 계세요.
It covers being present only. For 'have' with respected people, the pattern is 있으시다. Its negative partner is 안 계시다, which respectfully describes a person's absence.
- to be present (honorific): Honorific of 있다 for being present or staying: 선생님께서 집에 계시다.
How Do You Pronounce 계시다?
Three syllables. The 계 is said as written, and the standard rules also allow a plain 게 sound for it (Article 5). The past 계셨어요 is [계셔써요] and 계십니다 is [계심니다]. Revised Romanization is gyesida.
Use the audio above to compare the dictionary form with its polite, formal, and casual forms.
How Do You Use 계시다 in a Sentence?
할아버지는 집에 계세요.
Grandfather is at home.
A grandfather at home, with the honorific verb marking respect for him.
어제 선생님이 학교에 계셨어요.
The teacher was at school yesterday.
Past tense with a teacher: 계셨어요 keeps the honorific in the past.
부모님이 안 계세요.
My parents are not here.
The negative 안 계세요 says the parents are not here, the respectful counterpart of 없다.
How Does Gyesida Conjugation Work?
계시다 is a special honorific verb. The polite present is 계세요, with the -세요 ending as in 드세요; the contracted 계셔요 is also standard but rarely used. The past is 계셨어요, the formal present is 계십니다, and the negative is 안 계세요.
The pattern behind 계시다 is taught step by step in honorific verbs.
계시다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 계세요 | ||
| Polite past | 계셨어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 계실 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 계시겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 계십니다 | ||
| Formal past | 계셨습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 계실 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 계셔 | ||
| Casual past | 계셨어 | ||
| Casual future | 계실 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 계세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 계셔서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 계시면 | ||
| Present modifier | 계시는 | ||
| Past modifier | 계신 | ||
| Future modifier | 계실 | ||
| Short negative | 안 계세요 | ||
| Long negative | 계시지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 계세요 | as written |
| Polite past | 계셨어요 | [계셔써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 계실 거예요 | [계실꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 계시겠어요 | [계시게써요] |
| Formal present | 계십니다 | [계심니다] |
| Formal past | 계셨습니다 | [계셛씀니다] |
| Formal future | 계실 것입니다 | [계실꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 계셔 | as written |
| Casual past | 계셨어 | [계셔써] |
| Casual future | 계실 거야 | [계실꺼야] |
| Honorific polite | 계세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 계셔서 | as written |
| If (conditional) | 계시면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 계시는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 계신 | as written |
| Future modifier | 계실 | as written |
| Short negative | 안 계세요 | as written |
| Long negative | 계시지 않아요 | [계시지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 선생님이 있어요 (when the teacher is respected)
Correct: ✓ 선생님이 계세요.
Why: For a respected person being present, use 계시다, not 있다.
How Does 계시다 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How to tell it from 계시다 |
|---|---|
| 있다 | Plain being or having. 계시다 respectfully means being present. |
| 없다 | The opposite of 있다. For respected people, use 안 계시다 instead. |
Calling the School Office
A student phones the school office to ask about a teacher. The office assistant answers about the teacher respectfully, even though the listener is a student.
Student
김 선생님 지금 계세요?
Gim seonsaengnim jigeum gyeseyo?
Is Teacher Kim there now?
Office assistant
아까는 계셨어요. 지금은 안 계세요.
Akkaneun gyesyeosseoyo. Jigeumeun an gyeseyo.
The teacher was here earlier. They are not here now.
Student
내일은 계실 거예요?
Naeireun gyesil geoyeyo?
Will the teacher be here tomorrow?
Office assistant
네, 내일은 학교에 계실 거예요.
Ne, naeireun hakgyoe gyesil geoyeyo.
Yes, the teacher will be at school tomorrow.
The assistant's past form, 계셨어요, answers about earlier today. 안 계세요 answers about now. The future 계실 거예요 addresses tomorrow's expected presence. None of these forms says whether the teacher is busy or available for an appointment; they only establish whether the teacher is there.
