2 · Verb endings and speech levels
Choosing a speech level
formal, polite and casual side by side
Every Korean sentence ends by saying how the speaker stands towards the listener: formally, politely or casually.
Every Korean verb at the end of a sentence carries a speech level, and the speech level is about the listener. Three are in daily use: formal (갑니다), polite (가요) and casual (가). The content is the same; what changes is the relationship. There is no neutral form to hide behind — every sentence makes the choice.
What decides it is age (even a year or two), position (a boss, a teacher, a customer), how well the two people know each other, and the situation: a meeting, a microphone or a stage call for more formality than a chat in the kitchen. Adults meeting for the first time use the polite style, sometimes opening formally. At work, colleagues speak politely to each other and formally in meetings. Children hear casual speech from adults and answer adults outside the family politely.
The speech level is separate from the honorific -(으)시-. The speech level is about the person spoken to, the honorific about the person spoken of, and the two combine freely. Telling a friend that the teacher has arrived is casual and honorific at once: 선생님 오셨어. Telling your boss what you will do is formal without any honorific: 제가 하겠습니다.
For a learner the safe default is the polite style with everybody except close friends of your own age who have offered casual speech, and the formal style for fixed phrases, presentations and anything said to a group. English speakers tend to think of politeness as tone and a "please". In Korean it is grammar: a friendly voice does not repair the wrong ending.
The form
| formal: announcements, meetings | 갑니다, 먹습니다, 학생입니다 |
| polite: everyday | 가요, 먹어요, 학생이에요 |
| casual: close friends, children | 가, 먹어, 학생이야 |
| a question at each level | 갑니까? 가요? 가? |
| casual, about a teacher | 선생님 오셨어. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The speech level depends on the listener, and every sentence has one.
사장님, 회의 자료 여기 있습니다.Here are the documents for the meeting.
The polite -아요/어요 is the safe choice with adults you do not know well.
실례지만, 화장실이 어디에 있어요?Excuse me, where is the toilet?
Casual speech is for close friends, younger siblings and children.
수진아, 나 먼저 갈게.Sujin, I'm heading off.
The honorific is about the person you talk about, not the person you talk to.
엄마, 할머니 오셨어!Mum, Grandma's here!
The formal style belongs to announcements, presentations and meetings.
승객 여러분, 잠시 후 출발하겠습니다.Passengers, we will be departing shortly.
A closer look
The levels you will hear but rarely use
Grammar books list more than three levels. Two older ones survive mainly in historical dramas and in the speech of some older people: a slightly old-fashioned authoritative style ending in -오, and a style an older man might use to a grown-up younger man. A learner needs to recognise them, not to produce them.
The plain -다 style, on the other hand, is very much alive — in writing of every kind and in speech to children. Counting it, there are four forms a learner meets every day: formal, polite, casual, and the plain style of the written page.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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you write a notice or a message to a whole group
the formal style is normal, even among people who speak politely to each other face to face.
내일 회의는 열 시에 시작합니다.Tomorrow's meeting starts at ten.
A text for a group has no single listener whose relationship to you can decide the level, so it takes the most public one.
How to spot it
- -습니다
- -아요
- -어요
- -아
- -어
- -야
Example sentences
내일 회의에 참석하겠습니다.I will attend the meeting tomorrow. (to a superior)
내일 회의에 가요.I am going to the meeting tomorrow. (to a colleague)
나 내일 회의 가.I'm going to the meeting tomorrow. (to a friend)
선배, 점심 드셨어요?Have you had lunch? (to a senior colleague)
얘들아, 조용히 해.Quiet, kids.
손님, 주문하시겠습니까?Are you ready to order?
8 more example sentences
처음 뵙겠습니다. 잘 부탁드립니다.How do you do. I look forward to working with you.
지금 어디예요?Where are you now? (to a colleague)
지금 어디야?Where are you now? (to a friend)
할아버지, 진지 드세요.Grandpa, please have your meal.
여러분, 오늘 수업을 시작하겠습니다.Everyone, let us begin today's class.
엄마, 나 배불러.Mum, I'm full.
과장님, 이 서류 확인해 주시겠어요?Could you check this document, please? (to a manager)
괜찮아, 걱정하지 마.It's fine, don't worry.
Worth knowing (1)
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Parents and grandparents
Many people speak casually to their own parents, especially to their mother, while keeping the polite style with grandparents. The level inside a family is a matter of habit, and it does not carry over to other people's families.
엄마, 오늘 저녁 뭐 먹어?Mum, what are we having for dinner tonight?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
저기요 calls a stranger, and a stranger gets the polite style. 얼마야 is perfectly good Korean between friends, but said to a shop assistant it is rude, however friendly the tone.
When in doubt, end with -yo: with an adult you do not know well it is never wrong.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.