2 · Verb endings and speech levels
The honorific -(으)시-: 가세요, 가셨어요
raising the person you talk about
-(으)시- goes between the stem and the ending whenever the subject of the sentence is someone you respect — never yourself.
The honorific comes straight after the stem: -시- after a vowel (가시-), -으시- after a consonant (읽으시-). A stem in l drops the l: 살다 → 사시-, 만들다 → 만드시-. Then the usual endings follow, with a few merges: in the polite present -시- and -어요 become -세요 (가세요, 읽으세요, 사세요), in the past -셨어요 (가셨어요); formally 가십니다, and for the future 가실 거예요.
It honours the subject of the sentence: a teacher, parents, grandparents, a customer, a boss, an older stranger. 선생님이 오세요, "the teacher is coming". Because it follows the subject, it also appears when you ask someone about themselves: 어디 가세요?, "where are you going?". "To be" becomes 이세요 after a consonant and 세요 after a vowel: 선생님이세요?, 의사세요?
In formal speech the subject can also take the honorific particle 께서 instead of 이/가: 할아버지께서 오셨어요. And a few common verbs do not add -시- but switch to a word of their own — 드시다 for eating, 주무시다 for sleeping, 계시다 for being somewhere. These come in the next topic.
The one firm rule: never about yourself. 저는 가세요 is wrong and sounds comic, as if you were bowing to yourself. Nor does it belong on objects: shops sometimes say that "your coffee has honourably come out", but that is a habit of overdoing it, not correct Korean. English speakers also need to know that 가세요 can describe what someone does as well as ask them to do it; context tells the two apart.
The form
| after a vowel | 가세요, 오세요, 보세요 |
| after a consonant | 읽으세요, 앉으세요, 받으세요 |
| stem in l | 사세요, 만드세요, 아세요 |
| past | 가셨어요, 읽으셨어요 |
| formal | 가십니다, 가셨습니다 |
| to be | 선생님이세요, 의사세요 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After a vowel stem add -시-, after a consonant stem -으시-.
선생님이 책을 읽으세요.The teacher is reading a book.
A stem in l drops the l before -시-.
할머니는 시골에 사세요.My grandmother lives in the countryside.
In the past, the honorific and the past merge into -셨-.
아버지가 방금 나가셨어요.My father has just gone out.
The subject decides, so asking someone about themselves also takes the honorific.
주말에 뭐 하세요?What do you do at the weekend?
Never use the honorific about yourself.
저는 집에 있고 어머니는 시장에 가셨어요.I am at home, and my mother has gone to the market.
A closer look
When the coffee gets honoured
In cafés and shops you may hear the honorific attached to things: a drink that "has honourably come out", a price that "honourably is" so much. It comes from a wish to sound as polite as possible to the customer, and it shows how strongly -시- is felt as politeness.
It is nevertheless not standard Korean, and many speakers find it odd. The honorific belongs to people. For an object the plain form is correct: 주문하신 커피 나왔습니다, "the coffee you ordered is ready" — the customer who ordered gets the honorific, the coffee does not.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb has an honorific word of its own
that word is used instead: 드세요 for "eat", 주무세요 for "sleep", 계세요 for "be somewhere". The plain verb with -시- sounds less respectful.
할머니는 지금 주무세요.Grandmother is sleeping now.
A handful of very common verbs kept respectful words of their own. No rule predicts which, so they are learned as a short list.
How to spot it
- -세요
- -셨어요
- -십니다
- 께서
Example sentences
사장님이 지금 회의실로 들어가세요.The company president is going into the meeting room now.
할아버지께서 신문을 읽으세요.Grandfather is reading the newspaper.
어머니가 김치를 만드셨어요.My mother made kimchi.
선생님, 어디에 사세요?Where do you live? (to a teacher)
사장님은 내일 미국에 가십니다.The president is going to the United States tomorrow.
이분이 저희 선생님이세요.This is our teacher.
8 more example sentences
부모님은 부산에 사세요.My parents live in Busan.
선생님이 내일 학교에 오세요.The teacher is coming to school tomorrow.
할아버지가 산책을 하셨어요.Grandfather went for a walk.
혹시 김 선생님을 아세요?Do you happen to know Mr Kim?
어머니께서 꽃을 좋아하세요.My mother likes flowers.
사장님께서 오늘 늦게 오실 거예요.The president will be late today.
아버지는 은행에서 일하세요.My father works at a bank.
손님, 이쪽에 앉으세요.Please sit over here.
Worth knowing (1)
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Statement, question or request
가세요 can mean "he or she goes", "are you going?" or "please go". Only the situation and the voice decide, which is why one short exchange can use the same form twice in different senses.
선생님, 지금 가세요? 그럼 안녕히 가세요.Are you leaving now? Goodbye, then.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The honorific lifts the subject, and here the subject is you. Raising yourself is the one thing it must never do; about yourself the plain polite form is right. Learners who have heard -세요 a lot sometimes take it for a general sign of politeness — it is not.
Si lifts the subject: use it for teachers, parents and customers, and never for yourself.
Your turn
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