1 · Verb endings and speech levels
The polite present -아요/어요
the everyday polite style
One ending for statements, questions and suggestions — and the last vowel of the stem decides whether it is 아요 or 어요.
The ending -아요/어요 is the form you will use with almost everybody: strangers, colleagues, shop staff, people older than you in everyday situations. Which of the two it is depends on the last vowel of the stem. After a or o it is -아요: 살아요, 좋아요, 놀아요. After any other vowel it is -어요: 먹어요, 읽어요, 있어요, 쉬어요. Every verb in 하다 becomes 해요.
When the stem ends in a vowel, stem and ending merge. A stem in a simply adds 요: 가요, 사요. o and the ending become wa: 와요 (come), 봐요 (see). u becomes wo: 줘요 (give), 배워요 (learn). i becomes yeo: 마셔요 (drink), 가르쳐요 (teach). Stems in ae or e stay as they are: 보내요. 되다 becomes 돼요.
To be, 이다, has its own polite form: 이에요 after a consonant (학생이에요) and 예요 after a vowel (친구예요). Its negative partner 아니다 becomes 아니에요.
The same form covers the present, habits and the near future (내일 가요, "I am going tomorrow"), and with a rising voice it is a question. Said warmly it can even be a request or a suggestion: 같이 가요!, "let's go together!". English speakers tend to look at the first vowel of a long stem instead of the last, to say 하요 instead of 해요, and to drop the 요 — which turns the sentence into casual speech.
The form
| last stem vowel a or o | 살아요, 좋아요, 놀아요 |
| any other vowel | 먹어요, 읽어요, 있어요 |
| verbs in 하다 | 해요, 공부해요, 일해요 |
| vowel stems merge | 가요, 와요, 봐요, 줘요, 마셔요 |
| to be, not to be | 학생이에요, 친구예요, 아니에요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
After a or o in the last syllable of the stem, the ending is -아요.
저는 부산에 살아요.I live in Busan.
After any other vowel, the ending is -어요.
점심에 비빔밥을 먹어요.I have bibimbap for lunch.
Every verb in 하다 becomes 해요.
저는 회사에서 일해요.I work at a company.
A stem ending in a vowel merges with the ending: 오 and -아요 give 와요.
친구가 집에 와요.A friend is coming to my house.
The same form is a statement or a question; the voice decides.
주말에 뭐 해요?What are you doing at the weekend?
A closer look
Why this is the form to learn first
Korean has several speech levels, and this one sits in the middle: polite without being stiff. It is what adults use with people they do not know well, what staff use with customers, and what colleagues use with each other in the corridor. A learner who speaks it consistently will never be rude and never sound like a news reader.
The politeness lives in the final 요. Take it away and what remains — 가, 먹어, 해 — is casual speech, used with close friends and children. That is why the 요 must not be dropped to save time: to Korean ears it is not a shortening but a change of relationship.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the stem ends in the vowel eu
eu drops out, and the ending is chosen by the syllable before it: 바쁘다 → 바빠요, 예쁘다 → 예뻐요, 쓰다 → 써요.
요즘 너무 바빠요.I am very busy these days.
The weak vowel eu gives way to the vowel of the ending. With nothing before it, as in 쓰다, the ending is -어요.
How to spot it
- -아요
- -어요
- 해요
- 이에요
- 예요
Example sentences
아침마다 커피를 마셔요.I drink coffee every morning.
이 식당은 음식이 맛있어요.The food at this restaurant is good.
동생은 지금 텔레비전을 봐요.My younger sibling is watching television.
저는 요즘 한국어를 배워요.I am learning Korean these days.
내일 부산에 가요.I am going to Busan tomorrow.
우리 같이 가요!Let's go together!
8 more example sentences
은행은 몇 시에 문을 닫아요?What time does the bank close?
저는 지하철로 학교에 다녀요.I go to school by underground.
언니가 친구에게 메시지를 보내요.My older sister is sending a friend a message.
이 바지가 저한테 잘 맞아요.These trousers fit me well.
제 친구는 초등학교에서 영어를 가르쳐요.My friend teaches English at a primary school.
오늘은 바람이 많이 불어요.It is very windy today.
아이들이 공원에서 놀아요.The children are playing in the park.
지금 어디에 있어요?Where are you now?
Worth knowing (1)
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Spelled 돼요, not 되요
되다 (become, be allowed) and the ending merge into 돼요. Because the two sound almost the same, 되요 is a spelling mistake even Koreans make — but on paper only 돼요 is right.
여기서 사진을 찍어도 돼요?May I take photos here?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The stem of 하다 ends in a, so by the rule it should take -아요 — but 하다 is the one verb that goes its own way: its polite form is always 해요. Since thousands of verbs end in 하다, this is one of the most useful forms in the language.
A or o in the last syllable takes -ayo, everything else -eoyo, and every hada verb says haeyo.
Your turn
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