2 · The basic sentence
Leaving out what is known
dropping subjects and objects
Korean drops whatever the listener already knows — and avoids the word “you” almost entirely.
A Korean sentence states only what the listener does not already know. A subject that is clear from the situation is dropped, and so is an object that has just been mentioned. 어제 뭐 했어요? — 영화 봤어요. has no “you” in the question and no “I” in the answer, and nothing is missing: the speakers are obvious. Putting 저는 into every sentence, as English puts “I”, sounds like a learner — or like someone insisting on themselves.
Questions usually drop “you”, statements usually drop “I”. 배고파요?is “are you hungry?”배고파요“I am hungry”: the voice and the situation make the difference. Objects go too: 이 책 읽었어요? — 네, 읽었어요. answers without repeating “the book” and without any “it”. Korean has no word that must stand in for something already known, as English “it” does.
Korean avoids the word “you” even more than it drops subjects. 당신, the dictionary translation, is used between married couples, in songs and in quarrels, and to a stranger it can sound cold or even hostile; 너 is for close friends and children only. To speak to someone directly, Koreans use the person’s name with 씨, a job title or a kinship word: 민수 씨, 선생님, 사장님, and between friends 언니 or 형. Most often, though, they use nothing at all.
A subject comes back whenever it is new or contrasted: 저는 커피 마실게요. 민수 씨는요?, “I’ll have coffee. And you, Minsu?”. In short answers even the verb may go: 뭐 마실래요? — 커피요. The skill is not leaving everything out but knowing what the listener has already got.
The form
| subject dropped in a question | 배고파요? |
| subject dropped in the answer | 네, 배고파요. |
| object dropped | 그 영화 봤어요? — 네, 봤어요. |
| addressing someone: name and title | 민수 씨, 커피 마실래요? |
| contrast brings the subject back | 저는 커피요. 민수 씨는요? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
A subject that is clear from the situation is left out.
어제 뭐 했어요? — 친구를 만났어요.What did you do yesterday? — I met a friend.
An object that has just been mentioned is not repeated.
숙제 했어요? — 네, 했어요.Have you done your homework? — Yes, I have.
Instead of “you”, use the person’s name with 씨, a title, or nothing.
지은 씨는 주말에 뭐 해요?What are you doing at the weekend, Jieun?
A subject comes back when it is new or contrasted.
저는 비빔밥 먹을게요. 민호 씨는요?I’ll have bibimbap. What about you, Minho?
A closer look
Why there is no safe word for you
Korean marks politeness in the verb, and a word for “you” would have to choose a level too. 너 is intimate, 당신 is either very close or very distant, and the old-fashioned 자네 is what an older man calls a younger adult. None of them is the neutral “you” English has, so speakers avoid the problem: they leave the word out, or use whatever they would call the person anyway.
The same habit covers the speaker. A Korean says 저 far less often than an English speaker says “I”, and in writing for an unknown reader, such as instructions or signs, no person appears at all: 여기에 이름을 쓰세요, “write your name here”.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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you speak to a close friend of your own age or to a child
너 is normal, together with intimate speech: 너도 갈래?, “are you coming too?”.
너도 같이 갈래?Do you want to come too?
너 belongs to the intimate speech level. With people you speak to in that style, it is the ordinary word; with anyone else it is not.
How to spot it
- 씨
- 선생님
- 사장님
- 은/는요?
Example sentences
어디 가요?Where are you going?
밥 먹었어요? — 아직 안 먹었어요.Have you eaten? — Not yet.
이 사진 누가 찍었어요? — 제가 찍었어요.Who took this photo? — I did.
선생님, 질문이 있어요.Excuse me, I have a question.
그 책 재미있어요? — 네, 정말 재미있어요.Is that book good? — Yes, it’s really good.
사장님도 회의에 오세요?Are you coming to the meeting too, sir?
8 more example sentences
커피 드실래요? — 네, 주세요.Would you like a coffee? — Yes, please.
언제 왔어요?When did you get here?
부장님, 점심 드셨어요?Have you had lunch, sir?
이 노래 알아요? — 아니요, 몰라요.Do you know this song? — No, I don’t.
누가 이겼어요? — 우리 팀이 이겼어요.Who won? — Our team did.
그 사람 전화번호 알아요? — 네, 알아요.Do you know his phone number? — Yes, I do.
어머니, 어디 가세요?Where are you going, Mother?
시간 있으면 같이 가요.If you have time, let’s go together.
Worth knowing (1)
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A name with ssi
씨 after a full name or a given name is the polite everyday form of address between adults: 김민수 씨, 민수 씨. It is not used with the family name alone, which sounds condescending, and never about yourself.
민수 씨, 이것 좀 도와 주세요.Minsu, could you help me with this, please?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
당신 is the dictionary word for “you”, but to a stranger it sounds cold or even hostile. Leave “you” out — the question is obviously addressed to the listener — or use the person’s name with 씨.
Say only what is new: drop the known subject, and avoid “you” altogether.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.