Notice that Korean can leave out the teacher's name after the first question. Repeating 선생님 in every reply would be unnecessary here. English needs a pronoun in the translation, but the Korean answer can simply begin with the time.
Who Receives the Respect in 계시다?
계시다 shows respect for the person whose location you describe. The ending separately shows how you address the listener. A child talking casually to a sibling can still use 계셔 about their grandfather. The casual ending does not remove the respect built into the verb.
Use 있다 for yourself, even when speaking to a teacher or customer. Making your sentence polite does not mean choosing an honorific verb for your own presence. Also use 있다 for ordinary objects: a bag on a chair is not someone to honor. These choices depend on the subject, rather than the social standing of the listener alone.
The marker 께서 is the respectful counterpart of 이/가. You may hear 선생님께서 with 계시다, but the existing example 선생님이 학교에 계셨어요 is natural too. The honorific verb already carries respect; 께서 adds another explicit signal.
Familiar Phrases and Where You Hear Them
안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo) literally wishes someone a peaceful stay. It is the goodbye you say when you leave and the other person stays. A customer leaving a shop can say it to the shopkeeper. When the other person is leaving, the corresponding goodbye uses 가세요 instead. The Basic Korean Dictionary entry for 안녕히 includes this greeting.
잠시만 계세요 (jamsiman gyeseyo) asks someone to stay for a moment. It makes sense when asking a visitor to remain in a room. For a general request to wait, a form of 기다리다 is more direct: the focus is waiting, rather than simply being present.
어디 계세요? (eodi gyeseyo) asks where someone is. On the phone, the person may be the listener; in an office conversation, it may be a manager you have just mentioned. The missing subject comes from the conversation. Add the person's title when that reference might be unclear.
At a reception desk, 계십니다 suits a formal answer about a director or professor. Among colleagues, 계세요 often fits the same situation with a less formal ending. Neither form tells you that the person owns something: possession uses 있으시다, as the FAQ explains.
Words for Respectful Everyday Conversation
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 선생님 | teacher; respectful form of address | A common subject of 계시다 in school conversations. |
| 댁 | someone's home, respectfully | Useful when asking about an elder's location. |
| 드시다 | to eat or drink, honorific | Changes the verb when a respected person eats. |
| 주무시다 | to sleep, honorific | Use when a respected person is asleep. |
The honorific vocabulary lesson groups respectful nouns and verbs. 댁 names a home; 계시다 tells you that someone is there. Keeping those roles separate helps when you hear both in one sentence.
Mini Drill: Presence, Time, and Respect
- Give the polite past of 계시다.
- Say “is not here” respectfully using 안.
- Choose the verb for your own location: 있다 or 계시다?
- Give the future form meaning “will be there”.
Show drill answers
- 계셨어요.
- 안 계세요. Keep a space after 안.
- 있다. You do not honor yourself with 계시다.
- 계실 거예요. Keep the space before 거예요.
Quick Self-Test
- Who does 계시다 honor: the listener or the person present?
- In the phone dialogue, which form refers to earlier today?
- Who stays when you say 안녕히 계세요?
Show answers
- The person present. The sentence ending handles politeness toward the listener.
- 계셨어요 is the polite past.
- The person receiving the goodbye stays; the speaker leaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does 계시다 Replace?
It is the honorific of 있다 when someone is present or staying.
What Is the Polite Present?
It is 계세요. The form 계셔요 is also recorded.
How Do I Say a Respected Person Is Absent?
Use 안 계시다, as in 부모님이 안 계세요.
Can I Use It for 'Have' with an Elder?
No. For 'have' with respected people, 있으시다 is used.
Which Words Are Related to 계시다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Study 있다 and 없다 first if you skipped them, then 드시다 and 주무시다, the other honorific swaps. To test another form of 계시다 ('to be present, honorific'), open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.